LW55…. Rock time bumper year-end edition
MEMORABLE PRESENTERS UNDERSTAND that they should not offend their audience.
Here are some suggestions to keep the audience on your side.
Know how to pronounce any proper noun connected with the organization. If you mention someone in the audience, make sure you know how to pronounce the name.
If you know you are going to be discussing an issue that will get resistance from the audience, early in the presentation you should stress areas where you do agree with the audience, but be sensitive to the themes that the person or audience may feel very strongly about. Don’t make don't make light of them.
Don't use profanity or sexist or racist language, and do not ridicule an occupation or socio-economic background. Don't talk about yourself extensively; but do so only to establish credibility.
Learn as much as possible about the audience ahead of time so you will not inadvertently insult them because you are unaware of a problem they are facing.
MEMORABLE PRESENTERS REMEMBER that they are there to entertain or educate, but not offend.
and now on to Leading Ways........... year end, a time for reflection and sitting on a rock to plan your next moves…
Your Business World changed forever
during the last two years
Customer loyalties were tested; inventory stocking levels hopefully reduced; competitors either went out of business, or drastically changed the way they do business; and not to mention many banks no longer being prepared to take risks, and staying with you only as asset-based lenders.
Given the changes, when was the last time you completed a business plan utilizing the “Greenfields” approach. That’s right, imagining that you were a new business start-up.
Why adopt the Greenfields approach?
If you just plan the way you have always planned and did not imagine you were a start-up, then, potentially you could be missing some opportunities. This is because of the constraints you imagine.
Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen.
Peter Marshall |
However, if you do your planning without constraint you find new opportunities. If these are now Critical Success Factors for your business, but they appear constrained in some way then it is likely you will find a way to correctly resource. These constraints are usually about time, funding, or having the right skilled people resources for the newly identified opportunities.
Business Plans are not complex and even non business people should be able to understand what your objective is, and the potential ROI from your business. I suggest that your business plan should be no longer than 30- 40 pages. Even at that length there should be an Executive Summary of no more than two, possibly three pages.
Imagine, your whole story simplified and understandable in only 2 – 3 pages!
Cover sheet and table of Contents
The basics will include company name, address, company vision and contact information for the owners and key executive.
Contents
Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Market Opportunity
- Analysis
- Management Team
- Financial Projections
- Actions Requested and arising from the plan
Executive Summary
This is restricted to only important information such as :: Value Proposition; what your company does; what differentiates your products and services from competitors; why customers will buy your product or service; if you are seeking capital, the amount of money needed and how you plan to use it; the potential ROI on raised capital, and the proposed timeline for the return on investment.
In this Executive Summary ensure you provide compelling information about your executive team. Your investors want to know who will make the plan work.
Introduction
Start with the history of your company and include the growth of customers/clients to the present; and your success in marketing products or services. Obviously potential investors will want to know if you have been financially successful in the past.
Next will be expanded information on your Value Proposition; what your company does; what differentiates your products and services from competitors.
Market Opportunity
If we weren’t optimistic then we wouldn’t be in business. Assumptions can be dangerous, unless historically you have met or exceeded other projections. Perhaps background your success in exceeding prior projections.
Then move on to describe the new or enhanced products and services and who you will be selling them to. Describe why this industry group of customers is particularly attractive ::
How large is the target market? What are your data sources?
What market share do you currently occupy?
How fast do you expect it to grow? Who said? Where is your research?
How large is your target market, and how much of that market have you assumed you will capture?
Remember, you are not creating the market but moving customers from your competitors. Many a projection has come off the rails by underestimating how much/how fast you can move customers, and some or all of their business.
What are the threats to capturing customers in the numbers you want?
Be ready to back up your assumptions – sales at the right GP margins are critical to the success of your endeavor.
Industry Analysis
Who are your competitors?
What do they sell?
What is their market share?
Do you have any indirect competitors, such as importers?
Why will customers move to your products and services?
If your competitors get wind of your offering and pricing are they likely to match your value proposition?
Don’t make the mistake of thinking your business or products are unique, very few are. Possibly your only market advantage is the service you offer?
Your Management Team
Execution, this is now critical to your potential investors. Can your team deliver? Have they been high-achievers? It is not just about qualifications and experience…. It is about results they have produced. Provide detailed information on shareholders, directors and key executive.
