Social Media Award

AVG just won the Best Use of Social Media award from Computer Weekly Social Media Awards. James Garner accepted the prize in the picture above. They have been clients of ThoughtLabs, a social media strategic company that brings customers closer to companies through technology. They have been working together for three years.



Why are we posting this news item on our blog? Two reasons. The first is that it indicates how important the right social media strategy and plan can be to companies today to give them a competitive edge. That competitive edge can drive business acceleration and increased profitability in a number of ways. The second is that one of the founders and partners is John Maver Jr. and we are very proud of him, awards or not.

If you are looking for business acceleration analysis and plans, contact us. If you are looking for business acceleration social media efforts contact ThoughtLabs.

Thanks

John


John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Leaders

John Smale, an ex CEO of Procter & Gamble, passed away last week. He was a remarkable leader and made some very significant contributions to P&G. He also took leadership positions from the Board at General Motors, where he turned the company around and revamped it. He was active in his community, restructuring the City of Cincinnati and then working for youth education among other activities.

During my 23 years at P&G and in the subsequent 18, there have been 8 CEO’s at the company. In addition to John Smale, the most memorable ones for me are John Pepper, Howard Morgans, Ed Harness, Ed Artzt and A.G. Lafley. They all made substantial contributions to the company. While some have written books, the important learnings from each have been captured in internal memos and have been shared broadly across the company. All are different and have varied skills, but there are some commonalities. This is not surprising, given Procter & Gamble’s policy of promotion from within and the fact that all of these men had years of training, learning from each other, as well as from many others who helped shape their careers.

They all exhibited strengths in the following:

Values
They all were committed to trying to do the right thing in all they did. Doing the right thing is much more than a cliché, since who would attempt to do the wrong thing per se. In this case, it is seeking to do what is right instead of what is most profitable or most expedient or most popular. The clearest example of this is the removal of Rely tampons from the market when there was an initial suggestion that extended use of the product might be associated with toxic shock syndrome. The company took the product off the shelves immediately until there could be absolute, conclusive proof that it had no impact. The cost was in the millions of dollars and took P&G out of the feminine protection business for several years, but it was the right thing to do and drove home that message and value to all employees.

Focus on the consumer
P&G has maintained a relentless focus on the consumer throughout its years as the global leader in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG). A.G. Lafley wrote “Everything begins and ends with the consumer. If you focus on the consumer and what your brand is doing to serve the consumer, you will win most of the time". P&G was the first company to conduct deliberate, database driven,, consumer market research. This forward-thinking approach enables the company to improve consumer understanding, anticipate needs and respond with products that improve their everyday life. P&G also was one of the first companies to formally respond to consumers by establishing a Consumer Relations department. Several years ago, P&G realized that though it talked to a lot of people, it wasn’t really hearing them. It has overcome this barrier by taking one of the industry’s more traditional market research organizations and turning it into a consumer-understanding powerhouse and consumer-insight generator. By investing more than a billion dollars in consumer-understanding research between 2002 and 2007 and conducting research with more than 4 million consumers a year, P&G has moved away from traditional, behind-the-mirror focus groups to more immersive research techniques. This leads to richer consumer insights, which helps identify innovation opportunities that are often missed by traditional research.


Dedication to product superiority and to superior products
The CEO’s are dedicated to leading the company with a product philosophy of “We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world's consumers. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit, and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work to prosper.” It is not enough just to have product superiority. The company must have products that are superior. Hence, the development and sale of the first shortening for baking and cooking. The first detergent. The first workable disposable diaper. The first two in one shampoo/conditioner. Despite the pressures to deliver above average quarterly earnings, the CEOs have consistently over invested in R&D, compared to most companies.

Commitment to people
The “people” philosophy of these men in simple terms is “Recruit the best. Train and develop all. Promote from within. Treat each fairly.” As a result, P&G has had some outstanding long term employees and many others have left the company to lead other significant operations. The company believes in its people, even in departure. Having been part of the first worldwide global initiative of reductions in force, I was treated extremely fairly and with great respect by my Cincinnati management. As a former CEO, Richard R. Dupree said in 1947, "If you leave us our money, our buildings, and our brands, but take away our people, the Company will fail. But if you take away our money, our buildings, and our brands, but leave us our people, we can rebuild the whole thing in a decade."

Worldwide view and globalization
P&G has long had an international business. In fact, I was part of it in the Canadian operation, several times. The company really got serious when it appointed Ed Artzt as President of P&G International and then promoted him to become CEO of the entire company. Today P&G has 24 billion dollar brands, most with a global sales base. As current CEO Bob McDonald says, “Our objective is to touch and improve lives. Why would we stop with operating in only some countries? Our business is driven by demographics and economics--you have to go where the babies are born, where the households form, where the incomes are rising--and they’re growing a lot faster outside of the U.S.” P&G has product usage with 4 Billion customers and the majority of their products are made outside of the USA. They have established a worldwide research and development network, with research hubs in the United States, Europe, Japan and Latin America.

There have been many tributes to John Smale, deservedly. John Pepper, himself a favorite CEO of the employees, said, "John brought together wisdom and courage, concern for people, and commitment to the long term in a manner I've never seen exceeded." "The man's character was defined by all the things character is defined by: his wisdom, his courage, his persistent commitment to doing what's right for the longer term -- absolutely right down the line. Never compromising.”

Procter & Gamble has had superb leaders. The impact that they have had on the company pales by the impact that they have had on the employees.

Thanks,

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – A Marketing Checklist

Procter & Gamble’s marketing plans are often quite sophisticated and extensive. They use research in almost every element of the plan to insure that they get the maximum effect from each. Then they monitor the progress, making adjustments as required. This can be expensive and very labor intensive. But, with billion dollar global brands the cost per package is quite reasonable and the incremental sales make the payout quite profitable. You may not have the billion dollar brands of the extensive research facilities. So here are the key elements that Procter & Gamble reviews and that you can do, as well. It fits with both the sale of products or services.

Plan
• There is a written plan in place and it has been communicated throughout the organization.

