The Keys to Eliminating Bad Habits Open Doors to Rooms Full of Unlimited, Continuing Growth
To achieve virtually unlimited growth, you need to
understand three key concepts: irresistible growth, stalls,
and stallbusting.
The term "irresistible force" conjures up ideas of
overwhelming power, like the jet stream, a tornado or an
earthquake, that often suggest conflict or annihilation.
But "irresistible" can also mean something that is so
alluring that we are drawn to it despite our will. In the
Odyssey, for example, Odysseus had to be bound to the mast
of his ship so that he could resist the songs of sirens as
he sailed past their island.
An irresistible force can have either attribute. It can be
so strong that it overwhelms you physically, as in a force
of nature, or it can be so attractive that it is hard to
resist psychologically, as in a temporarily low interest
rate, which leads you to borrow excessively.
In business, irresistible forces are powerful trends that
can significantly affect the direction of your enterprise.
Such forces abound. Customer needs and the circumstances
that create those needs, costs that are hard to control,
government regulation, taxes, trends in the development of
technology, globalization, the weather, physical limits,
and human behavior are some examples.
An irresistible force is simply anything that is mostly
beyond the control of you and your organization in
influencing your business. Unless your enterprise is a
virtual monopoly, you have to take into account the whims
of the powerful customer before deciding where you will sit.
As an example, consider a company that provides accessories
for sport utility vehicles (SUVs). When the demand for SUVs
is high, the accessory manufacturer is busy trying to make
enough products to keep up with the demand. As newer and
better models of SUV come out, the demand for accessories
shifts in new and unpredictable ways.
Similarly, when SUVs lose their popularity -- because of
higher insurance premiums, revelations of overhyped safety
or capability for driving in snow, decreased family size,
or objections to airborne emissions -- the accessory maker
has a hard time selling accessories even if they are vastly
improved and offered at a low price. Thus, the accessory
business can be buffeted by irresistible forces in
different directions and in unpredictable ways, going
rapidly from enormous growth to potential free-fall.
What is an irresistible force? The customer's CEO sits
wherever he or she likes.
All enterprises are subject to many and potentially
changeable forces. Unfortunately, the powers that be in
many organizations convince themselves that the status quo
will remain in place forever. They create a business model
that keeps them focused on fine tuning their current state
of affairs. All well and good, until the irresistible
forces shift in such a way that they encourage your
customer to sit instead with your toughest competitor.
Such a shift is inevitable in most businesses if for no
other reason than demographics. People change their
consumption patterns and the numbers of people in various
age groups changes as well. Such changes have meant, for
example, that the latest needs of baby boomers have driven
the U.S. economy in fundamental ways since the 1950s and
will continue to do so for quite some time.
Remember the diaper services that did so well in the late
1940s? Freshly laundered cloth diapers were delivered to
the home and soiled diapers were sent out to be washed.
That business was eventually subjected to many irresistible
forces that changed its profitability.
As women began to work outside the home in increasing
numbers and better birth control allowed for increased
family planning, births declined and fewer diapers were
needed. By the time the first baby boomers were having
children, disposable diapers were introduced and quickly
became the rage.
Diaper services saw their business disappear into the
sewers and landfills of America. They became victims of a
"stall," a complacent frame of mind and way of thinking
resulting in bad organizational habits that impede progress
and the achievement of an enterprise's full success
potential.
Suppose the owner of a diaper service recognized the
irresistible forces of the changing demographics and the
disposable diaper? She or he could capitalize on the
disposable diaper trend by providing the convenience of
both disposing of and delivering the bulky items. And if he
or she touted ecologically appropriate disposal, wouldn't
this service appeal to even those consumers inclined to buy
and dispose of the diapers themselves who care about
conservation? For the enterprise to achieve
irresistible growth it is necessary that it recognize and
overcome the stalls that delay positive action in dealing
with irresistible forces.
What is a stall? If it was good enough for Grandma, let's
not leave well enough alone.
Before Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) entered the boxing
ring, heavyweight fighting was usually a brawl in which two
fighters unmercifully pounded each other until one fell
bloodied, bruised, and battered to the canvas for the ten
count. But Ali, realizing that getting near a hard-hitting
heavyweight fighter in the ring is a dangerous thing to do,
changed the sport forever.
He got into top shape aerobically, and danced all around
his opponents. He could quickly reach in and flick a
punch, and then retreat before the other fighter could
react. In fact, the late counterpunch that caught only air
helped Ali by tiring out his opponent. Ali's motto was:
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
With his strategy of being outside the range of the
irresistible force of the other fighter's fists, Ali is a
classic example of taking a stallbusting approach: using
conscious thought to challenge old habits. He realized
that getting hit didn't make you a successful boxer, that
success could be achieved by being constantly on the move
to be where you could hit but not be hit.
Similarly, consider the prospects for a poor artist at the
beginning of the twentieth century. The avant garde styles
were changing from Impressionism to Expressionism, while
traditional collectors ignored both in favor of polished
realism. Clearly, tastes would range from the classic to
the most avant garde in the rest of the century. How could
an unknown succeed?
Viewed in this light, the career of Pablo Picasso shows
that he was a champion stallbuster, as well as one of the
20th century's great artists. He was a master who easily
succeeded with any style he chose, producing works in
virtually every type of style in almost every major medium.
Consequently, there was always a type of Picasso to appeal
to almost everyone, and his lifetime income was many times
larger than those of his contemporaries were. By using a
stallbusting approach to the changing art milieu, he found
a breakthrough solution to being an outstanding artist who
was well appreciated and well paid during his lifetime.
What is stallbusting? Find your tail wind and learn how to
ride it.
Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
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Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .
