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The Big Picture of Business – Achieving the Best by Preparing for the Worst: Lessons Learned from High-Profile Crises, part 1 of 4

Just as we gain wisdom from the business failures and corporate scandals, we can learn equally valuable lessons from crisis situations that were successfully handled. The insightful companies examine their own backyards… applying the discussions, uncoverings and applicabilities to how they will better manage in the future.

For many years, we will be measuring how loss of corporate credibility has tainted all facets of business, in terms of remediation, replacement, litigation, make-good, rework, damage control, recovery process, settlements to victims, decreased stock market value and sagging retail sales. The Enron scandal alone has cost each taxpayer twelve dollars.

Some of those events that had profound impacts upon us recently (and which were covered in Chapters 2 and 3) included corporate fraud, accounting irregularities, earnings misstatements, hiding expenses, Enron, Arthur Andersen, the dot.com bubble burst, Worldcom, Tyco, Qwest, Imclone, Martha Stewart and Global Crossings.

It’s not enough just to handle a crisis effectively. The follow-through and crisis preparedness planning process helps to divert other crises from transpiring. Recommendations for crisis management and preparedness as part of macro planning are offered.

Every organization and community in America is presently at a crossroads. There exist two current options. Business can be seen and known as a dynamic community that addresses its problems and moves forward in a heroic fashion…as a role model to the rest of the world. Or, the organization can bury its head in the sand and hope media attention dies down… thus becoming a generic tagline for troubled communities.

Purposes and expected benefits of reviewing business crises include:

  • Understanding the difference between good and bad handling of crises.
  • Comparing crisis follow-ups that help heal and rebuild, versus those that fester and bring destruction to cities.
  • Preparing the community to utilize the concepts of bridge building and problem remediation.
  • Implementing methodologies to address problems sooner, rather than later.
  • Creating cause-related marketing opportunities, so that local businesses can sponsor the community healing process.
  • Benchmarking the progress made and communicate it outside the community.
  • Rebuilding the community image.
  • Involving the widest base of support in pro-active change and growth.
  • Establishing safeguards against future trouble.
  • Putting more emphasis upon the positive ingredients and happenings in the community.
  • Taking hold of the future.

Some of those events that had profound impacts upon us recently, examined in this chapter, include examples of crises that were handled well, thus increasing public trust and respect.

Actions During the Crises

In times of crisis, business does what it should have done earlier: study, reflect, plan and manage change. Sadly, business adopts a “head in the sand” mentality when the crisis seemingly passes. Many rationalize that they dodged the bullet.

In the aftermath of Three Mile Island and the Exxon Valdez crisis, companies increasingly became scrutinized under the public microscope… thus affecting its Wall Street book value, reputation in the marketplace and employee morale. It became incumbent to communicate openly to media about the crisis and what was being done. Companies had to overcome the poorly handled crises, as well as mount their own proactive strategies.

In times of crisis, advisors are called upon more frequently. Crisis Management and Preparedness has been one of my areas of expertise for many years. Among the types of crises that I advised clients through were government reorganizations, plant explosions, contaminated food and drugs, school shootings, executive kidnappings, plant bombings, hostile company takeovers, natural disasters and problematic employee behaviors. I have learned that strategic planning for crises can avert them 85% of the time.

The NASA community and the entire world were saddened by the disaster of the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003. During and after the crises, NASA adopted its policy of forthright communication. They continually reinforced the determination to find out what went wrong and take whatever steps necessary to get it right. That’s laudable, and NASA is to be respected for this posture. Not every company would have approached each crisis this correctly and honorably.

There have been far-reaching business after-effects from the attacks on September 11, 2001. 1.5 million jobs were affected by the. Unemployment is at an eight-year high. September 11 is attributed as costing New York City 83,000 jobs and negatively impacting its economy by $1 billion.