Positioning
• The target market has been defined and our potential clients or customers, their usage habits and practices, as well as their buying channels and patterns are known.
• The problems, issues and challenges they are facing have been identified.
• The benefit that they will obtain from the use of my product as the solution to their problem has been clearly articulated. It answers the client/customer question “what’s in it for me, the customer?”
• Some form of research has been conducted to determine if the benefit that I am suggesting is actually seen and understood as a value to my targets and has an inherent unique and meaningful competitive advantage that explains why I am different than my competition.
• The benefits I am claiming can be supported by proof in some form through testing, referrals or in market experience.
• The tone of my positioning will resonate with my target and enable them to accept my offerings in the most positive frame of mind.

Execution
• Everything about my business, including my personal presentation, marketing materials, etc. are presented in a way that truly supports all aspects of the positioning.
• Distribution channels are in place that make your product or service readily available to potential customers.
• Multiple promotional and marketing channels for delivering your message are being used to reach customers most effectively and are appropriate for that channel.
• My products or services, what I do and how I do it, are clearly presented and how they solve clients problems.

Measurement
• There is a clearly identified tracking system in place for each of the FEW key measures so that changes can be made to plans quickly to optimize their impact.
• MY BUSINESS IS RESPONDING TO THE MARKETING PLANS!

These are admittedly, simplistic measures for your plan. We would be remiss if we also did not include the need to have available the expertise required to create and operate a high powered plan. You will note that Procter & Gamble employs, trains and upgrades a very large body of expertise from junior managers through senior executives. This doesn’t mean that you have to duplicate their organization. Most companies can do this with experienced consultants, either on a project basis or retainer. That is the most cost effective.

Let us know if we can be of assistance to you.

Thanks

John


John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Downsizing, Rightsizing, RIFs

Most companies have been faced with the need to cut costs over the past several years and many people and jobs have been eliminated from the workforce. You will note that we have the highest level of unemployment as one of the impacts. The personnel reductions have come under the heading of downsizing, rightsizing or just reductions in force (RIFs). The net result in addition to lower costs is a substantial change in the way that companies have to operate.

At the same time, technology has made tremendous progress and we now have available significant capabilities that never existed before. The idea has been that companies can do much more with much less. Believe it or not, when the first computers were being introduced, there was an expectation that the work week would shrink to less than a day a week. Computers would do the rest. You know personally from your now extended work weeks that this was not the case and was, at best, a wild dream. And yet companies expected that technology could overcome the impact of the lost personnel.

Procter & Gamble is no exception. In 1993, well before this became common practice, P&G undertook a worldwide cut back in personnel under the heading of strengthening global effectiveness. SGE was designed to streamline work processes, drive out non value-added costs, eliminate duplication and speed productivity through a leaner organization. Initially, it was directed at the manufacturing operations but the idea quickly spread to the rest of the company. Up to 10,000 people/jobs were eliminated. The objective, just as it has been the objective of most companies, was same or greater productivity with less cost.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. It didn’t happen at P&G and it isn’t happening with many other companies. Certainly, some aspects worked as expected. But in many cases, the people and jobs were eliminated, yet the work required remained.

This did produce a short term profit bump after the reorganization costs were passed through as a “one time hit” to earnings. However, as Stephen Covey outlined in his book the 7 Habits of Effective People, the golden goose was maimed if not killed outright. The reductions in force often targeted the higher salaried, longer term employees. Companies lost years of very valuable experience and expertise. As a result many companies faced substantial redesign, slower process, business and profit losses.

What made it worse for many companies is that the personnel reductions came on a “chain saw” basis and not a “surgical” basis. This means that cuts were made across the board. The result was reductions in one department greatly affected what was left in other departments or functions, to the detriment of the business. This has led to renewed needs for reorganizations and then further rightsizing. In fact, that is exactly what has happened at Procter. They have had several full company reorganization plans. They have offered several waves of early retirement and outplacement packages to employees around the globe.

What’s the lesson? Clearly it is taking the long view. It is an in depth understanding of what is really required to operate profitably and then providing the technology and human resources required to deliver the objectives. Short term solutions just don’t work. Second, it means focus. It means being choiceful on what activities are really required to operate profitably and to achieve the corporate goals. Other activities that are just nice to do, have to be eliminated. Finally, it is deciding on what data is required to operate. Most companies are buried under an overload of information. Layers of the organization are employed to develop the data, analyze it and interpret it and then try to find meaningful actionable conclusions. The loss of the experience and expertise caused by the cuts has led to much of this wheel spinning over-analysis.

If your company is experiencing “sludge” in your operations and slower speed to market, you might consider relooking at some of the experience that was cut out in the rightsizing. Interestingly, many companies are hiring back ex-employees as consultants at a higher cost to do the same job that they originally did.

Since we have had experience both at Procter & Gamble with SGE and similar programs at other companies, we can help you. Just contact us.

Thanks,

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Value of Branding

Procter & Gamble is one of the premier brand companies in the world. Their branding extends from their many billion dollar brands to the company itself and in many cases to its people. Being a Procter & Gamble brand assures consumers of quality, even though the company generally doesn’t market its brands under the corporate umbrella. Being the Procter & Gamble sales representative opens many doors. Investors have confidence in their investments as they buy stock in the company. Many of these investors are company employees. Having Procter & Gamble on your resume is a major positive. As you can see, the value of branding goes well beyond just the products.

How does one calculate the dollar value of a brand? There are a number of formulas and all work on the basis of capturing the extent that the company can sell its goods and services at a premium price and profit. Brand Sales = (Cost + Margin) * Volume. Your brand gets you one of two measurable outcomes: margin or volume. Comparing your margins to the competition is one way to assess the value of your brand, if you take heed of the caveat about other factors which may change margin. Comparing volume is less likely to yield a good estimate of brand value, because you can in many markets drive higher volumes with no brand value at all by charging lower prices.

For example, Coke despite its secret formula is flavored water just like RC Cola. However, Coca-Cola’s margin is 15.6%, while RC Cola - Cott’s is 5.3%. The typical company has an operating margin of 5-7%, so Coca-Cola’s margin is phenomenal. But there is more. Part of Coke’s value comes from its significantly larger gross volume sales because consumers are loyal to the Coca-Cola brand. That too generates significant value. How much? That depends on what measures you want to use but it is safe to say it is in the billions. According to Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, if Coca-Cola suddenly lost its brand name tomorrow, its operating margins could drop to around 5.28%, and it would lose $64.2 billion of value.

