Why Strategy Matters in Your Business or Your Job Hunt

Answer These Questions, and Decide as you Move Forward

by Patty DeDominic, Coach to High Achievers in Finance, Business and Philanthropy.

 I just finished up a Master Mind call with the Maui team lead by David Finkel.  His firm is one of my favorite clients as  I love to watch David teach and am honored to be a colleague.    My role with the Maui team is to Coach entrepreneurs with growing companies.    We work on personal use of time, strategic priorities, human resource issues and other important business strategies and opportunities which inevitably arise in growing enterprises.   

It's really fun to work with business owners who seek to build scale-able companies.  Because I admire people who are willing to risk their money and their pride to become more successful, serve clients with passion and  build job creating enterprises it rarely seems like work.      As a coach to business owners and senior people, it's as if we are the Coach's Coach!

Today David did a deep dive on some key strategies in the building blocks of business.  Systems for success as I love to call them.       

  Overview of the 5 Strategic Marketing Decisions

1.      Choice of target market.

2.      Choice of product or service to focus on selling.

3.      Choice of business model.

4.      Choice of pricing.

5.      Choice of positioning and branding.

Job Hunter or CEO.... look at the similarities

Each of these decisions has an impact on your time, energy and how you will need to position yourself and your company.     Think about it, the above decisions are useful for job hunter too.      

It you haven't thought of yourself as an enterprise, consider doing so.    Consider who is your ideal target market (insert employer or industry?     If you are a job candidate, it is local or national business?  Large or small employer?    In a growing industry, filled with lots of demand for your continued growth or is it in a declining industry which will call on your resourcefulness and implementing tried and true strategies of the past?  

Choice of Pricing is important too for job hunters, are you the low price model or the guy with deep expertise and premium price?    Your communications and methods of connecting with potential employers will depend on your answers to the above.  

Branding is also important for job hunters and when you are clearer on items 1-4 above you will be able to get a better picture of the brand called YOU, Inc. 

Would you like to get a complimentary copy of our latest 176-page bestseller,       

Build a Business, Not a Job? 

 Just go to www.MauiMastermind.com/custom/freebook

to get your free copy today!

Good luck as you are preparing your business or your career for growth.   As always, you are free to take advantage of our expertise for a free 25 minute consultation at any time.   Feel free to click the link above for your free (no obligation) copy of the book or call me 805 453-7490  

Patty DeDominic      

Build a Business, Not Just a Job! DeDominic & Finkel

The 2 Layers to Every Successful Business System

Are you working in your business or is your business Working You Over?

I've become associated with David Finkel and the Maui Mastermind teams and am just loving the practical common sense business training that David and his team have developed over the past 20 years!   I've seen these tactics and systems, when clients have hired McKinsey or other of the world's most prestigious business consulting firms.  Rarely have I seen the delivery and execution of common business sense done so well.

Here is an excerpt from his book    BUILD A BUSINESS, NOT A JOB by

Stefanie Harkness and David Finkel.

Every successful business system has two layers: the process layer and

the format layer. The process layer consists of the step-by-step process or

procedure you’ve created. Does your system accurately capture the steps

of the process so that when you follow it, you consistently get the desired

The Traditional Way of Building a Business versus the Level Three Road Map 19

result? It does you no good to formalize poor processes.

 You want your systems to capture your best practices and winning moves, making it easier for your company to replicate and scale those successes.

The format layer deals with how you package and present your system

to your team. Is your system easy to use? Is it transparent so team members

intuitively understand how to use it? Can it be automated so much of

the work happens via technology instead of manual work? For example,

this could be automated reporting built into your database to track sales

or monitor client orders. It could also be enterprise software that your

team uses to run the entire flow of your business, featuring key systems

built directly into the software. Or it could be simple, low-tech tools like

a script for your scheduling assistant to use when he or she leaves a message

for people, or a standardized form that your receptionist gives each

new client to fill out upon arriving for an appointment. 

Done right, systems make life easier for your team and success more predictable for your business.

A Simple Test to Know If You Got Your System’s Format Correct

Having a solid process isn’t enough. You have to package that process in

ways that your team will actually use.

How do you know if your system has a good, useable format?

Ask one simple, unambiguous, incontrovertible question:

Is your team using it?

The real test is whether your team embraces it, ignores it, or

even worse, creates a shortcut system for the task.