In the fourth quarter of 2001, there were 408 extended mass layoff events, involving 114,711 workers, directly or indirectly attributed to the attacks. Thirty-three states reported extended mass layoff activity related in some way to the September 11 incidents. Fifty-four percent of these events and 56 percent of these separations occurred in just five states—California, Nevada, Illinois, New York and Texas. Among the workers laid off because of the terrorist attacks, 42 percent, or 44,756 workers, had been employed in the scheduled air transportation industry. An additional 28 percent, or 32,044 workers, had been employed in hotels and motels.

The U.S. airline industry reported an operating loss of more than $10 billion in 2001 and a net loss of almost $8 billion, according to Air Carrier Financial Statistics Quarterly, a compilation of airline financial reports issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Losses reported by the airline industry for 2001 compare to an operating profit of $7 billion and a net profit of almost $3 billion in 2000. In 1999, the industry reported an operating profit of almost $9 billion and net income of more than $5 billion.

The U.S. Department of Transportation paid air carriers a total of $3.8 billion in direct payments made available under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, which was enacted to compensate airlines for losses suffered as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Without these payments, which are reflected in the carriers’ results, industry losses would have been substantially greater.

The major air carriers (with annual operating revenues of more than $1 billion) reported an operating loss of more than $9 billion and a net loss of more than $7 billion. Operating profit or loss is the profit or loss from performance of air transportation and does not include non-operating income and expenses, nonrecurring items or income taxes. Net income or loss includes those items.

As new security procedures at the nation’s airports has significantly increased ground time for airline travel, interest in business aviation also increased as companies were drawn to the productivity, efficiency, safety and security of business aircraft.

Continue to part 2 of 4.


About the Author

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flameis now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.

The Big Picture of Business: Fine Wine, Aged Cheese and Valuable Antiques. Professionals Who Go the Distance.

A professional’s career and their collected Body of Work encompass time, energy, resources, perseverance and lots of commitment in order to produce. This holds true for any company, institution and for any person.

There are three key ingredients in developing deep leadership roots. Long-term success for the company and a healthy career for the individual are attributable to:

  1. The manner in which an organization or professional lives and conducts business on a daily basis. I symbolize this with the analogy Fine Wine.
  2. The evolution, education, enrichment, professional development, training and life experiences that one amasses. This continuum is symbolized by the analogy Aged Cheese.
  3. What of value is really accomplished and left behind. This shows that the business or person actually existed and contributed meaningfully to society, rather than just filling time and space on this earth. This is symbolized by the analogy Valuable Antiques.

Wine.

Just because it is a bottled alcoholic beverage doesn’t mean that it contains great wine. In the marketplace, there exist large quantities of fair wine, some bad wine and some good wine. There’s very little great wine.

Defining what is ‘good’ is a matter of judgment, perspective and prejudice. When one assigns the term ‘great,’ then the wine (used as an analogy for one’s daily process of living and working) takes on rare proportions.

The general public is not exposed to the wine vineyard process and, thus, is not familiar with the characteristics of that special reserve:

  • A good crop of grapes from which to draw.
  • Skilled processes in picking and processing the grapes.
  • Knowledge in the making of wine.
  • Care for the industry, the product and the process (a defined Vision).
  • Skilled technicians, who transfer the intent of the wine maker into the bottle.
  • Packaging, distribution and marketing of the product.
  • Reputation of the winery, steadily built and carefully preserved.
  • An informed clientele, with the ability to appreciate and enjoy the wine.
  • The right settings in which to showcase the product.
  • A body of pleasurable and memorable experiences from which customers will build brand loyalty.
  • A reinforced manufacturing process that assures consistency in all areas.
  • Stated, refined strategies for the winery to remain in business, producing a quality product and maintaining clientele appreciation.

Cheese.

We all eat and enjoy cheese, in some form. If it’s a brand or flavor we recognize, we think it’s good. When cheese is part of a favorite recipe, then it’s an essential ingredient, though we might not eat it by itself.