Branding is clearly a competitive advantage. It is the reason why larger companies with lots of managerial horsepower tend to spend a lot of time and money on branding. The most important value in a brand is the value that it holds for actual customers. This value is very difficult and expensive to build and fragile and easy to destroy. The difficulty of building and maintaining a brand is one reason why managers the world over tend to avoid spending much time or money on branding, especially in smaller companies. This is a shame, because a well-managed brand is so powerful that it can overcome almost any other competitive advantage.

In previous articles we have outlined many of the competitive advantages that branding can bring to a company. We won’t repeat them now but check the other articles if you are interested.

Since you are a consumer in addition to a brilliant business person, think about some of the brands with which you are familiar. Apple has built a group of very loyal customers and while they may not dominate the computer space, they have used their fan base to launch other products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad where they do dominate. They consistently break records for new product launches before the product is actually available. Valuable brand name for the largest company on paper in the world at one time this past year?

At Procter & Gamble, the Tide brand has now been applied to many types of fabric care, building on its strong base of removing dirt from clothes. Crest has a product for everyone, from first tooth to last and even dentures. Swiffer seems to be cleaning up everywhere (pun intended).

What value have you determined for the brands of your product, company and people? Have you made a conscious effort to create the positive brand and secure the benefits that come with it? If you need assistance, contact us. We can help. We have created and managed some very strong brands and can apply our experience to your business as well.

Thanks.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Their Brand Positioning Strategy Worksheet

We have been sharing some learning from Procter & Gamble based on my 23 years building brands and businesses with them. The most recent articles have focused on brands, branding and product positioning. This article provides an outline of how P&G creates their positioning strategies for their brands. You may also know this as the Copy Strategy or the Advertising Strategy or the Branding Strategy, in addition to the Positioning Strategy. This is important since in many cases the support of the brand goes beyond just the advertising.

A Brand Positioning Strategy identifies the basis upon which we expect our brand to be purchased in preference to competition. The content emerges directly from the product or service and the basic consumer need that it is intended to fill. It should state clearly the basic benefit which the brand promises and which constitutes the principal basis for purchase. It should also include a statement of the product characteristics that make this benefit possible and the tone or character that is desired to be built for the brand.

This will provide direction for the basic message of the brand which should remain consistent across all communication vehicles, although the execution of the message may change. It is inherently competitive since it is the basis for preference vs. competition.


Developing the Strategy through use of the Creative Work Plan
Start at the top and work down through the rest of the elements.

1 Key Fact
A single piece of known information relating to the brand which is agreed to be the leading factor influencing or describing the brand performance. It may be information about the brand itself, the competition, the customer, innovation etc. but it must be a single fact.

2 Problem the advertising must solve
This is a consumer problem. It describes the awareness, perception or behavior of the prospective user which has resulted in the Key Fact and which we wish to change.

3 Advertising Objective
Usually, simply the counterpart to the problem, although there are a great many distinct options. Eg "Persuade consumers to try my brand" Or "use more of my brand." Or "use my brand in a different way." Persuade them that my brand is a viable alternative to brand x".

4 Strategy
a) Prospect Definition
Both demographics and psychographics.
b) Principal Competition.
Not just a list of competitors but a description of the segment from which we wish to obtain business
c) Promise
The single most persuasive agreement one can advance for the brand framed with the customer and the competition in mind.
d) Reason Why
The strongest piece of support for the promise. Occasionally there may be more than one piece of support but never a list
e) Tone/Character
The tone that messages should convey to provide personality to the message and bring it alive. This is not executional.

As you can see, the format is very simple. However, like everything at Procter & Gamble, the use of the simple tool is handled by experts in the field. That is what makes the tool so effective.

If you would like to have the benefits of this simple tool support your brand or your business and need the expertise to use it most effectively, contact us. We would be happy to assist you.

Thanks.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble - What is a brand?

Procter & Gamble is well known for its brands. As we have said in earlier articles, many people mistakenly believe that a brand is a product. While that is in part correct, it isn’t the whole story. A brand is an image in the customer’s mind. The thoughts customers have about products are brand impressions. These brand impressions are the major influences on the purchase decision. Customers form impressions of products every time they come in contact with them. Once products or companies are out in the market, you already have a brand, whether you want it or not. The only issue left to consider is what kind of brand you want to have.

Brands are inferred, not implied. Branding isn’t something companies do to customers. After experiencing a product or a company, a customer has an impression of that product and decides how to "brand" that product in their own mind. In other words, a brand isn't what a marketer says it is. It is what a customer thinks it is.

However, companies can do a lot to influence the impression that customer/consumers have about them and their brands. Often we think of brands from big companies like Nike and Coke who use the brute-force of mass marketing to "impress" their message on people. Brute force is becoming a less and less effective method for branding, because it's gotten harder and harder to tell today's discerning customers how to think.

Only a very few companies, like Nike and Coke, can afford to brand with brute force. Now the method of choice seems to be primarily via some form of social media in addition to the traditional advertising/marketing vehicles. Companies like ThoughtLabs specialize in bringing customers closer to their clients.

Branding isn't just something that applies to big, national companies with large advertising budgets. For all types of persuasion, thought is always a prelude to action No matter how the product is marketed; it all must start with positioning. It is in this effort that companies attempt to set their desired image in the minds of the customer. This is key!

People's thoughts and beliefs drive their actions. The goal of the interactions with a customer is to encourage them to create a brand impression in their mind that motivates them to act in a way that helps my product. By focusing on what they think, I am forced to pay attention to everything I do that affects what they think about me and my product. I can't just make an independent decision about what I want my brand to be and create beautiful advertising that "declares" what my brand is -- I have to orchestrate all of the experiences they have with my product in a way that encourages them to create the right brand impression in their mind.

So . . . what do you want your customers to think about your products . . . and you?

If you have not clearly defined the positioning for your company or its products or the results are not meeting expectations, we can help. Contact us.

Thanks

John

This is one of a series of articles that share some of the learnings from twenty three years in marketing at Procter & Gamble.

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group(
925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Persuasively Selling Their Brands

There are many different selling formats and yet all of them that have been successful are based on the problem – solution idea. First, crystalize the problem that the buyer is facing and get agreement to the problem and then offer your solution, which is of course based on your brands. At Procter & Gamble this has been honed to a fine art by salespeople. They call it the Persuasive Selling Format. At Clorox, it is called SIERE. At other companies it may be called the 5 Selling Steps. But they all are virtually identical.