Your team members want to do a good job. If your business systems

are simple, intuitive, and effective, they will use them. If they’re confusing,

complicated, bloated, or cumbersome, they’ll ignore these systems

and even create their own “cheat sheet” hybrid versions instead.

But these homespun, individual hybrids normally aren’t scalable. In

fact, they usually only work for that one team member and only as long

as the volume of your business stays relatively level. Plus, even if this

private shortcut works, rarely is it ever captured in a way that the rest of

your business can use it. And when that team member goes, so does that

know-how.

To get the format layer right, watch the way your team members use,

or don’t use, your systems. Don’t argue, don’t preach, don’t cajole—

simply observe. Take their behavior as critical feedback to refine and

improve your systems. Remember, they’re meant to leverage, empower,

and simplify the lives of your employees, so don’t fall in love

with any specific system. Rather, fall in love with the result it’s intended

to generate.

20 BUILD A BUSINESS, NOT A JOB!

The Traditional Way of Building a Business versus the Level Three Road Map 

25 Effective Formats to Package Your Systems

Here is a quick list of 25 potential formats for you to package your systems

to make them easier and more effective for team members to use.

1. Checklists

2. Scripts

3. Worksheets

4. Step-by-step instructions

5. Software that automates a process

6. Databases of key information

7. Pricing lists

8. Templates and samples

9. Common Q & A sheets

10. Written “warnings” for an area, providing how to deal with predictable

problems

11. Spreadsheets with built-in formulas

12. Camera-ready artwork

13. Filing system (paper or electronic)

14. Preapproved vendors lists

15. Standardized equipment and parts

16. Online communication tools for effectively sharing information

(discussion forums, wikis, whiteboards, social networks, etc.)

17. Delivery timetables

18. Job descriptions

19. Instructional videos

20. Project management software with reusable project pathways

21. Reporting templates

22. Organizational charts

23. Pre-approved forms and contracts

24. A timeline or Master Calendar

25. Complete enterprise management software

Would you like a free copy of David Finkel's book excerpted above?  Or a free consultation to see if you are right for the Maui Mastermind Coaching and business network program?  If so, write me at  coach@dedominic.com     

Al Walsh on the US Economy

What to Do About the U.S. Economy
We need to change the way we think and act.



In order to understand where the U.S. is now economically, it helps to go back and review our history:
We started off as an agrarian society, with small cottage industries springing up here & there. Our cottage industries got a jump-start after the Revolutionary War when the British cut us off from many of their manufactured goods, out of spite, and we had to develop domestic supply-sources.


We then progressed through our industrial revolution, which was fed by a plentiful supply of natural resources and immigrant labor; plus technology bought or ”borrowed” from the British.
Our industrial revolution was prolonged and intensified by the supply demands of the Civil War.
Along came World Wars I & II, and the post-war reconstruction of Europe via the Marshall Plan: putting our industrial-capacity on “steroids” and promoting innovation.



At this point we were the economic “masters of the world”; and just about any citizen could start a business & succeed, often despite themselves, because of the massive global demand.


After the post-war reconstruction, other developing nations started progressing through their own industrial revolutions; taking away traditional U.S. industries and generating intense competition.


We’re now at a point where our few remaining manufacturing activities are under threat, and we’ve been reduced to a largely technology & service-provider role. Our technological strength, which ramped up during WWII and has stayed strong since, helped us maintain an edge. But other countries have now progressed to the point where they are doing the long-term basic research which is slowly chipping away at our technology lead.


In order to survive, many of our corporations have gone global; outplacing production and labor offshore.


Recent events in our previously world-dominant financial industry have left open questions about their future influence on global economics.


Our dollar, which has served as the world’s reserve currency since the collapse of the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971, is under fire and waning in influence. The Fed & Treasury are creating massive dollar inflation to combat economic deflation; we have yet to deal with the ugly after-effects.


Our government has displayed gross ineptness in dealing with domestic affairs, let alone global ones. Massive debt is building that may take generations to dissipate. The Social Security mess hangs over everyone’s heads; and no one in government wants to deal with it.


Our natural resources are going offshore to feed other nations’ industries, and we have become a consumer society; serving as the world’s primary marketplace - however even that status is starting to wane as our societal wealth dissipates.



Our savings-rate has declined to near-zero; as a result, core-investment is declining.