The process of creating and curing the cheese (used as an analogy for the process of sharpening and amassing life and professional skills) is both an art and a science.

When it comes to cheese, people generally uphold these constants:

  • Cheese is made from milk.
  • It is manufactured in various places, utilizing various processes.
  • Some sources of cheese making (Switzerland, Wisconsin) are acknowledged for their expertise.
  • Cheese is wrapped and packaged in various forms: sliced, chunks, rounds, barrels.
  • It comes from packages that are neatly wrapped and arranged for eye appeal in a clean, well-lit and suitably refrigerated dairy case.
  • The flavor of cheese we buy depends upon the use we have for it… be it as an appetizer, as an ingredient in an ensemble dish, as a salad enhancer or just to munch on.
  • Most often, we mix the cheese with something else.
  • Various styles of cheese are often served at a time, or mixed into recipes.
  • If it tastes good, we consume it again. If not, we will not likely give that flavor or brand another try.
  • If guests like it, we will serve it again. If not, their preferences will influence ours, and, thus, the cheese will not reappear.
  • If it is really good, we refer it to others… sometimes giving it as a gift.
  • The better it appears to be (marketing, wrapping, price, place of purchase) affects our viewpoint on its quality.
  • It is often served with wine, sometimes on antique trays or dishes.

Antiques.

Antiques are rare, interesting, fanciful and out of the ordinary. They tend to stimulate affection, admiration and appreciation. They are generally thought of as joyful, artistic and quality-reflecting possessions which are in rare supply.

Everyone owns and buys possessions, including clothing, equipment, furniture and household items. A small percentage of the public views unique versions of these same items as antiques, creating a preferred place for them in their lives.

Antiques are perceived in different manners. The substance of antiques (used as an analogy for what one does-accomplishes with his-her life and organization) is that of the creator, not the seller or the collector.

Among the truisms of antiques are:

  • Their quality and workmanship is set by the creator, with inspiration from diverse sources.
  • Their market value is set by the seller, who often is an appreciator or, at the least, has a profit motive.
  • Their purchase price is set by the buyer, who also believes that getting a bargain enhances the value of the antique.
  • The collector appreciates collectibles as a whole and their own specialties in particular. The collector appreciates those who appreciate.
  • As one attaches value to the unique, one finds value in other things around them. Appreciation for value becomes a quality of life ingredient.
  • Definitions of antiques vary from collector to collector, depending upon interest. To one, it may be a rare painting. To another, it is custom-made furniture. To still another, it may be a Roy Rogers wristwatch, one of Elvis Presley’s scarves or a Partridge Family lunchbox.
  • Seeking out new and unique places to find antiques is great fun, and one seeks to include friends in the quest.
  • The hunt is worth as much or more than the actual find.
  • As friends take up sub-specialties in collecting and preserving, we support their passions and interests.
  • Once one gets acclimated toward antiques, one does not ‘go back.’ As an interest, it becomes a ‘way of life.’
  • The nature of value continually changes and evolves.

Nourishing a Body of Work (Antique).

No company or individual sets out to create an antique (lifelong Body of Work). It just works out that way, depending upon such factors as:

  • The crafting artist, as a person and a professional.
  • The arsenal of tools which the creator has at hand.
  • Combinations of experiences, training and assimilation which were gleaned by the artist.
  • Unexpected twists, turns and situations which the craftor saw and seized upon.
  • Vision for the project, from concept through execution.
  • Sets of standards, with mediocrity not a rung on the ladder.
  • An innate sense of perspective, with the reality that no such thing as perfection exists.
  • Marketplace sensitive considered in the overall project, but not pandored to.
  • Applications for the concept and durability of the product for the long-run.

The phenomena of people liking and admiring antiques, years after their creation, is like a successful wine and cheese party. But, this isn’t why the wine and cheese were made. There are many forces and outside influences who set standards for quality. Normally, it’s the marketplace. Who should be the arbitrator and benchmark? You should. Your company will. Your family must.

