Long and Winding Road

It's been a long and winding road....

Sorry for the blatant Beatles rip-off, but that is the best description I could find.  The last 18 months have brought a tremendous upheaval in my life, so much so that I couldn't devote any time whatsoever to my blog.  All of that is about to change.  Let me explain.

Over the last two years, I have started two new enterprises and traversed the great divide that is divorce.  Now, any one of those events would cause a sane human being some stress and consternation.  That wasn't good enough for me, I had to do all three.  While I have had some very dark moments during this period, I have thus far been able to convince myself that all of the pain was for the greater good.  I have lost three people who were at one time in my corner (not so much over the last 8 or so years), I hope at some point we can all create some form of a relationship.  Only time will tell.  Honestly, I believe they will be better off traveling their path without me.  The journeys that once were intertwined had become irreversibly separated.  Apparently, God has another plan for me.  This is a business blog, and my family at one time were all involved in my businesses, so I can easily draw a line from one to the other.  It's like sorta like losing a business partner that you had been with for over 30 years (That's how long we were together) only a LOT more intense!

This turmoil has brought more perspective into my life.  After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?  So far this hasn't killed me, and I am feeling a bit more like myself lately.  You see, I had lost that for a long time.  Things were too good.  I once again have that "edge" that drives me to succeed.  The complacency is gone, I am once again stepping outside of my comfort zone to achieve things most wouldn't even consider.  Stay tuned for more!

Too Many Chiefs

Have you ever worked for a company that had Co-CEOs, where both were extremely strong personalities and didn't always see “eye-to-eye” on issues?  How about an indistinguishable chain of command?  Maybe it was a board of directors that didn’t understand or value the CEO/Presidents role in the organization, and took it upon themselves to give guidance to the staff directly.


These scenarios are played out in companies all over the world on a daily basis, and are causing trillions of dollars in lost productivity and missed opportunities.  It is impossible to get multiple personalities to agree consistently.  Trying is an exercise in futility, so preparing for the situation is an imperative.  If a company is to be governed by a board, the board needs to have an odd number of members to provide a "tie breaker" vote.  All of the board members need to commit to provide the appearance of agreement to staff once that vote has been settled in order to maintain a cohesive operation.  Daily operations require a clear chain of command so as not to be confusing to the team members.  The employees report to their managers, the managers report to the VP’s, the VP’s report to the President/COO/CEO (depending on structure), the President/ CEO reports to the board.  Simple right?  These are absolutes in business.  No “special circumstances” or “just this one time” scenarios.

When I was in my early twenties, I worked for a company that had four owners, three of whom worked in the company daily.  There were “official” titles for each of the owners, but all of the employees knew that the titles really didn't mean anything as they frequently made decisions in each others areas of responsibilities.  What happened when an employee didn't get the desired answer was akin to going to “ask Dad” when mom said “no”.  As you can probably imagine, this created a tremendous amount of tension among the partners and the employees alike.  Eventually, communication deteriorated into a completely dysfunctional mess and the company closed down, taking their investment and many years of service with it.


Co-CEO’s don’t work because in order to be a good CEO, a person must have certain leadership qualities.  Those very same leadership qualities make it very difficult to share the role.  I can hear many of you chiming in already, “What about Oracle, or Chipotle or Whole Foods, they have Co-CEOs?”  Yes, technically they do, but if you look at the division of labor, that is not necessarily the case.  In regards to Chipotle and Whole Foods, keeping the Founder in place as a Co-CEO was an effort to keep the “spirit” of the company alive while a stronger manager came in to bolster the systems.  In the case of Oracle, the two CEOs have very specific areas that they attend to, and cross the line only when the responsible Co-CEO is otherwise occupied.


If a company doesn’t define the roles very succinctly, with significant consequences for “crossing over”, the result is often chaos or worse.  It is better to title the roles closer to their actual duties.  If you are responsible for daily operations (sales, manufacturing, logistics, etc.) then a COO title is more appropriate.  If you are responsible for strategic vision, administration and acting as a liaison between the board and/or investors, that is more of a CEO role.


I can provide many examples where this type of situation became unworkable.  Big companies, small companies, and anything in between, are not immune to its effects.  In fact, sometimes the larger companies try to “correct” the issue by spending money on consultants, subject matter experts and lawyers, examining “problem areas”.  These areas are designated by leadership, deflecting their own culpability, and creating a loop that continues until the money runs out or one of the leaders gets frustrated and leaves!

