hank moore Archives

The Big Picture of Business: Putting Budgeting Into Perspective, The Bigger Picture of Strategic Planning

November 2, 2012/in Budget Development, Resource Management, Strategic Planning/by Hank Moore

Frame of reference is everything in business. Different people within the same organization have contrasting views as to the Business They’re Really In.

The term Budgeting gets tossed around in many ways. Budgets get blamed for gridlock. Budgets get politicized.

Budgets get more attention than the umbrellas under which they rightfully belong: Strategic Planning and Visioning.

Budgeting by itself is a minor piece of business strategy. By itself, Budgeting does not constitute full-scope planning and business strategy. Budgeting is a peg in the process.

Questions to follow in Budgeting as part of Strategic Planning and Visioning processes include:

Does this process increase your accountability to funding sources and to the public?
Are budgeting measures used to manage performance?
Is the performance management system focused upon outcomes?
Are the key measures the best representation of progress of the institution?
Can the benchmarking information be accessed regularly?
How well can management interpret and apply findings to the decision process?
Does your strategic plan adequately describe what you do?
Does the strategic plan provide necessary guidance to the activities you will measure?
How diverse is the planning committee?
Do performance measures provide an early warning system for problems?
How do you handle crisis management and preparedness?
Have you prioritized and fully defined key measures and non-key measures?
Have you done scenario planning of measures beyond your immediate control, i.e. external factors which profoundly impact your livelihood?
Do the measures address both internal management and external perceptions and accountabilities?
Performance measures should be included in contracts with all resources, such as adjuncts, vendors, suppliers. Supply chain management should be implemented. Quality management should be implemented.
Adjustments must be periodically made to target markets, definition of terms and modification of strategies.

Organizations start out to be one thing, but they evolve into something else. In their mind, they’re one thing. Other people think they are something else. Priorities change. Dedicated providers of the service stated in the original company mission become frustrated when they don’t understand the reasons for shifting priorities.

Most often, what organizations say they do in external promotions to potential customers actually ranks low on the actual priority list. That occurs due to the agendas of individuals who guide the organization…departing from the core business for which founders were presumably educated and experienced. Add to that the harsh realities of doing business and staying competitive.

Here is an average priority ranking for companies-organizations:

Revenue volume and its rewards (bonuses for key management).
Growth, defined as increasing revenues each year (rather than improving the quality of company operations).
Doing the things necessary to assure revenue (billings, sales, add-on’s, marketing). Keeping the cash register ringing… rather than focusing upon what is being sold, how it is made and the kind of company they need to be.
Running a bureaucracy.
Maintaining the status quo. Keeping things churning. Making adjustments, corrections or improvements only when crises warrant (band-aid surgery).
Glory, gratification and recognition (for the company and for certain leaders).
Furthering stated corporate agendas.
Furthering unwritten corporate agendas.
Courting favor with opinion leaders.
Actually delivering the core business. Making the widget itself. Doing what you started in business to do…what you tell the customers that you do.
Doing the things that a company should do to be a good company. Processes, policies and procedures to make better widgets and a better organization.
Customer service, consideration or follow-up beyond the sale.
Looking after the people, in terms of training, empowerment, resources and rewards.
Giving back to those who support the company.
Advancing conditions in which core business is delivered.
Walking the Talk: ethics, values, quality, vision.
Giving back to the community, industry, Body of Knowledge.

People in the organization who do things below the top nine priorities have vastly different perceptions of the organization, its mission, their role and the parts to be played by others:

Some jockey for position… to make their priority seem to advance higher.
Some keep people on the low rungs in check, assuring that their priorities remain low.
Some become frustrated because others’ priorities are not theirs.
Some build fiefdoms within the organization to solidify their ranking.
Some do their job as well as possible, hoping that others will recognize and reward their contributions.
Some don’t think that they’re noticed and simply occupy space within the organizational structure.
Some try to take advantage of the system.
Some are clueless as to the existence of a system, pecking order, corporate agendas, company vision or other realities.

7 Steps Toward Getting Budgets Accepted More Readily:

Commitment toward strategic planning for your function-department-company.
Know your values.
Refine your values.
Control your values.
Add value via internal services.
Take ownership of your values.
Continue raising the bar on values.