7 Plateaus of Professionalism:

  1. Learning and Growing. Develop resources, skills and talents.
  2. Early Accomplishments. Learn what works and why. Incorporate your own successes into the organization’s portfolio of achievements.
  3. Observe Lack of Professionalism in Others. Commit to sets of standards as to role, job, responsibilities, relationships. Take stands against mediocrity, sloppiness, poor work and low quality. Learn about the culture and mission of organizations.
  4. Commitment to Career. Learn what constitutes excellence, and pursue it for the long-term. Enjoy well earned successes, sharing professional techniques with others.
  5. Seasoning. Refining career with several levels of achievement, honors, recognition. Learn about planning, tactics, organizational development, systems improvement. Active decision maker, able to take risks.
  6. Mentor-Leader-Advocate-Motivator. Finely develop skills in every aspect of the organization, beyond the scope of professional training. Amplify upon philosophies of others. Mentoring, creating and leading have become the primary emphasis for your career.
  7. Beyond the Level of Professional. Never stop paying dues, learning and growing professionally. Develop and share own philosophies. Long-term track record, unlike anything accomplished by any other individual… all contributing toward organizational philosophy, purpose, vision, quality of life, ethics, long-term growth.

Criteria for Assessing and Nurturing Professionalism.

Fine Wine
Core Values: Ethics. Professionalism, Quality.
Work with Colleagues: People Skills, Executive-Leadership Abilities, Collaborative Team Experience, References.

Aged Cheese
Expertise: Talents, Skills, Education and Training, Resume, Industries Served.
Business: Marketplace Understanding, Business Savvy.

Valuable Antiques
Track Record: Experience, Accomplishments, Case Studies, Professional Reputation.
Body of Knowledge: Original Ideas, Concepts, Self-Created Expertise.
Vision: Uniqueness, Creativity, Value-Added Contributions, Substance.

Characteristics of a Top Professional:

  • Understands that careers evolve.
  • Prepares for the unexpected turns and benefit from them, rather than becoming the victim of them.
  • Realizes there are no quick fixes.
  • Finds a truthful blend of perception and reality… with sturdy emphasis upon substance, rather than style.
  • Has grown as a person and as a professional… and quests for more enlightenment.
  • Has succeeded and failed… and has learned from both.
  • Was a good ‘will be,’ taking enough time in early career years to steadily blossom… realizing that ‘fine wine’ status wouldn’t come quickly.
  • Has paid dues… and knows that, as the years go by, one’s dues paying accelerates, rather than decreases.

About the Author

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flameis now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.

The Big Picture of Business: Why a Company Would Improve? The Art of Learning From Failure to Get Better.

Success is just in front of our faces. Yet, we often fail to see it coming. Too many companies live with their heads in the sand. Many go down into defeat because it was never on their radar to change.

A colleague recently complained about her corporation: “Things are much the same at this company, and I don’t see much changing unless leadership does.”

The answer is that companies need not roll over and accept less than the best. And yes, it takes courage to get management unstuck in their ways. Ninety-two (92) percent of all problems in organizations stem from poor management decisions.

The Biggest Mistakes Which Many of Us Have Made

Abilities, Talents

  • Making the same mistakes more than twice, without studying the mitigating factors.
  • Taking incidents out of context and mis-diagnosing situations.
  • Rationalizing occurrences, after the fact.
  • Appearing self-contained, therefore precluding others from wanting to help me.
  • Inability to cultivate other people’s support of me at the times that I needed it most.

Resources

  • Attempting projects without the proper resources to do the job well.
  • Not knowing people with sufficient pull and power. Thinking that friends would help introduce me or help network to key influentials.
  • Failure to effective networking techniques early enough in my career path.
  • Inability to finely develop the powers of people participating in the networking process.