All sales people have these 5 steps memorized and I can still recall them now after 30 plus years. In fact I can recall when I skipped a step and lost the sale too. Here is how it works.

Summarize the Situation – After the opening ice breaker chat, identify a problem that either has been identified by the buyer on a previous call or is generic to their situation. You can also share key facts, information or industry trends to set up the discussion. It is important that the problem be easy to agree with and not be controversial. You do not want to spend a lot of time on the problem. You need to sell the solution. This set up gets the buyer nodding in agreement with you and hopefully you can keep that happening as you work down to the order.

State the Idea - Tell them a brief statement of the idea that you are recommending as a solution to their problem in a way that makes it compelling. Keep this brief and get a quick nod that they understand your idea. They may not agree with it YET but they must at least understand it.

Explain How It Works – Once you’ve clearly stated the proposition, provide details of the recommendation. Typically, this includes information about the product, the promotion, the support being provided, the pricing and the execution timing and logistics. Provide the information in “layers”. That means, give them the summarized version of each element of the information and if they require more provide what is necessary. Many, many sales have been lost by clouding the issue in the buyer’s mind at this point or providing so many details that they tune out and you lose them.

Reinforce Key Benefits – What’s in it for them? How does this really solve the problem they are having or the opportunity upon which they want to capitalize? What are the key reasons that they should accept your idea and recommendation and move forward? Experience shows that there are always three solid reasons to offer to the buyer. That provides enough strength and doesn’t cloud the issue with weak support. It causes you and the buyer to focus and be memorable. The buyer should be nodding agreement to each of the benefits as they understand them.

Suggest Easy Next Steps –The Close, the Close!!!! The most effective method to work into the Close is to suggest an easy next step that makes the buyer continue to nod agreement. To some extent this calls for an assumptive close, where you assume the buyer is going to agree with the basic proposal and now you are ironing out some small detail. It can be as simple as asking, “Do you want this Wednesday or Thursday? Do you want this in red or blue?” Once you have agreement to that easy next step just write up the order.

This works. Take it from my personal experience and the experience of tens of thousands of others as well. This doesn’t apply only to selling products to buyers at companies. It applies to all selling situations. I know that the technical folks will say that the B2B sale is different. Yes it is, but the same idea works there as well. I have used this technique in many different situations.
If you want more information on this lesson from Procter & Gamble or on any of the others in this series, contact us. We will be happy to help you.

Thanks,

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – “Stick to your knitting” – Core Competencies

As you might gather from the title, people at P&G didn’t make this statement in so many words. In fact, these words came from my mother when she wanted me to concentrate on what I was doing and not get distracted. But the meaning was clear from my years at Procter & Gamble, as well.

In Procter and business terms, it means to understand your core competencies and stick to them. Don’t get sidetracked and move away from where your true competitive advantage lies. You can quickly recall many companies that strayed and suffered great losses as a result. Gatorade anyone?

Just so that we have a common understanding of the definition of Core Competency it is: A unique ability that a company acquires from its founders or develops and that cannot be easily imitated. Core competencies are what give a company one or more competitive advantages, in creating and delivering value to its customers in its chosen field.

While P&G is clearly known as a marketing/branding/advertising company, it has other core talents as well. The primary core is the people. Great care and effort is expended in identifying and recruiting top candidates in all functions. Then, strong training and development programs are put in place for all, since the company is a promote from within and the future of the company rests heavily on the new hires. They state that people are their most valuable asset and they mean it.

The second core competency is in research and development. The company has “overspent” in this area for decades. In fact, at one time, there were more PhDs per square foot in the R&D labs than at any other place in the world.

The combination of these three elements results in a core competency of bringing superior products to market. Superior is defined as not only breakthrough, but also better meeting customer needs. Breakthrough products include the first shortening (Crisco), the first detergent (Oxydol/Tide), the first workable disposable diaper (Pampers) and many more. The company has been and remains the premier consumer packaged goods company as a result.

This is not meant to be a self-serving article, since I spent more than two decades at P&G. It is meant to help other companies spend the time to clearly define their core competencies and then build strategies and business plans that capitalize on them.

Having been in business for more than 4 decades and as a consultant for more than 12 years, I have seen many companies that have failed to find their core and their efforts achieve less than optimum results, at best. Some do not change and are no longer in business. Resources both human capital and financial are scarce. The dilution of those resources on key projects as well as the lack of focus often causes major damage to companies.

If you need help in identifying your core competencies or creating the plans that will make you successful, contact us. We have a lot of experience as a business acceleration company.

Thanks

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Brand Building

Procter & Gamble has had the reputation as the premier brand builder over the years. Their methods have been copied by many companies, not only in consumer packaged goods, but across a wide variety of industries. The company has a full dedication to providing its consumers with brands and not just products. What does that mean? It means that they are committed to establishing their products and their performance as promising something specific to consumers and then delivering on that promise. Consumers get a product that not only works and works better than most, but also the confidence that the product will do exactly what is claimed.

Here are some thoughts about brand building:

A great brand can be in any industry.
As I said above, it isn’t just consumer packaged goods brands like Tide, Olay, Pampers and Crest that have recognized the value of brand building instead of product selling. Some categories may lend themselves to branding better than others, but almost any product offers an opportunity to create a frame of mind that's unique. Nike, for example, is leveraging the emotional connection that people have with sports and fitness. In the technology industry, most people do not know what Intel processors do or why they are superior to their competition. All they know is that they want to own a computer with "Intel inside." And are willing to pay more for it.

A great brand understands what and who it is.
To build a great brand you have to understand who you are. Go to consumers and find out what they like or dislike about the brand and what they associate as the very core of the brand concept. That gets you started. To keep a brand alive over the long haul, to keep it vital, you've got to do something new and reenergize it. It has to be related to the brand's core position. Many mistakes are made by trying to make the brand something that it is not and more importantly, what customers do not believe it is.

A great brand is relevant.
Knowing oneself leads to establishing relevance. It meets what people want and performs the way people expect. The delivery of the message may change to stay current but the basic promise stays unchanged and relevant. Consumers are looking for something that has lasting value. There's a quest for quality, not quantity.