7 Stages in Making a Case for Business Funding:

Link to a strategic business objective.
Diagnose a competitively disadvantaging problem or an unrealized opportunity for competitive advantage.
Prescribe a more competitively advantaged outcome.
Cost the benefits of the improved cash flows and diagram the improved work flows that contribute to them.
Collaborate with others.
Maintain accountability and communications toward top management.
Contribute to the organization’s Big Picture.

Rules for Budgeting-Planning:

Use indicators and indices wherever they can be used.
Use common indicators where categories are similar, and use special indicators for special jobs.
Let your people participate in devising the indicators.
Make all indicators meaningful, and retest them periodically.
Use past results as only one indicator for the future.
Have a reason for setting all indicators in place.
Indicators are not ends in themselves…only a means of getting where the organization needs to go. Indicators must promote action. Discard those that stifle action.

Base Budgets on Value, Not on Cost

Readily measurable values:

Time and cost of product development-service delivery cycles.
Reject, rework and make-good rates.
Downtime rates and meantime between downtimes.
Meantime between billings and collections.
Product-service movement at business-to-business levels.
Product-service movement at retail levels.
Product-service movement in the aftermarket (re-sales, repeat business, referrals, follow-up engagements).

Values in terms of savings:

Time and motion savings.
Inventory costs.
Speed of order entry.

Values in terms of efficiencies:

Meantime between new product introductions.
Forecast accuracy, compared to actual results.
Speed, accuracy and efficiency of project fulfillment.
Productivity gained.
Continuous quality improvement within your own operation.

Values which benefit other aspects of the company operation:

Quality improved on behalf of the overall organization.
Creative new ideas generated.
Empowerment of employees and colleagues to do better jobs.
Information learned.
Applications of your work toward other departments’ objectives.
Satisfaction in your service elevated.
Voiced-written confidence, recognition, referrals, endorsements, etc.
Capabilities enhanced to work within the total organization.
Reflections upon the organization’s Big Picture.
Contributions toward the organization’s Big Picture (corporate vision).

About the Author

Hank Moore has advised 5,000+ client organizations worldwide (including 100 of the Fortune 500, public sector agencies, small businesses and non-profit organizations). He has advised two U.S. Presidents and spoke at five Economic Summits. He guides companies through growth strategies, visioning, strategic planning, executive leadership development, Futurism and Big Picture issues which profoundly affect the business climate. He conducts company evaluations, creates the big ideas and anchors the enterprise to its next tier. The Business Tree™ is his trademarked approach to growing, strengthening and evolving business, while mastering change. To read Hank’s complete biography, click here.

The Big Picture of Business: The Business Leader as Community Leader

October 5, 2012/in Management & Leadership/by Hank Moore

In eras following downturns and scandals, it is incumbent upon good companies to go the extra distance to be ethical and set good examples. Demonstrating visible caring for communities by company executives is the ultimate form of potlache.

No matter the size of the organization, goodwill must be banked. Every company must make deposits for those inevitable times in which withdrawals will be made.

To say that business and its communities do not affect each other is short-sighted… and will make business the loser every time. Business marries the community that it settles with. The community has to be given a reason to care for the business. Business owes its well-being and livelihood to its communities.

Business leaders have an obligation to serve on community boards and be very visible in the communities in which they do business. If done right, community stewardship builds executives into better leaders, as well as receiving deserved credit for the company. Civic service is the ultimate way to steer heir apparents toward the leadership track.

Communities are clusters of individuals, each with its own agenda. In order to be minimally successful, each company must know the components of its home community intimately. Each company has a business stake for doing its part. Community relations in reality is a function of self-interest, rather than just being a good citizen.

Companies should support off-duty involvement of employees in pro bono capacities but not take unfair credit. Volunteers are essential to community relations. Companies must show tangible evidence of supporting the community by assigning key executives to high-profile community assignments. Create a formal volunteer guild, and allow employees the latitude and creativity to contribute to the common good. Celebrate and reward their efforts.

Publicity and promotions should support effective community relations and not be the substitute or smokescreen for the process. Recognition is as desirable for the community as for the business. Good news shows progress and encourages others to participate.

The well-rounded community relations program embodies all elements: accessibility of company officials to citizens, participation by the company in business and civic activities, public service promotions, special events, plant communications materials and open houses, grassroots constituency building and good citizenry.

No entity can operate without affecting or being affected by its communities. Business must behave like a guest in its communities, never failing to give potlache or return courtesies. Community acceptance for one project does not mean than the job of community relations has been completed. It is not ‘insurance’ that can be bought overnight. It is tied to the bottom line and must be treated accordingly, with the resources and expertise to do it effectively. It is a bond of trust that, if violated, will haunt the business. If steadily built, the trust can be exponentially parlayed into successful long-term business relationships.