Show both your organization chart and resumes in the appendices.
Move then to discuss your Operational Plan. Not only the nuts and bolts of the operation, but include all revenue streams and your cost structure. List all your assumptions and justification for them.
Outline both your marketing and monthly sales plans, as part of the Operational Plan.
Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.
Henry Ford |
List the names of key suppliers and distributors. Do you have backup plans for each?
Financial Projections
If yours is an existing business, include at least the last two years Income Statements, and Balance Sheets.
From that point forward project at least three years your Income Statements, Balance Sheets; and month-by-month cash flow forecast for at least eighteen months. For early stage companies the cash flow will compare receivables timing with payables timing in order to show complete cash needs.
Where is your breakeven? Revenue required to cover the new investment, as well as $ sales at what GP margin to breakeven, on a monthly basis. Any seasonal trends must be identified.
Stress-Test those projections
Don’t wait until you run out of cash in order to determine what went wrong. Outline the worst-case, average-case and best-case scenarios for your business. Make sure you have sufficient cash to weather the worst-case.
Sources and Uses of Funds Statement
Recently you will have seen the Katmandu public share offering and in the prospectus it was interesting to observe that most of the funds were going back to shareholders, and were not being used for business expansion. Despite that fact there offering was funded to an appropriate level and they listed on the ASX exchange.
I doubt whether you will raise much equity if your intention is to withdraw funds, and not use them to fuel growth.
In your Sources and Uses of Funds statement isolate one-time costs, from those used for ongoing business operation.
Appendices
Supporting documents should always be in the Appendices and not in the Business Plan proper. The Business Plan should be an uncluttered document and be crisp and clear.
The Appendix will usually include:
- Resumes
- Job descriptions
- Employment and non-compete contracts
- Product brochures
- Marketing Plan detail
- Research reports
- Contracts
- Letters of Intent
- Trademark registration
- Partnership agreement or articles of incorporation
So, you have planned the work. Now is the time to work the plan.
It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance and sweeps away all obstacles.
Claude M. Bristol |
Year end is also about planning life’s fun journey by, as I would say, “Sitting on a Rock.”
Simply taking the time to reflect on your successes, and planning your next goals
Living in More Than One World
Work-life lessons from the legendary Peter Drucker
By Bruce Rosenstein
Peter Drucker—“the father of modern management”—turned management theory into a serious discipline.
Yet, today, most people don’t know that Drucker’s teachings on personal growth—or self-management—are as profound as his views on organizational management. This wisdom, while a recurring theme in Drucker’s work, had remained scattered throughout his myriad writings—until now.
Creating a total life
Drucker personified the value of creating and living a “total life” with diverse interests, relationships, and pursuits—or what he called “living in more than one world.” That way, when you have a setback in one area—suffering or surviving a layoff, for instance—you can soften the blow by developing other areas of strength and support. You can also add new meaning and dimensions to your life and, with activities such as volunteer work, make a difference in the lives of others. So, how do you create a total life? Consider five key elements as exemplified by Drucker himself.
1. Practicing self-development
Self-development is a major theme throughout Drucker’s writings and teachings. “What matters,” he said, “is that the knowledge worker, by the time he or she reaches middle age, has developed and nourished a human being rather than a tax accountant or a hydraulic engineer.”
Think about your life, both as it is now and where you’d like it to go. Consider not just your work, but also your life outside of work—family, friends, interests, activities, and pursuits. Assess what’s working, what’s not, and what you might want to add or subtract to create more satisfaction and fulfillment.
2. Identifying and developing your unique strengths
The concept of core competencies may have been created for organizations, but today it applies to individuals as well. Drucker said, in his experience, few people could articulate their areas of strength. Consider what’s unique about what you do, and in what areas you excel and contribute the most, both at work and outside of work.
Focus on those strengths—your own core competencies—and find new ways to cultivate and cherish them. Odds are, you can apply them to a variety of jobs, volunteer positions, and more.