A great brand changes the game for the entire category.
Procter & Gamble brands have dramatically changed their categories - Tide in fabric care, Crest in dental care, Olay in beauty care, Pampers in baby care. Other brands like Disney, Apple, Nike, and Starbucks have made it an explicit goal to be the protagonists for each of their entire categories. Disney is the protagonist for fun family entertainment and family values. Apple wasn't just a protagonist for the computer revolution but a protagonist for the individual becoming more productive, informed, and contemporary. They have changed information flow with the IPhone and IPad. A great brand raises the bar -- it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience.

A great brand capitalizes on emotions. The common ground among companies that have built great brands is not just performance. Emotions drive most, if not all, of our decisions. Not many people discuss the benefits of the high performance Mercedes engines. But they do picture themselves sitting behind the wheel of this luxury automobile. A brand reaches out with that kind of powerful connecting experience. It's an emotional connection point that transcends the product. And transcending the product is the brand.

A great brand has design consistency. Fashion brands may be the most obvious example. Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, for example. have a consistent look and feel and a high level of design integrity. They refuse to follow any fashion trend that doesn't fit their vision. They're able to pull it off from one season to the next. Strong brands like Levi's, Gap, Disney and Procter & Gamble consumer brands have a design that supports the brand image in the minds of the customer.

A great brand operates for the long term.
Many of Procter & Gamble brands are close to a century old and in the case of Ivory soap, one hundred and fifty years old. These brands are based on solid value propositions. Conversely, in the past two decades, many companies stopped building strong brands. As a result, there were a lot of products with very little differentiation. All the consumers saw was who had the lowest price. Many of these products are off the shelves and many companies are out of business.

There is a key lesson from Procter & Gamble who have a stable of billion, yes billion dollar world wide brands. In an age of accelerating product proliferation, enormous customer choice, and growing clutter and clamor in the marketplace, a great brand is a necessity, not a luxury. If you take a long-term approach, a great brand can travel worldwide, transcend cultural barriers, speak to multiple consumer segments simultaneously, create economies of scale, and earn higher margins over the long term.

If you need assistance in turning your products into great brands, we can help. Contact us.

Thanks

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Clear, Concise Communication

Procter & Gamble has long been known for its “one page memo”. There are a number of important reasons why this idea has proven to be so successful for P&G and none of them have to do with saving paper. Actually, while the memo itself is one page there are generally additional pages of supporting documentation that provide additional information in support of the information included on the first page.

The primary purpose has been assumed to be sending forward the information required for a decision to be made by upper management on some business acceleration idea. Procter & Gamble generally operates in a "bottom up" mentality where the people closest to the business and with the most relevant facts are responsible for leading the management thinking and accelerating the business progress. They do that through recommendations, research summaries and competitive analysis that all follow the one page format.

While the first purpose is to lead management and secure approval, there are other important purposes as well. As a new Brand Assistant significant time is dedicated to your training. As it relates to the one page memo, it is training in being able to think. The brevity of the memo forces the writer to be crystal clear in deciding exactly what they are recommending to accelerate the business and the basis upon which that recommendation is made. The training in this area starts early in your career and is extensive. Forty years later, I still have my first P&G memo. It was rewritten 11 times, each time going forward at least one level of management and then coming back with “suggestions” to improve the conciseness, clarity or communication. As I review this memo, I marvel at the time invested in me and know that this was just average for the number of rewrites required. By the way, the recommendation went to the President of the company and received not only approval but a note saying “well written and very clear memo.”

The next purpose is to facilitate review by upper management. The format is identical for all recommendations and all excessive verbiage is eliminated. This may seem to be unimportant. However, in a company with tens of thousands of employees and many, many business acceleration memos being forwarded every day, the only way to insure proper understanding of the communication is to insist on standardization and brevity.

Finally, the clarity of the communication enables all of the departments who are involved to be clear on what is required in their role to execute the business acceleration idea. They are required to have signed off on the recommendation before it is forwarded to management so that when approved, co-ordinated action can commence immediately.

Frankly, the appreciation for the “one page memo” and all that it achieves increases with the time one is at Procter & Gamble. Its usefulness is proven over and over. Having moved on from P&G to run businesses and other companies, I have seen the value of the clear, concise communication and thinking training pay off in those companies too. Many clients have complimented our company on its ability to cut through the mire of information to clearly define the challenges and opportunities and the business acceleration ideas that can capitalize on those opportunities.

For examples of the one page memo format, send us an email. The contact information is below.

Thanks

John


Procter & Gamble prides itself on providing outstanding training for its people. Actually, it is a necessity, since the company has a strong “promote from within” policy. As a result, there are a number of significant lessons that have been learned over the course of a 23 year career at Procter & Gamble like I had. This is part of a series of articles which will share some of those lessons. If you would like the benefit of this expertise applied to the business acceleration opportunities in your business, contact us.


John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble - 10 People Lessons for Leaders

Procter & Gamble prides itself on providing outstanding training for its people. Actually, it is a necessity, since the company has a strong “promote from within” policy. The senior executives have risen from the ranks. Not only does this instill common values by weeding out those who do not share the same values, but it also forces the company to have strong training and development programs. As a result, there are a number of significant lessons that have been learned over the course of a 23 year career at Procter & Gamble like I had. This is part of a series of articles which will share some of those lessons.

10 People Lessons for Leaders

1. P&G leaders get to know people as individuals. The leaders take the time to understand the strengths of their people and how to capitalize on these strengths most effectively to help them to win. Group activities are great for building teams, but one-on-one interactions build trust.

2. P&G leaders take a personal interest in their people’s success and let them know it. When employees understand you genuinely care about their well-being and career advancement, they will give you their best performance.

3. A leader gives credit to others, particularly in team situations. Since in most instances, analysis and creative solutions are sent up the line in recommendation form, starting at the lower levels, the credit for the good idea generally goes to the ones who are closest to the business. It is okay to accept credit for your part but successful P&G leaders make certain that the right people get the credit.

4. The most effective P&G leaders are good listeners. They encourage others to talk about themselves and make them feel important. John Pepper and AG Lafley were particularly good at this. The organization rallied behind them and pushed the company to exceptional performance.