Potlache

Potlache is the ultimate catalyst toward Customer Focused Management. It means extra gifts, beyond value-added, visionary mindset and the ultimate achievement of the organization.

The word ‘potlache’ is a native American expression, meaning ‘to give’. For American Indians, the potlache was an immensely important winter ceremony featuring dancing, food and gift giving. Potlache ceremonies were held to observe major life events. The native Americans would exchange gifts and properties to show wealth and status. Instead of the guests bringing gifts to the family, the family gave gifts to the guests.

Colonists settled and started doing things their own way, without first investigating local customs. They alienated many of the natives. Thus, the cultural differences widened. The more diverse we become, the more we really need to learn from and about others. The practice of doing so creates an understanding that spawns better loyalty.

When one gives ceremonial gifts, one gets extra value because of the spirit of the action. The more you give, the more you ultimately get back in return. Reciprocation becomes an esteemed social ceremony. It elevates the givers to higher levels of esteem in the eyes of the recipients.

Potlache is a higher level of understanding of the business that breeds loyalty and longer-term support. It leads to increased quality, better resource management, higher employee productivity, reduced operating costs, improved cash management, better management overall and enhanced customer loyalty and retention.

Community Relations

The well-rounded community relations program embodies all elements: accessibility of company officials to citizens, participation by the company in business and civic activities, public service promotions, special events, plant communications materials and open houses, grassroots constituency building and good citizenry.

Never stop evaluating. Facts, values, circumstances and community composition are forever changing. The same community relations posture will not last forever. Use research and follow-up techniques to reassess the position, assure continuity and move in a forward motion.

Companies need community relations at all times:

Prior to coming into locales.
Every year in which they do business there…in good and bad economic times.
When they are leaving an area.
Even after they have ceased operation in certain communities.

In today’s economy, no business can operate without affecting or being affected by its communities. Business must behave like a guest in its communities… never failing to show or return courtesies.
Community acceptance for one project does not mean than the job of community relations has completed. Programs always shift into other gears… breaking new ground.

Community relations are not ‘insurance’ that can be bought overnight. It is tied to the bottom line and must be treated accordingly… with resources and expertise to do it effectively. It is a bond of trust that, if violated, will haunt the business. If steadily built, the trust can be exponentially parlayed into successful long-term business relationships.

About the Author

Hank Moore has advised 5,000+ client organizations worldwide (including 100 of the Fortune 500, public sector agencies, small businesses and non-profit organizations). He has advised two U.S. Presidents and spoke at five Economic Summits. He guides companies through growth strategies, visioning, strategic planning, executive leadership development, Futurism and Big Picture issues which profoundly affect the business climate. He conducts company evaluations, creates the big ideas and anchors the enterprise to its next tier. The Business Tree™ is his trademarked approach to growing, strengthening and evolving business, while mastering change. To read Hank’s complete biography, click here.

StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 41 – The Big Picture of Business: When the Next Recession is Coming

September 27, 2012/in Strategic Planning, StrategyDriven Podcast/by StrategyDriven

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Episode 41 – The Big Picture of Business: When the Next Recession is Coming explores the marketplace markers that signal a recession’s start and the timing of the next American recession. During our discussion, Hank Moore, Corporate Strategist and author of The Business Tree: Growth Strategies and Tactics for Surviving and Thriving, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

the cyclic nature of economic recessions
markers indicating a recession is forthcoming
when the next recession is likely to occur
where to look for business improvement opportunities learned during a recession
how to be prepared for business opportunities the next recession will present

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Hank shares in The Business Tree and this edition of the StrategyDriven Podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.HankMoore.com. Hank’s book, The Business Tree, can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Hank Moore has advised 5,000+ client organizations worldwide (including 100 of the Fortune 500, public sector agencies, small businesses and non-profit organizations). He has advised two U.S. Presidents and spoke at five Economic Summits. He guides companies through growth strategies, visioning, strategic planning, executive leadership development, Futurism and Big Picture issues which profoundly affect the business climate. He conducts company evaluations, creates the big ideas and anchors the enterprise to its next tier. The Business Tree™ is his trademarked approach to growing, strengthening and evolving business, while mastering change. To read Hank’s complete biography, click here.