Other People

  • Accepting people at their words without questioning.
  • Showing proper respect to other people and assuming that they would show or were capable of showing comparable respect to others.
  • Doing favors for others without asking anything in return… if I expected quid pro quo at a later time. Not telling people what I wanted and then being disappointed that they did not read minds or deliver favors of their own volition.
  • Befriending people who were too needy… always taking without offering to reciprocate. Continuing to feed their needs… a one-way relationship.
  • Picking the wrong causes to champion at the wrong times and with insufficient resources.
  • Working with the false assumption that people want and need comparable things. Incorrectly assuming that all would pursue their agendas fairly. A better understanding of personality types, human motivations and behavioral factors would have provided insight to handle situations on a customized basis.
  • Offering highly creative ideas and brain power to those who could not grasp their brilliance… especially to those who were fishing for free ideas they could then market as their own.

Circumstances Beyond Our Control

  • Working with equipment, resources and people from a source without my standards of quality control… trying to make the best of bad situations.
  • Changing trends, upon which I could not capitalize but which others could.

Mis-Calculations

  • Incorrectly estimating the time and resources necessary to do something well.
  • Getting blindsided because I did not do enough research.
  • Failure to plan sufficiently ahead, at the right times.
  • Setting sights too low. Not thinking big enough.

Timing

  • Offering advice before it was solicited.
  • Feeling pressured to offer solutions before diagnosing situations properly.
  • Not thinking of enough angles and possibilities… sooner.

Marketplace-External Factors

  • Not reading the opportunities soon enough.
  • Not being able to spot, create or capitalize upon emerging trends at their beginnings.

Stages of Mistakes

  1. Discovering errors (sensory-motor, sounds-language and logical selection).
  2. Recognizing mistakes.
  3. Separating successful elements from failures we do not need to duplicate.
  4. Learning from mistakes.
  5. Learning from success.
  6. Mentoring yourself and others toward a higher stream of knowledge.
  7. The wisdom that comes from making mistakes, comprehending their outcomes, and developing a knowledge base to achieve success.

Gradations of Failing

  1. Not seeing the warning signs.
  2. Distinguishing among friends, enemies and the majority group, those who could care less about you but who will tap whatever resources available to get their needs met.
  3. Never seeing victories as quite enough.
  4. Feeling that someone else – everyone else – wins when you fail.
  5. Repeating self-defeating behaviors.
  6. Holding unrealistic views.
  7. Thinking that you never fail… that failing is for other people and organizations.

Why We Must Fail… in Order to Succeed

Learning the stumbling blocks of failure prepares one to attain true success. Fear is the biggest contributor to failure, and it can be a motivator for success. You cannot make problems go away, simply by ignoring that they exist.

Everybody fails at things for which they are not suited. The process of learning what one is best suited to do is not a failure…it is a great success. Learn from the best and the worst. People who make the biggest bungling mistakes are showing you pitfalls to avoid.

Many of us make the same mistakes over and over again. That is to be expected and teaches us volumes, preparing us for success. There is no plan that is fool-proof. One plans, learns, reviews and plans further.

One learns three times more from failure than success. One learns three times more clearly when witnessing and analyzing the failures of others they know or have followed. History teaches us about cycles, trends, misapplications of resources, wrong approaches and vacuums of thought. People must apply history to their own lives-situations. If we document our own successes, then these case studies will make us more successful in the future.

Gradations of Learning from Mistakes

  1. Distance one’s self from one’s actions.
  2. Become self-critical.
  3. Recognize that actions have consequences.
  4. Begin accepting responsibility for the consequences.
  5. Learn how to eliminate errors.
  6. Learn how to learn from mistakes.
  7. Accept fallibility, become open to critical feedback and modify actions accordingly.

About the Author

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flameis now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.

The Big Picture of Business: Yesterdayism… Learning from the Past, Planning for the Future.

Whether it is a public company or not, every business should fashion an Annual Report. Even if it is a client letter, this gesture celebrates the year, as basis for helping business people to prepare for the future.