To avoid this in your company, simply make sure that the roles are clearly defined, the penalties for crossing into another leaders area of responsibility are meaningful, the leadership respects each others role and how appearances effect the rank and file employees.  Simple Right?







Eric Johnson is  a Strategic Business Consultant, Executive Coach, Private Equity Investor, and has started 11 companies on his own.  For more information, go to www.JohnsonCapital.solutions 

x

Team Vision has Better Focus

A Diverse Team Can Drive Success

An individual may create and lead the initial vision, but the team will provide distinct viewpoints that will be invaluable as time goes on, bringing to the project an appeal and insight that will give the project "legs".

This is why it is important to assemble a well-rounded team of individuals that all complement each other, yet retain their own distinct voices the process.  I have lead many teams during my career and have had experiences ranging from the “rag-tag” team with no formal education but the tremendous heart and a hunger for learning, to the “all-star’ team with tremendous pedigree, whose incessant politicking ultimately spelled doom for the organization as it was envisioned.  I have learned that team building is an art, and as such, it is not always perfect, rather it takes nurturing and tinkering to get it to the point where you have the right combination of knowledge, motivation, hands-on skills, and leadership.  There is no room for ego, everything must be done for the benefit of the common goal.

When this is accomplished, it is beautiful and I liken it to riding a wave.  Everything seems to flow naturally and effortlessly.  Every member doing their part selflessly and co-authoring a grand sonata of achievements on their way to greatness.

In the late nineties, I led a team where this occurred.  I would love to take credit for assembling the team, but it was handed to me fully formed, all I had to do was my part.  Sure the team was financially successful, that was expected, but we also accomplished many great things that had never been dreamed of previously, and developed life long friendships with each other in the process.    We had all come from similar but varied backgrounds, so there was a commonality that provided us with a base for communication and relating to one another.  The variance provided us with different vantage points that were beneficial when solving difficult and complex problems.  The resulting business processes and techniques are still being widely utilized today in that industry.

Sometimes you can “stack the deck” with well-qualified individuals with decades of experience and not get the anticipated results because the team didn't “buy-in” to the leaderships vision, or worse, actively sought to undermine it, feeling they were more qualified or otherwise superior to the current leadership.   There is a great truth in the idiom “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch”.  The negativity of one employee can bring a whole team to its’ knees, so they must be dealt with quickly and decisively, either through counseling or dismissal.

This is actually a more common scenario than you would think.  It is also a very difficult situation from which to recover.  There are often many ways to operate a company, and especially in the start-up phase, many of them could be highly profitable.  In this situation, the leadership has an obligation to assess the merits of each scenario, including any resource allocation, strategy, and motivations, and make adjustments for the benefit of the company without the ego.  Many high-level executives, and especially founders, can have difficulty with this.  If there is a (business) need for a founder/CEO to step aside, there can be a sensation of loss akin to losing a loved one, especially if the start-up process was long or particularly difficult.

I have participated in nine of my own start ups and this situation has occurred in more than half of them when an unfamiliar team is assembled.  It is very difficult to predict the path an unknown entity will take when under pressure to perform.  Does this mean that you should forego the experienced team in favor of the “heart” of a younger, more malleable team?  I believe the answer lies in a balance of experience and leadership with a malleable young team with “heart”.  I see great value in “seeding” your team with people you know well.  They in turn know what is expected of them and can help to relay and maintain the vision with the newer team members.

Once you have the right team in place, and a clear, fact based strategic path laid out, there are very few obstacles that can deter the team from achieving their goals.  So tell me, do you have your “dream team” in place?

For more information or to engage my services, please go to www.JohnsonCapital.solutions 

Be Quick to Listen and Slow to React.