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The Big Picture of Business: Critical Decision

September 7, 2012/in Decision-Making, Strategic Analysis, Strategic Planning/by Hank Moore

Ceasing CD production will harm an already ailing music industry, where technology is not the answer: Analyzing the music industry and changing technologies.

Certain forces in the recording industry have announced intentions to cease production of compact discs and convert their music marketing to digital downloads. trimming the fat and criticizing incorrect activities in the organizational structure.

That is a dangerous course of action and stands to further devastate a music industry that has systematically killed the golden goose over many years.

The CD issue (including those who advocate obliterating the medium) is symptomatic of the bigger watersheds that have crippled and ruined large chunks of the music industry:

Not understanding the business basics.
Taking decisions away from the creative people.
Focusing only on the technology, not on the creative output.
Not understanding the totality of the music industry, with recording as a prime stakeholder, not as the stake driver that it tries to be.
Failure to learn from the past.
The trends toward over-formatting of radio.
Failure to understand and nurture the relationship with radio.
Failure to understand and nurture the relationship with television.
Deregulation of broadcasting.
Failure to collaborate, bundle products or combine efforts to create and sustain advantage.
Failure to understand and nurture relationships with the retailing industry.
Failure to plan for the present.
Trends toward homogenization of culture that resulted in drastic cuts in the quantity and quality of original music programming available.
Trends away from utilizing and showcasing music.
Trends away from spoken word and educational usage of recordings.
The music industry responding to changes and uncertainty by scapegoating the wrong people.
The international marketplace responding as entrepreneurs by taking up the slack and addressing the ‘missed opportunities’ by the American music industry.
Making knee-jerk decisions based upon partial information and wrong hunches.

In 1877, Thomas Edison introduced the cylinder, developed originally for business office use. It was the earliest Dictaphone, whereby messages would be recorded by a needle on a rolling tube. In 1888, Emile Berliner invented the phonograph record, for the purpose of transporting music to consumers. Columbia Records (now Sony) was founded in 1898, followed by RCA Victor Records in 1901. Edison missed his chance to influence the recording industry by sticking with the cylinder medium, not converting to phonograph records until 1912 and finally getting out of the recording business in 1929.

The radio industry began as a multi-city network that piped recorded music into department stores. In 1920, the first radio sets sold by Westinghouse to promote its first station, 8XK in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1926, NBC Radio signed on the air, followed by CBS the next year. In addition to news and other entertainment shows, a large portion of radio programming was attributable to music, and a long growth relationship with the record industry was sustained. Stars came on variety shows to promote their releases, and the era of radio disc jockeys was firmly secured in the public culture.

The media of music distribution was the 78RPM record. It was bulky, breakable and limiting the amount of music on each side. Record companies put multiple discs into sleeves and began calling them ‘albums,’ the terminology still existing today. Those albums started as collections of ‘sides’ but became thematic. Further packaging enabled various-artist albums and collections of ‘greatest hits’ (those two categories currently accounting for half of all CD sales, a big chunk of business to be wiped out by going all-digital).

The two major labels went into research and development on non-breakable records that would play at slower speeds, with thinner grooves and more music on each side, producing a cleaner sound (without pops and scratches). The results were Columbia (owned by CBS) introducing the 33-1/3RPM long playing vinyl record in 1948 and RCA Victor (owned by NBC) introducing the 45RPM vinyl record in 1949. Why those speeds? They were combined derivatives of 78RPM, known by engineers as ‘the mother speed.’ Not surprisingly, today’s CDs play at 78RPM, a technological updating of Emile Berliner’s 1888 invention of the phonograph record.

The 1930s and 1940s were massive-growth periods for the recording and broadcast industries. Along came other record labels: Brunswick, Decca, Capitol, Coral and jazz imprints. Movie studios got into the record business. Entrepreneurs brought Atlantic, King and other labels to showcase black artists and country music (two major growth industries attributable to the interrelationship of radio and records). Then came the international recording industry, which is the major user of CD technology.

The 1950’s saw exponential growth of the recording industry. There were more retail outlets for the music than ever before or ever since. One could buy music at every grocery store, department store and many unexpected locations. There was an industry of sound-alike records, sold at reduced prices. The result was that all families had phonographs, and music was going into cars via radio, thus stimulating record sales and thus encouraging other technologies to bring music into cars (emerging as homes in our mobile society).