3. Creating a parallel or second career
Drucker said, “The purpose of the work on making the future is not to decide what should be done tomorrow, but what should be done today to have a tomorrow.” One unique idea he advocated was creating a “parallel career” in areas such as teaching, writing, or working in nonprofit organizations. He also encouraged developing a second career, often by doing similar work in a significantly different setting—a lawyer, for instance, might move from a traditional law firm to a legal nonprofit dedicated to a personally meaningful cause.
While still in your main job, start thinking about your own possibilities for a parallel or second career. Consider how they match your values, experience, and education, and what shifts you might need to make in your life to support such changes.
4. Exercising your generosity
An essential part of living in more than one world, Drucker believed, is displaying a sense of generosity. Here, he said, “…everybody is a leader, everybody is responsible, everybody acts.” Sharing your time and talents in areas such as volunteerism, social entrepreneurship, and mentoring not only provide opportunities to contribute, but also offer personal benefits, from broadening and deepening your life experience to expanding your circle of friends and colleagues. Think about what happens outside your workplace—in other industries, professions, and walks of life—and consider ways you can exercise your own generosity.
5. Teaching and learning
In Drucker’s vision of a strong, functioning society, education plays a key role. He believed that knowledge workers must start learning during their formal schooling and then never stop throughout their lives. However, it’s up to them, he said, to incorporate continuous learning as a natural part of their daily life— deciding what and how they’d like to learn and determining how they’ll build in the time.
Consider your own priorities for learning, as well as how you learn best—taking classes, reading articles and books, asking or observing others, or some blend therein. You might also want to teach. As Drucker acknowledged, “No one learns as much as the person who must teach his subject.”
Start where you are Drucker’s secrets to success ................ Seven tips for getting started:
1. Focus on achievement—not money
Drucker drew an important distinction between achievement and money. He suggested focusing on achievement and paying attention to how your successes, on and off the job, benefit both you and others. That doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t make money, Drucker explained, but that the pursuit of money ought to play a subordinate role.
2. Make time for thinking
Thinking is hard work, and in our fast-paced society, said Drucker, it is sorely devalued.
The point, he urged, is to break from the daily grind and think about where you are and where you’re going. You might not have the desire or means for Drucker’s suggested “week in the wilderness,” but surely you can carve out an hour now and then for self-reflection. Take a walk, practice yoga or meditation, or sit in nature.
3. Practice “systematic abandonment”
“People are effective because they say no…because they say ‘this isn’t for me,’” declared Drucker. Practice what he called “systematic abandonment”—stepping back, at regular intervals, to determine which of your present activities can be scaled back or eliminated. Only then can you make way for something more fruitful, such as teaching, learning, or volunteering.
4. Volunteer your time and talent
Drucker saw volunteerism as essential to the smooth functioning of society, as well as a satisfying way of ensuring that work doesn’t consume your life. Today, there are hundreds of volunteering opportunities to choose from. Drucker’s recommendation was simple: Find an organization and cause you believe in—and get to work!
5. Become a mentor
Mentorship may be broader than just showing someone the ropes in a group or organization. It can include wide-ranging career and life advice, and as Drucker said, provide big benefits not only to the “mentee” but also to the mentor. If you’ve been guided by mentors of your own, pay it forward by mentoring others. If not, look for opportunities to both mentor and be mentored.
6. Learn the art of leisure
Drucker observed that “loafing” is easy, but “leisure” is difficult. As important as work is, avoid allowing it to be your only source of fulfillment. Find an outside interest or two, focusing on things that may bring you pleasure, satisfaction, and a heightened sense of self-worth.
7. Be the CEO of your own life
Drucker saw self-management as an ongoing discipline, requiring self-knowledge, introspection, and personal responsibility. “In effect,” he said, “managing oneself demands that each knowledge worker think and behave like a chief executive officer.”
Start now to think of yourself as the CEO of your own life and career, and take accountability for your decisions and actions. Know who you are, what is important to you, and how you will contribute at work and in the world.
Finally, take a deep breath and don’t expect everything to happen at once. Start where you are and move towards your total life one step at a time.
Have a great week, and an even better 2010 !
Best wishes
Denis Orme
027-472-8610
Next Leading Ways --- Feb, 2010…. Hence a bumper December issue
Looking for a speaker for your next business meeting?
For a list of typical presentations go to www.leader-success.com
or contact denis.orme@yahoo.com