We do a mediocre job of educating our youth and preparing them for adulthood.
So where does that leave us going forward?
In case you think we’re in for major realignment; we’ve already been doing it for decades - with global competition, and lack of response on our part, forcing fundamental changes across our economy. The trend will continue and intensify as China & India progress through their industrial development.
I think America is still in shock and hasn’t come to grips with the situation. We’re still trying to live and conduct business as if we’re in the post-WWII halcyon era.
What can we as individuals and a society do about it?
Our budding entrepreneurs are leading the way and providing the model. Just to get up & running and survive they must identify niche opportunities, and operate lean & mean. They must keep a good eye on the competition, and find ways to steal market-share. They forever seek ways to keep our bloated, unfocused government out of their affairs and their pockets. They’re reaching offshore and taking risks to pursue new opportunities. They’re developing new technologies, and leaner business models.
I’m not sure what will happen concerning our government. We have the government that we chose. Year after year we go to the voting booths; and what we have now is the result of our cumulative decisions as a nation. All I can offer to America is - “Wake up and smell the coffee”. If you don’t like the results, change them! Now! Please!
These days the news surrounding the auto industry encourages us to point our collective fingers and criticize. But ask yourself - Do you run your personal affairs any more efficiently? Most Americans spend more than they take in. Our national wealth is collecting into fewer & fewer hands. We elected the governments that have for decades created so much waste & inefficiency with our hard-earned dollars. We buy… and buy… and buy… while our savings accounts are collecting moths. We’ve transitioned from being a conservative, collaborative post-war society to a liberal Me, Me, Me… I, I, I - focused culture.
If you want to make a difference in our society, start by changing your personal habits. Then go apply good habits everywhere you can at work; saving money, promoting innovation & efficiency, and looking for every opportunity to take business from the foreign competition. Then go to the voting booth and make smarter decisions. We need leaders who can redirect our efforts to causes greater than our individual self-gratification.
Many business-people from other countries will probably read this article. I wish them well, but I also wish that my country would wake up and give them a better run for their money. They’re only doing what we would do in their shoes. Frankly, I think they wish we’d wake up too. After all: If we can’t save & invest, and generate true value in our businesses, we can’t retain the wealth that makes us good customers.

To quote the immortal words of Dennis Miller: “It’s just my opinion, I could be wrong”.
What’s your opinion?
Speak up and be counted!

THINK GROWTH! an article by Kathy Ullrich

Think Growth, Not Self-Preservation
By Kathy Ullrich

“Self-preservation is the worst mistake a CEO can make,” shared StrongMail CEO Sam Cece at the most recent Getting to the Top program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “The role of the CEO is growth of a business and if the CEO is worried about self-preservation, he cannot be effective at growing the company. Just like the fastest race car drivers on the track, the best CEOs need to go for it. If you make decisions based on keeping your job, you will get crushed.”

The same concept may apply to companies in uncertain economic times. Of course companies may have some belt tightening to shore up resources. Beyond that are the strategic moves that can put a company ahead of competitors as the recession dissipates.

A McKinsey Quarterly article, Preparing for the Next Downturn, shared learnings from the previous recession. The article stated that despite many companies toppling from the top quartile, “Fifteen percent of companies that had not been market leaders prior to the last recession vaulted into these positions during it.” These companies had several common characteristics entering the downturn: balance sheet flexibility through lower debt-to-equity, operating flexibility from reducing costs, and diversified product offerings, including geographic diversity. All these gave the companies strategic flexibility to take advantage of opportunities.

To set the strategy and execute on it, companies need the right talent. For employees of all levels, self-preservation can mean doom. Employees need to think through how their efforts drive revenue, reduce cost or create strategic flexibility for the company.

As Silicon Valley came out of the last tech recession, I was quoted in USA Today. Google had hired Vinton Cerf, a father of the Internet, and the reporter wanted comments on companies’ use of executive recruiters. That was a time of major companies in Silicon Valley – SAP, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo -- hiring numerous executives in building toward business growth strategies. During weaker economic times, many key executives remain in positions rather than face unemployment and are therefore open to a new job for the right opportunity.

I encourage companies to think about not the incremental, but the big move that will propel the company, whether strategic or people changes. In softening markets, once the company has created strategic flexibility, it is the perfect time to take advantage of growth opportunities over other companies worrying about self-preservation.