People are interesting combinations of the old, the new, the tried and the true. Individuals and organizations are more resilient than they tend to believe. They’ve changed more than they wish to acknowledge. They embrace innovations, while keeping the best traditions.

When one reflects at changes, he/she sees directions for the future. Change is innovative. Customs come and go… some should pass and others might well have stayed with us.

There’s nothing more permanent than change. For everything that changes, many things stay the same. The quest of life is to interpret and adapt that mixture of the old and new. People who fight change have really changed more than they think.

The past is an excellent barometer for the future. I call that Yesterdayism. One can always learn from the past, dust it off and reapply it. Living in the past is not good, nor is living in the present without wisdom of the past.

Trends come and go… the latest is not necessarily the best. Some of the old ways really work better… and should not be dismissed just because they are old or some fashionable trend of the moment looks better.

When we see how far we have come, it gives further direction for the future. Ideas make the future happen. Technology is but one tool of the trade. Futurism is about people, ideas and societal evolution, not fads and gimmicks. The marketplace tells us what they want, if we listen carefully. We also have an obligation to give them what they need.

In olden times, people learned to improvise and ‘make do.’ In modern times of instantaneous disposability, we must remember the practicalities and flexibilities of the simple things and concepts.

Things which Made Comebacks…
Ceiling fans. The jitterbug and swing music. Hardwood floors. Stained glass.

Things the Economy Has Exempted…
Penny arcades. Five-and-dime stores. Full-service gas stations. Free car washes at gas stations. Towels in boxes of detergent. Mom-and-pop stores. S&H Green Stamps and other redemption programs.

Things which the Marketplace Has Eclipsed…

  • Ice delivered in blocks via a horse-driven carriage by the ice man
  • Milk delivered in bottles via a horse-driven carriage by the milk man
  • Going downtown to do all of your shopping
  • Drive-in movies
  • Stores closed on Sundays

The Old Became the New Again…
The original speed for phonograph records, as invented in 1888, was 78-RPM, which engineers determined to be the most ideal for sound quality. In the 1940s, technology brought us the 45-RPM and 33-1/3-RPM records… adding up to the “mother speed” of 78-RPM. The 1980s brought us compact discs, which play at a speed of 78-RPM.

Station wagons of the 1950s went out of style. They came back in the 1980s as sport utility vehicles.

Midwives were widely utilized in previous centuries. In modern times, alternative health care concepts and practitioners have been embraced by all sectors of society. Herbal ingredients and home remedies have gained popularity, and cottage industries support them.

Telephone party lines went out of style in the 1920s. They came back in the 1990s as internet chat rooms.

Corporations have become extended families, thus embracing dysfunctionality, changes, modifications and learning curves.

Schools started out as full-scope community centers. As the years passed, academic programs grew and became more specialized, covering many vital subject areas. Today, with parents and communities severely neglecting children and their life-skills education, schools have evolved back to being full-scope community centers.

7 Levels of Yesterdayism… Learning from the Past… Sources of Insights:

  1. Think They’ve Been There… Haven’t Yet Fully Learned from It.
  2. Saw It Happen… Understand It.
  3. Participated In It.
  4. Been There… Learned from It.
  5. Teach, Understand and Interpret It.
  6. Innovated It… and Teach You Why.
  7. Innovative Then and Now… Still Creating.

7 Applications for Yesterdayism… How to Shape the Past Into the Future:

  1. Re-Reading…Reviewing… Finding New Nuggets in Old Files.
  2. Applying Pop Culture to Today.
  3. Review case studies and their patterns for repeating themselves.
  4. Discern the differences between trends and fads.
  5. Learn from successes… and three times more from failures.
  6. Transition your organization from information down the branches to knowledge.
  7. Apply thinking processes to be truly innovative.

Apply History to Yourself. The past repeats itself. History is not something boring that you once studied in school. It tracks both vision and blindspots for human beings. History can be a wise mentor and help you to avoid making critical mistakes.