Taking time to listen to people who want to share something with you will keep you aware and help you to respond to trends.  Reacting to trends or complaints too quickly can lead you down the wrong path and can be extremely costly.
This is a tough lesson for most of us to learn, as it goes directly against human nature. People, and especially the “type A” personalities often associated with entrepreneurship, usually feel as though they have a pretty good grasp on what is going on in their respective fields of expertise. The danger lies in getting into a groove and becoming stuck. “We’ve always done it that way”, is a hallmark of this tragic mode of transacting business. I’m not saying that one should change things just for the sake of change, rather, all processes should be reviewed regularly and benchmarked against what is being absorbed from constant customer data mining.
As a sole proprietor, the customer data mining can be relatively simple, i.e. asking questions of your customer base as they are shopping or checking out. The further removed you are from the action of the sale, the more complex this process becomes, and can include social media, industry trending analysis, A/B testing and a myriad of other tools to get to the heart of your customers' desires.
Let me give you a few examples of data mining that I hope will illuminate some possibilities for you. Early in 2009, I was operating a small retail shop with only one other employee. We were selling a fairly complex product with a lot of moving parts, and it was intimidating to many of our customers. “What do I do if this thing ever breaks?” was a phrase that was heard on a nearly daily basis in the shop. We didn’t have a repair shop, in fact, there wasn’t a repair shop within fifty miles of us. After several months of research and polling our customer base, we had enough information to correctly plan and open our repair shop onsite. This was a boon to our business and soon after the opening, revenues from the repairs accounted for 60% of the overall business!
In another instance, I was operating a multi-million dollar business that was considering expanding into an adjunct line of business at significant cost, to increase incremental sales. The marketing team and sales team had created a beautiful proposal with data that had been gathered from a multitude of sources (including several highly-regarded thought leaders) but hadn’t taken the step of polling our actual customer base to get their feedback on whether or not they would actually purchase this product. As it turned out, the problem that this new product solved didn’t justify its’ cost in our geography (the problem wasn’t an imperative for our customers) and they were not very likely to make the purchase. That customer poll not only saved the company a significant amount of money in inventory, labor, and advertising but also saved us the embarrassment of rolling out a huge marketing program that would have clearly painted us as “out of touch” with our clientele.
Customer service agents, delivery personnel, and really any customer-facing personnel can be a tremendous source of information. When the client lodges a complaint, it should be dealt with quickly and decisively and should exceed the clients' expectations. That is good business and a great way to ensure that you will have customers for a lifetime. In doing this, however, one must be careful not to make policy changes “on the fly”. Doing so jeopardizes future business by making it increasingly difficult for customer service agents to know what to do in a given circumstance and appearing hesitant. A better way is to track the nature of the complaints and to get to the root of the problem. If it is systemic and policies need to be changed, then do so after the analysis has been completed. More often than not, the issue is a “one-off”, where a confluence of factors created a bad situation.
These are a few examples of many that demonstrate the value of gathering information (listening), verifying it (slowly reacting), and then utilizing it to make sound business decisions. By following this method consistently, your business will benefit, your stress level will decrease, and you may even run across new opportunities that will take you to the next level!

For more info on or to contact Eric Johnson, Click Here

Be a student of life

     Be curious about the things around you.  Learn about them.  Meet people, get to know them.  You never know where inspiration will start.  Give it the opportunity to take root in your mind.

Several times in my life I have found myself at a crossroads with little direction to follow.  One time, in particular, stands out in my mind, because it led me on a great adventure and gave me the opportunity to meet wonderful people and help to improve the quality of life of many.  It all started from the somewhat selfish thought of trying to save a little money.

I was in between projects and enjoying a little time off.  (Some may call this unemployed, I prefer my version)  I realized one day as I was driving around my little town that I had a big luxury car and spent most of my driving time by myself in it.  While I enjoyed the comfort of the vehicle, it was probably not the most cost-effective mode of transportation given the cost of gas.  (At that time around $5 per gallon)  I had ridden motorcycles as a younger man and thought that, since most of my driving was within a five-mile radius of my home, maybe a cheap little scooter would be a more cost-effective alternative.  

I went to the local Powersports retailer, thinking that I would simply pick out the model I wanted and drive it home that afternoon.  To my surprise, I wasn’t the first one with that idea, they were sold out of all of their models for the model year.  Figuring that maybe it was just because I lived in an affluent neighborhood and most had probably purchased them on a whim like I was attempting to do, I set out to find a dealer in a different neighborhood and make my purchase.  Several dealerships later I began to realize that my thinking may have been flawed.