5. P&G leaders are predictable by being constant. While it is acceptable to change one’s mind as new facts are uncovered, the leaders explain the rationale. This not only helps others understand the decision but helps train them so that they too can reach the sound conclusion. It enables others to trust you and your thinking.

6. Decisions are fact based and it is generally not who is right, but what is right. As a result, P&G leaders have their people’s back. They do not let their employees take big risks alone.

7. Make certain expectations are clear. All people want to succeed and they can accomplish this most effectively when the expectations of success are made clear in the beginning and then reinforced throughout. Failure to deliver against fuzzy expectations is not the employee’s fault, it is the manager’s.

8. Feedback is important. Open and honest feedback is essential even if it is uncomfortable for development of employees to occur. Hidden agendas never stay hidden and they breed mistrust. Regular performance reviews on a formal basis are best supplemented by informal reviews at the time of a “training” situation.

9. Listen for cries of help or assistance and respond quickly. When your employees raise a problem to your attention, it is usually viewed as a big issue in their mind. Take action, so it doesn’t end up growing into a big problem in your mind, too. That doesn’t mean taking over the problem. It does mean that your experience has probably handled this type of problem in the past and you can provide the appropriate direction.

10. “Do what is right” is a stated company value. This guides decision making and causes the organization to quickly understand and support even difficult decisions. This is most critical when it comes to the people and the way that they are handled. Employees expect and respond to honest and helpful feedback and criticism. They appreciate development plans that are designed to help them become more effective. They respond positively to reinforcement of their worth. They may not be in the right job and their talents may be suited better in another area. Letting them know this and working productively for them and the good of the business will generate productive winners throughout the organization.

There are going to be other articles in this series so stay tuned. If you would like the benefit of this expertise applied to the business acceleration opportunities in your business, contact us.

Thanks

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Four Fatal Flaws of Business Planning

The effective development of business plans is drawing a lot of attention these days. In no way does this mean that companies are becoming more effective in their business planning or business plan creation. Many companies claim to be doing regular business planning but most are not. Executives and managers continue to make fundamental mistakes that undermine otherwise well intentioned strategy formulation efforts.

Here are four fatal flaws that consistently creep into business planning processes that if avoided, can significantly improve both the process and the results.

Skipping Rigorous Analysis Before Starting On The Actual PlanMany executives and managers believe their business experience and knowledge base alone equips them with all the information they need to conduct effective business planning. This belief is almost always untrue and serves only to undermine the kind of critical thinking from which truly creative strategies are born. This becomes complicated, since most planning is done by a team and all participants come with preconceived notions and differing sets of data on which to base the plans. Having an experienced facilitator with success in business planning is critical. A good business planning process takes full advantage of the numerous tools of strategic analysis to gain key insights regarding how the industry is evolving, how competitors are changing positions, and where an individual firm's sources of competitive advantage lie. Don’t ever overlook the critical role of defining the company’s Core Purpose and Core Values before you start.

Believing Strategy Can Be Built in a DayMany executive teams earnestly believe that effective strategies can be identified, explored, and agreed upon during abbreviated offsite meetings where the main driver of the agenda is the timing of snack breaks. While offsite meetings are useful forums in which to share information and address key issues, meetings should be adequately timed over days or weeks if necessary, so that sufficient preparation, review and discussion can occur before and during the event. We have found that breaking the process into multiple sessions, each with assigned pre-work, allow participants to reflect on the work being done in less pressured surroundings and provide clearer input to the plans.

Failing to Link Business Planning with Strategic ExecutionAccording to a recent survey, execution overall and strategy execution in particular hold the first and second positions when it comes to "top issues" in executive's minds. Executing strategy requires the work of the entire organization, whereas business planning only requires the top team. One of the greatest challenges of the planning team is the ability to link their work with ongoing strategy execution. Strategic success demands a simultaneous view of planning and doing. Managers must be thinking about executing even as they are formulating the plan. They also must find a means of effectively cascading the corporate plan down into the various functions and business units so that all of the work is aligned.

Dodging Strategy Review MeetingsBusiness plans quickly become obsolete when there is no activity in place to keep them alive. Worse, managers sometimes feel freed from execution accountability when reviews are continually rescheduled or dropped from the calendar altogether. Successful businesses have made their business process a continuous and dynamic one. This is a more realistic approach than the once-a-year planning meeting that still dominates many corporate business planning efforts. The most direct way to maintain a consistent focus on strategy is to schedule and hold regular strategy review meetings. At the end of the business plan formulation, managers should establish a strategic governance process where business plan review meetings are scheduled a year in advance. In the meetings, with each of the strategies and tactics having an owner responsible for it, there is accountability. The measures that have been developed provide a strong basis for review of the success of the pan and what may need to be modified to keep on track.

Business planning tied to strong execution is a winning combination. Our clients are enjoying this success. How may we assist you?

Thanks

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Turnaround Management – Tips that work

Is your company in a “turnaround” condition? The common definition of a turnaround is very broad. It is basically about improving performance from one state to a better one. Being in this situation can cover more than just those companies that are about to go under. It can also be companies that have great opportunities for growth ahead of them, but need to change the way they do business in order to capitalize on them. While there are common lessons that apply to all, in this article we will focus on turnarounds from a negative position.

In the recent economic climate, we have become accustomed to companies struggling, with many going out of business. They haven’t been able to control their costs effectively or create the sources of revenue that will sustain the company. The majority of respected surveys put the success rate of turnarounds in these situations at between 20% and 35%, depending on the definition of under-performance and success. Those with turnaround experience know that turnaround situations are usually highly stressful and, if unsuccessful, very poorly rewarded.

Yet, they offer some excellent insights on what is important for a new CEO to consider. Clearly, there are factors that are unique to certain situations but in general these seven factors have led to success in most turnaround situations for troubled companies. For those companies who are not in turnaround mode but need business acceleration, there are some gold nuggets in here too.

1. Identify the real problem.
There are two generic reasons. Either something major went wrong for a short time, usually loss of a dominant customer or a dramatic market change; or something minor went wrong for a long time, usually poor understanding of customer or product profitability, that led to misguided allocation of capital and resources. Given the economic climate, it is tempting to blame market changes when things go wrong. That may also be true. What matters is the need to establish what went wrong and fix it.