7 Kinds of Reunions… obtaining perspective:

  1. Pleasurable. Seeing an old friend who has done well, moved in a new direction and is genuinely happy to see you too. These include chance meetings, reasons to reconnect and a concerted effort by one party to stay in the loop.
  2. Painful. Talking to someone who has not moved forward. It’s like the conversation you had with them 15 years ago simply resumed. They talk only about past matters and don’t want to hear what you’re doing now. These include people with whom you once worked, old romances, former neighbors, networkers who keep turning up like bad pennies and colleagues from another day and time.
  3. Mandated. Meetings, receptions, etc. Sometimes, they’re pleasurable, such as retirement parties, open houses, community service functions. Other times, they’re painful, such as funerals or attending a bankruptcy creditors’ meeting.
  4. Instructional. See what has progressed and who have changed. Hear the success stories. High school reunions fit into this category…their value depending upon the mindset you take with you to the occasion.
  5. Reflect Upon the Past. Reconnecting with old friends, former colleagues and citizens for whom you have great respect. This is an excellent way to share each other’s progress and give understanding for courses of choice.
  6. Benchmarking. Good opportunities to compare successes, case studies, methodologies, learning curves and insights. When “the best” connects with “the best,” this is highly energizing.
  7. Goal Inspiring. The synergy of your present and theirs inspires the future. Good thinkers are rare…stay in contact with those whom you know, admire and respect. It will benefit all involved.

About the Author

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flameis now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.

The Big Picture of Business: The Colonel and Me

Business Know-How Comes From Experience – The Value of Life-Long Mentoring.
 
This article is about:

  • Lessons that I learned to last a lifetime.
  • The value of acquiring and benefiting from mentors.
  • That inescapable quotient of wisdom and life-long learning.

The year was 1959. I was the bright young disc jockey at a radio station. I was being groomed by my mentors to be a White House advisor, which I later became.

Colonel Harlan Sanders entered my life. I was 11. He was 65. I only met him once. He influenced my life. I later reorganized his company. I became him, after a fashion, since I am 65 now.

The Colonel had just founded a fast food empire called Kentucky Fried Chicken. He was heralded as an entrepreneur who was also a senior citizen.

My entertainment mentors were Cactus Pryor and Bob Gooding. The 24-year-old newscaster at the radio station was Bill Moyers. He told me that I must think like a world-class visionary, grow into the role and not just remain a radio DJ.

In 1959, radio stations used to do live remotes from advertisers’ locations. The first which I attended was at the Armstrong-Johnson Ford dealership. The second was at what was the fourth KFC franchise to open in the United States. It occupied one counter at 2-J’s Hamburgers, an established Austin restaurant, owned and operated by Ralph Moreland.

There I was on live radio, interviewing Colonel Sanders about his new business enterprise. Rather than discussing the taste of the food, I asked about his desired legacy and the Big Picture goals of the organization. Already thinking like a visionary then, I asked the bigger questions. I still ask them, while most people are more comfortable in discussing the trivialities.

The KFC empire grew, and a burgeoning fast food industry engulfed it. There became too many competitors, too much franchising, too much hype and just as many who exited the industry as quickly as they entered it.

Fast forward 20 years to 1979. I was retained to come in and analyze the strategy and structure of the KFC corporation, asked to recommend changes and improvements. That’s what I do for businesses of all sizes. I come in after the wrong consultants have given bad advice, after knee-jerk reactions to changing business climates had taken tolls on existing market players.

By 1979, there were other players dominating the fried chicken niche. Nationally, there were Popeye’s and Church’s. Locally, we had Frenchy’s and Hartz. And then there were the players in the burger wars, who were adding chicken items to their menus.

Over at KFC, the Colonel had long ago sold his interest to a corporation and remained on the payroll as a commercial spokesman. Colonel Sanders died in 1979. Meetings commenced at headquarters about the future direction of the company and the product. The corporate owner was a liquor company. Its CEO (John Y. Brown, later to become Governor of Kentucky) asked me to envision the overall future of the fried chicken industry, not just the KFC ‘brand.’