I went home and turned to the Internet for support.  Scanning the world wide web for a dealership that both had vehicles in stock and was close enough that I could pick it up in a day or two.  Then something interesting happened, I stumbled upon an electric version of the scooter I had been searching to find.  The possibility of NEVER going to a gas station to fill up intrigued me.  I did more research to find out what kind of range they might have.  Did they have to have a REALLY long extension cord or what?  No, they run on batteries, good, how far will they go before you have to recharge the batteries?  Most had a range of 25-50 miles.  That’s fine for me, everything I do is within a five-mile radius of my house, I could go all day if I plan well.  Do I have to renew my motorcycle license?  Well, if I don’t need to travel over 20 MPH they are considered “Electric Bicycles” and I don’t need a license of any sort!  This was all great news, and these electric bicycles were less expensive than the gas scooters I had been looking at.  So, let's see, less cost to purchase, less fuel cost, less maintenance, and no special licensing?  Where can I test drive one of these things, I want to buy one.  Google search….the nearest dealer is 400 miles away!  Well, that was a good idea that will have to wait until I am in that area.  

Green Wheelin' Scooters

Flash forward four months and I am at the county fair on the last day.  It is about dusk when I run across a booth where a manufacturer is selling, of all things, electric scooters!  I start to talk to the salesperson and take a test drive, these things are a blast to ride.  Plenty of power, very nimble, and I decided to try to work a deal and buy it.  As I am negotiating with the salesperson, I over hear another salesperson speaking with the manager about having to ship all of these scooters back to Iowa the next day.  “Too bad we didn’t sell more of these, now we have to repackage them and ship them back to the warehouse.  That will be expensive.”  I get an idea, if I can negotiate a good enough price, I can buy all of these electric scooters and sell them on eBay.  I may even make enough to get a free scooter for myself!  So I turn to the salesman helping me and ask, “How much for ALL of the electric scooters?”  He turns to me and gives me the “yeah, right” stare and says “Seriously?”  “Yes,” I say, “I will buy them all, right now, if you give me the right price”.  “I need to speak with my manager”, he says as he turns and walks away.  After a few whispers the two of them return, his manager introduces herself and tells me that they will need about 45 minutes to work up a price and that I should come back then.  I left to walk around the fair for a little while and when I returned, they had a total price for me.  The number they came up with was well below what I had in my mind was a reasonable price, so I bought 17 electric scooters.  

Scooters for Sale

My intention was to sell them on eBay and Amazon and make enough money to essentially pay for my personal scooter.  I had access to a vacant storefront, knew how to sell online and now had inventory.  Simple, right?  The next day, I rented a trailer and picked up my bounty and took it to the vacant storefront.  I didn’t bother to paper the windows to hide what was going on inside, I wasn’t planning on being there that long.  Anxious to ride, I uncrated my new scooter and started to assemble it.  As I was assembling it, there was a knock on the window.  I opened the door and the guy asked me when I was going to open the store.  I explained to him that I wasn’t really planning on opening a “store”, but that I would sell a scooter to him if he wanted one.  He bought one.  This scenario happened over and over during the next two weeks until I had sold all of the scooters.  (except my own, of course)  Being the entrepreneur that I am and always looking for a new “opportunity”, I was able to recognize that there may be some potential with this product line.  So I wrote a business plan, gathered the needed resources and started my new enterprise.  The business grew over the next 5 years and became a full-service dealership with service and rentals, an expanded product line that included 5 national brands and was very successful.

None of this could have happened if I hadn’t been aware of what was occurring around me.  First, that there was a shortage of economical vehicles, second, that there was an opportunity to buy a “dealership” at a very reasonable price, and third, that the local market accepted the product, in fact, devoured the product, and was able to support a Bricks and Mortar establishment.  Being a “Student of Life” allowed me to assemble the pieces needed to start and grow the electric scooter business into a successful company.

If you would like to know more about me, you can get more information on my website at www.DynamicStrategies.Ltd 

Confidence is for Closers

Have you ever had “butterflies in your stomach” prior to speaking with a customer?  That nervousness can be caused by uncertainty or lack of confidence. 

As was typical in the industry when I started out, I spent many days traveling with a senior salesman or sales manager until they felt confident that I was ready to represent the company on my own.  One day, I was making calls with my sales manager and I was having severe troubles.  I would stumble over my words, lose focus and have to start my memorized presentation over, and sheepishly hand brochures to the customers in the hopes that they would simply place an order and I could leave quickly.  I could tell my boss was getting frustrated with me, and I honestly thought this would be my last day due to my lack of confidence.  It was late in the afternoon, and getting close to quitting time when we called on a customer, and that experience would forever change my life.  As we walked into his office, I noticed that he had a guitar leaning up against the wall.  As a guitarist myself, and knowing that I was probably fired anyway, I asked him about it.  This sparked a very natural conversation between two guitarists that ranged from various amplifiers and accessory equipment to the many bands we had both played in, to the groupies that followed the bands and some of the things we had seen and experienced with them.  After about 40 minutes of this, I realized that my boss was fidgeting a bit behind me and started to panic a little bit.  I did the best I could to bring the conversation back to the product that we were selling and to my surprise, he actually bought some!  I almost lost it!  The most unprofessional sales pitch I had ever delivered had worked and I was walking away with an order.  To say I was confused about what had just happened would not have even begun to convey what I was feeling.