2. Take control of time.
Senior teams, and particularly new CEOs, experience relentless demands on their time from all stakeholder groups from the Board, down through the banks, suppliers and customers. At the same time, management is constantly harried by a series of apparently urgent tasks, each of which is critical in its own way. The CEO needs to create breathing space for actually working on the business operation as a whole. While there are the fires to fight, there is also a necessity to protect the time that they and their team need to think, understand the problems in the business, formulate the plan, and implement it.

3. Get the finances under control.
Creating a bottom-up budget and making the team accountable for every part of income and spending. In addition to problems of solvency and profitability, most companies in turnaround situations have issues with liquidity. Whereas profitability can be addressed internally by sensible planning and performance management, liquidity usually requires external support from financiers, ranging from payment holidays through to cash injections. Sources will need to be reassured that there exists a viable business both in the short and mid-term, and that they are not throwing good money after bad. This liquidity brings breathing space that allows management to make calm, rational decisions that support long term survival and profitability.

4. Make promises you know you can keep.
In a turnaround situation, all of the stakeholders are concerned: employees, shareholders, banks, creditors, business partners, customers and suppliers. Increasing their confidence is critical to making any progress. Management has to be proactive and make a series of promises, which it knows it can keep. Hitting these checkpoints is the most effective tool management has to build its credibility.

5. Upgrade the executive team.
New plans almost always require a new team that is committed and able to execute the plan. Seldom is there a dramatic change in the fortunes of a company without a corresponding change in the senior team. This means at least two or three changes in senior personnel and that started with the change in CEO. It should be done quickly and bringing in senior consultants with specific experience is an excellent short term aid.

6. Simplify
Complexity is a double-edged sword in turnarounds. Companies often get into trouble when they take on too much and when they are in trouble they try extra benefits to get out of what they are doing. When resources and time are constrained, the business needs to concentrate on doing a small number of things well. This can mean reducing product lines, cutting or selling business units, outsourcing business processes or numerous other simplifications depending on the situation. The process of simplification needs to go far enough to give the remaining activities the focus of management time and investment required to do them well.

As you are reading this article, you might think that all of these tips are common sense and relatively obvious. However, all of them are also easy to dismiss, overlook or delay. DON”T!!

Let us know how we can assist you. We have experience across a broad range of industries and turnaround situations.

Thanks,

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Time for a tune up for you and your company?

It’s almost Spring and the economy is just starting to blossom. But is your business ready to blossom and grow into full bloom? Do you really want to continue business as usual? Can you or your company afford business as usual? Are you finding that you are working much longer hours and not achieving all the results that you had wanted?





Our experience has been that after the economy becomes tight, companies benefit from an effectiveness check. Much like your car does when you take it in for a tune up to make those adjustments that keep it running right. This covers the basic analysis of what is and what is not working, resetting the processes and reviewing the use of your resources to help cut costs and increase the output they generate.

That's why we're offering you our Spring time specials. Choose one from these packages.

• Analyze and identify key challenges that impact your profitability with recommendations for how to deal with them effectively and to navigate the profitability maze.
• Review and upgrade the branding opportunities for your company and your products to increase customer appeal and profitability.
• Review your marketing programs and recommend implementation upgrades that make the plans more effective.
• Discuss and develop a management action plan to ensure employees understand their role in reaching key goals and get the information they need to perform.



Book before April 15 and we will conduct two half-day sessions on one of these packages for $3,500 (30% off the regular rate). We will take the time to review the findings and recommendations with you and may even help get you started on the upgrades.

To reserve a time or for additional information, contact us

Spring ahead this year. Let us help.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Core Values are the Basis for Organizational Effectiveness

As you know by now, I spent 23 years at Procter & Gamble, starting at the bottom of the advertising/marketing ladder and with the company’s policy of promoting from within, rose to an executive level. The advantage that I had, as do all P&G employees, is the fact that the core values are known and lived by not only a few in management, but almost everyone around you.

It was easy to see employees, who were dedicated, management who cared about the staff and who knew the business and customers who were loyal. The logic of why this organization worked so well was obvious. It was the solid foundations on which this corporate structure was built. Those foundations were the corporate values. However, they were not mentioned overtly. Nor were they written up on any brass plaques or signs hanging on the walls. But evident they were. How did this organization succeed in having “everyone singing from the same book”? The answer lies in the nature and extent of the training that all staff experienced and shown daily by all around who served as role models.

Some management writers have coined the phrase “walking the talk”. It is intended to mean that management, and particularly top management, must model the behavior they expect of others. But how often does it happen and more importantly, does it work? As Lebow points out “The only thing that really changes behavior is when the proclaimed values are practiced at every level, including at the top”. The inference can be drawn that not only must managers “do what they say”, but there also must be a collective understanding of “what precisely it is that we should all do”.

In today’s economic environment, spending 23 years with one company is rare. So is the promotion from within concept because it entails training and development investments and the knowledge that much of the benefit is going to go to other companies as employees move on. We have been scripted as consumers and business managers to want “instant” gratification. Hire someone who has the talent and experience based on previous work and companies and utilize them until either they no longer can provide the value or they are lured away by other companies.

I have also found that candidates when evaluating possible employment opportunities with another company seldom consider the values of that company and whether they match with their own value set. Certainly position, title, compensation, perks and expected work are all evaluated Yet the single greatest reason for people moving from one company to another is their lack of fit with company values in one way or another.

Having worked for Procter & Gamble and then Clorox from the time I came out of graduate school, I perhaps foolishly assumed that all companies had positive company values. I quickly found that this wasn’t the case when I moved to my first privately held company. The business results and internal chaos were a direct reflection of ill-defined and often negative company core values.

Most successful companies focus on their core competencies, not to be confused with core vales, at least to some extent and there is a desire to hone those competencies. This leads to the companies instituting MBOs, Quality Circles, TQM, ISO9000+, Benchmarking, Process Engineering, Six Sigma and many others. While all these strategies are based on sound theory, they do not reflect the very nature of why the organization has been successful that of corporate behavior that is based on shared values - the Core Values of the company

We are often asked as we lead the strategic business planning process for clients, why we start with the Core Purpose of the company and the Core Values. All organizations have values, whether they are publicly evident or not. These drive the success of the business plan that we are creating. That success is ultimately dependent on the people in the organization and how well they work and exhibit the Core Values.