I commissioned focus groups. They verified what I already knew: that KFC had too much of a white suburban image. By downplaying the Colonel on the packaging and amplifying the taste of the food, we had opportunities to broaden the KFC appeal.

I opined that we needed to go after minority consumers and aggressively build stores in inner-city neighborhoods. To test the premise, I staged a focus group dinner meeting at a prominent inner-city church, eliciting ideas and insights. One resulting project was ‘KFC Kalendar,’ an advertising campaign that showcased community events and public service announcements to diverse communities. I wrote editions of the Kalendar for radio and newspapers. Its recognition and success evolved into the national ad campaign: “We Do Chicken Right.”

KFC was a watershed in my career (at that point 21 years long). It influenced what I’ve preached for the last 30+ years: determine who your stakeholders are. Learn all that you can about your customers, their customers and those affected by them. Extend your business model beyond what it once was and into new sectors. The branding does not drive the strategy but instead is a sub-sub-sub set of Big Picture strategy, which must drive all business disciplines.

Here is some closing wisdom, connecting back to 1959. I juxtapose my advice to some of the records that we were playing on the radio when doing that live remote from the grand opening of that early KFC franchise. These insights still hold impact on the business culture of today. These come from the Golden Oldies music of that era:

  • “Did he ever return? No, he never returned. Yet his fate is still unlearned. He may ride forever through the streets of Boston. He’s the man who never returned.” Song by the Kingston Trio. (Pursuing the same strategies, year after year, yields you the same predictable outcomes and shortcomings.)
  • “And they call it puppy love.” Song by Paul Anka. (Living in a fantasy without viewing the realities of the marketplace sets companies up for failure.)
  • “Higher than the highest mountain, and deeper than the deepest sea. Softer than the gentle breezes, and strongest than the wide oak tree. Faithful as a morning sunrise, and sacred as a love can be. That’s how I will love you. Oh darling, endlessly.” Song by Brook Benton. (An empowered workforce must support the corporate objective, and the art with which it does spells success.)
  • “I told her that I was a flop with chicks. I’d been that way since 1956. She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign. She said what you need is Love Potion Number Nine.” Song by The Clovers. (Research tells us that only 2% of all consultants are real advisers. Most are vendors who prescribe what kool-aid that they’re selling. Business coaches and their ilk are to be avoided.)
  • “Who walked in with Mary Jane, lipstick all a mess. Were you smooching my best friend, if the answer’s yes. Bet your bottom dollar, you and I are through. Cause lipstick on your collar told a tale on you.” Song by Connie Francis. (Ethics cannot be edicted from afar. The ethical conduct of business has a direct relationship on the ability to grow and prosper.)
  • “Hold me tight and don’t let go. Thunder, lightning, wind and rain. This feeling’s killing me. I won’t stop for a million bucks. If it wasn’t for having you, I’d be barking in Harlem too. Don’t let go.” Song by Roy Hamilton. (Sustainability of a growth strategy breeds steady, measured success.)
  • “When you’re near me, my head go goes all around. My love comes tumbling down. You’ve got what it takes to set my soul on fire. You’ve got what it takes for me.” Song by Marv Johnson. (66.7% of all businesses cannot grow any further. Learn when enough growth is enough.)
  • “Venus, goddess of love that you are. Surely, the things I ask cannot be too great a great task.” Song by Frankie Avalon. (Building corporate cultures and successful businesses means making and sticking to commitments.)
  • “Here I stand in my world of dreams. You don’t know how much I care. You don’t know the torch I bear. You don’t know how much I care. Yes and here I stand.” Song by Wade Flemons. (Corporate cultures depend upon real-time conditions, projected outcomes and policies that promote steady growth.)

About the Author

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flameis now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.