As we walked out of the office and got back into the car, my sales manager was smiling, almost laughing, at what he had just experienced.  I started up the car and started to drive away when he turned to me and said, “If you can do that at every call, you will be my best salesman”  He then went on to explain to me that what I had unwittingly done was taught in sales training courses the world over.  The confidence I had when I noticed his guitar (and realized I could talk to him one on one) had allowed me to develop a relationship almost instantaneously.  That relationship led to closing the sale.  

From that point on, whenever I go to see a new customer, I am scanning the office for something I know a little bit about, just to develop that commonality.  The boost of confidence that will create a bond that opens the door for me to make the sale.  It gets easier as I get older and my experience grows, more experiences = more things to talk about and more confidence because I have had successful experiences.

BE PERSISTENT

Have you ever had a customer that has a very difficult reputation? Early in my sales career, I was working for an international wholesale distribution company that was in a major expansion mode. People were being hired there at a very rapid pace, and the opportunity for advancement was everywhere. This was a place where I needed to make a big splash in order to move up the ladder. After I had gone through their training period, I was assigned a sales territory and hit the road with a recently promoted salesman who was tasked with getting me “up to speed” with his former customers. We were on our way to see a guy named “Joe Bob”, who was an imposing figure at 6’ 2” and 300 lbs. and was notorious because he had literally thrown salesmen out of his office by their collars. The stories I was being told were definitely making an impression and creating a bit of apprehension.

Upon arriving at “Joe Bob’s widgets”, we went inside and asked for “Joe Bob” and were promptly told he was out. I have to say that I was a bit relieved to hear this at first, I didn’t want to be thrown out by my collar! As we were leaving, the other salesman tells me that “Joe Bob” was actually standing behind the guy that said he was out! Amazed, I asked why we left when clearly he was “in”. The response astonished me, he said “Everyone knows that “Joe Bob” doesn't like a salesman and he is just mean!” All of a sudden, I had an epiphany, our competitors product was all over “Joe Bob’s” shop, so he was obviously dealing with a “salesman” from our competitor. At that point I made it my mission to take that business away from my competitor and let them know that there was a “new sheriff in town”.

I called on “Joe Bob” once a week for the next two months, each time meeting with a similar response to the one I had received during the first call. I was beginning to lose confidence that I could make the change. I had tried all of the usual salesman tricks, bringing doughnuts for breakfast, pizza for lunch and providing information about new products and trends that might affect his business. Nothing seemed to be working, the only response I ever got from “Joe Bob” was “no, not interested”. (Which had increased from “no”)

Finally, on the tenth week of calling on “Joe Bob”, I got a break. He was just closing up shop for the day when I arrived when he asked me why I kept coming by. Finally, more than three words from “Joe Bob”, this was a major breakthrough! I told him my plan, and that I wanted to earn his business. I explained that I was not going to give up until “Joe Bob’s Widgets” became one of my best customers. Suddenly, laughter roared throughout the office, he smiled and said, “Well, I believe you. No one has shown the persistence that you have in my whole career. I will give you a shot”. He placed a small order with me that night and I had it delivered to him first thing in the morning. (Remember, under-promise, over-deliver)

“Joe Bob’s Widgets” became a good customer of mine. I never completely displaced my competitor, but I never gave up trying, and that persistence paid off. I did become the vendor of choice for “Joe Bob’s Widgets”, always getting the first call when something was needed. I also became known within my company as the kid who “tamed” “Joe Bob”! While he never got any easier to deal with, “Joe Bob” and I did business together for many years until I moved to another company, and we remained in contact with each other until he passed away many years later. If I had given up after three, five or even nine no’s, I would never have had the opportunity to get to know “Joe Bob” or benefit from his vast knowledge of the business.

Eric Johnson is a Strategic Business Consultant, Private Equity Investor, and has started 7 companies on his own.  For more information, go to www.JohnsonCapital.solutions