By now, you should be convinced of the importance of Core Values and making them a living part of your organization.

BUT!

The questions for you as a leader of your organization, whether at the “C” level or down through manager are:
1 What are your personal Core Values?
2 How well are they known and lived?
3 How do they match up with the Company’s Core Values?

You don’t need a behavioral scientist or an organizational development expert to help you. You and other business people can identify them and then instill them. If you need help, contact us. Core Values provide strong foundations for organizational effectiveness.

Thanks

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Are you a Leader?

Of course you are! If you are holding any management or executive position you must be a leader. Or at least have some leadership qualities. But what are the key leadership qualities. Much has been written about leadership and many, many great leaders have been studied in detail. Some actually become “icons” by virtue of their success and that may or may now have anything to do with their leadership style.

We are not suggesting that you exhibit all of the attributes listed below. If you did, we all would be following you as an “icon”. The key is to review them and understand which ones fit you now and which ones you believe you could adopt to make you more effective. Be selective and pick the few that will provide the greatest leverage to you and your organization.

Leaders (distilled from High Impact Leadership by Mark Sanborn):
1. Spend 50-75% of their day focusing on the top 3-4 items in their business.
2. Focus on how best to use their time and energy and the time and energy of others.
3. Not only do things right, they do the right things.
4. Use future focus, strategic anticipation.
5. Achieve excellence by investing additional time and energy if it makes the product, service, or outcome noticeably better for their business.
6. Determine how to get people & organizations to improve.
7. Recognize the importance of setting goals for employees that are not easy to achieve.
8. Recognize that change is an indisputable good condition and make change (improvement) a necessity.
9. Involve people in how change will take place.
10. Continually grow through study and introspection.
11. Dare to be different.
12. Constantly ask themselves and others what has been done to add value to the organization.
13. Make sure they are asking the right questions and search for all the right answers.
14. Learn to act on incomplete information.
15. Are willing to make more mistakes.
16. Follow the adage "if it isn't broken, make it better".
17. Create a sense of urgency - ask "What's next?"
18. Realize that performance is achieved through coaching, training and practice.
19. Lead with enthusiasm.
20. Leaders Create Leaders.

How did you do? Did you recognize qualities about yourself on this list? What should you be doing that you could be doing that would make you a more effective leader?

We have worked with many senior executives. If you would like some help or mentoring, contact us. We would love to help.

Thanks

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Analyzing Your Business Needs - And a Free Offer

Many companies struggle under the weight of large amounts of data. They have been unable to effectively and efficiently turn it into useful information. Worse still, they have not been able to use it to successfully analyze the business and therefore take the steps necessary to either handle the challenges or take advantage of the opportunities.

We have developed a simple questionnaire that we use with our clients to provide a snap shot of the business and can lead to targeted effort on improvements. This may help you analyze your business as well.

Just respond to each statement below with a simple ranking.
1 Strongly Disagree
2 Disagree
3 Neither Agree nor Disagree
4 Agree
5 Strongly Agree

Maver Management Group Business Self Assessment
1. Our business goals are clear and have been communicated to all employees.

2. Our business progress is at or above forecast and is accelerating.

3. We have a written business plan and strategies that are known by all managers and guide their activities.

4. We understand our core competencies and our business plans are built on them.

5. We have identified the key issues facing the company and a specific plan is in place to address each issue.

6. Our company and our products have a clear positioning and it is promoted by Sales and Marketing.

7. There is a clear customer focus across the organization.

8. We are a preferred supplier to our customers.

9. Our revenue and profit is usually very close to forecast.

10. Our financial measures and results are known and understood by all managers.

11. We have clear metrics that measure the progress on each of our business plan strategies and the advancement toward our long term goals.

12. We understand the bottlenecks in our operations and have programs in place to address them.

13. We have a strong development and training program for our personnel.

14. We have alliances with other companies that extend our capabilities cost effectively.

15. New products make up a growing percent of our business and their market introductions are at or ahead of forecast.

If you have ranked any with 1 or 2, you have identified an area of concern. If you have more than two or three statements ranked this way, you may have a significant problem ahead of you. Very few executives have ranked their operations as all 4s or 5s. If you rank your company in this way, you might want to get a second opinion from within your company. Generally, when this happens the others see the business differently.

This should give you a start on identifying the issues that are holding you back and also the areas upon which you might build to accelerate your progress.

Special OfferSince we use this tool regularly, share your results with us and we will provide an analysis of your results free of charge.

We’ll even discount our regular business planning price if we can help you use the analysis to accelerate your business progress.

Try it out!

Thanks.

John


John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Business New Year’s Resolutions

It’s a new year. A new quarter. A new month. And you have enthusiastically thought about how you will make this new time so much better for your company and for you personally. You have a clean slate upon which to write. Well, as they said in that car rental commercial, “Not exactly”. There are a number of carryovers from last year, quarter and month, right?

In fact, it is the carryovers and habits set before that are the major causes of new resolutions and plans not being put in motion or carried out.

Unfortunately, the thoughts are just in your head and unless they are written down in the form of a plan and shared with your organization, the chance of them actually happening is virtually zero.

There must be a concrete change in order to alter the course of events. If you keep on doing the same things, you will keep on getting the same results. It’s not just the definition of insanity; it is what happens to most businesses.

The most effective change is the creation of an updated strategic plan. It can be a plan created from scratch or one that is updated and modified to take into account the current business and industry environment. The Institute for Strategic Planning has found that 73% of companies do not have a written plan that is known throughout the company. No wonder that business continues as it always has.

This is the moment to invest the resources and time to put those new thoughts down in a plan and capitalize on the opportunities in front of you. Many see this as tedious and unproductive effort. Yes, it can be if not done properly or the plan is not acted upon. It needs to have assigned responsibility with measures that cause accountability and retooling of the plans based on in market responses.

Have you done this with your company yet? If not, what is stopping you? You don’t have to be the CEO, although that clearly would help. You can put this into action at any level and your success will attract others to you.

If you need a format, we have a simple one that has proven to work effectively across a broad range of industries. If you need help using it or whatever other format you choose, please contact us. We are experts at this type of work.

Just get started before the slate fills up with old carryovers.

Thanks.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management