The emergence of teens as the primary record buyers was fed by TV shows, increased disposable income and recording artists catering to younger audience. Due to broad radio playlists, there was ample airplay for every musical taste, and the record industry continued to grow. Independent record labels proliferated, as did recordings by local artists around the country.

With the British Invasion of the 1960’s came the reality of the international nature of entertainment. To package and market emerging modern music, media were implemented to make the best possible sounds and reflect the plastic portability of youth traffic. Along came music available on cassette tapes, then 8-track tapes. The music industry experimented with Quadraphonic Sound, with the ballyhoo associated with the Ipod, and that experiment fell flat after one year.

At every juncture, there were transition periods in the adoption and acceptance of new media. For the first 11 years of 45RPM records and LPs being manufactured, there were still 78RPM discs on the market. Throughout the tape formats, there were still records. With the advent of Compact Discs, there were still records and cassette tapes on the market. To now rush to conversion of all music to digital downloads is short-sighted and stands to kill markets and after-markets for CDs that still have another 20 years to run.

To kill the CD makes poor business sense. 78RPMs were phased out because better technology was developed. Quadraphonic was technology glitz but did not make good business sense. 8-track tapes were only meant to be an interim medium, until CDs were developed. CDs are the dominant medium and are economical to produce.

Killing CDs is a bean counter move and is contrary to the heart of the music business. CDs enable local bands to have records. Computer downloads are convenience items and impulse purchases. People’s listening frequency and intensity is different (and significantly reduced) through computer downloads.

Nothing still says ‘record’ like a CD in a plastic case, where the album is as much in the packaging as the content material on the disc. Lose the ‘record album,’ and the music industry will never be the same.

This is the juncture where the music industry must step back, analyze their decline over the last 30 years and understand the reasons why they must create new opportunities and move forward.

If I were advising the industry, I would steer them toward:

Stimulating a culture where excellence in music would be encourages, thus improving the quantity and quality of music being recorded.
Creating a music industry where the products would be more worth buying. There are still higher profits in album sales, rather than Internet song downloads (the modern equivalent to the 45RPM single).
Thinking of music distribution in directions other than just the Internet.
Stimulating the global record industry.
Encouraging TV shows to once again have theme songs.
Encouraging movies to get back to real musical soundtracks (not just the current drum crashing noise effects). This would re-boot the soundtrack album industry.
Recognizing that nearly half of all record sales and downloads involves repackaging older music product for new audiences.
Finding ways to promote local acts around the world.
Working with radio programmers to get playlists expanded. Music has to have the interactive exposure via radio. Nurture programmers of internet radio shows as the best new opportunity for expanding music exposure.
Understanding better the after-market of music resellers, and stimulate that series of opportunities for expanding the reach of musical products around the world.
Recognizing downloads as ‘low hanging fruit.’ Do not put all your industry’s distribution in one area, because that one area will always change.

The much-needed regeneration of the music industry to make a comeback and reclaim its past dominance takes time, energy, resources and lots of heart to produce. Couch planning as the only way to avert a crisis. Changing technologies does not equate to planning and strategy development.

People get what they pay for… always have, always will. Things are never simple for one who must make decisions and policies. Many factors must be weighed.

One cannot always go the path that seems clearest. One who thinks differently and creatively will face opposition. With success of the concept, it gets embraced by others. Shepherding good ideas and concepts does not get many external plaudits. The feeling of accomplishment must be internal. That is a true mark of impactful changes and success.

About the Author

Hank Moore has advised 5,000+ client organizations worldwide (including 100 of the Fortune 500, public sector agencies, small businesses and non-profit organizations). He has advised two U.S. Presidents and spoke at five Economic Summits. He guides companies through growth strategies, visioning, strategic planning, executive leadership development, Futurism and Big Picture issues which profoundly affect the business climate. He conducts company evaluations, creates the big ideas and anchors the enterprise to its next tier. The Business Tree™ is his trademarked approach to growing, strengthening and evolving business, while mastering change. To read Hank’s complete biography, click here.

The Big Picture of Business: Institutional Reviews Help Public Companies to Learn from the Downturn and Move Forward

August 3, 2012/in Strategic Analysis/by Hank Moore

An Institutional Review is a look at activities that contribute to an organization’s success and well-being. This transcends a traditional audit and identifies factors that already contribute well to the organization, rather than simply looking for ways to cut, curtail or penalize. It is more than just trimming the fat and criticizing incorrect activities in the organizational structure.

This review is the basis for most elements that will appear in a strategic plan, including the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, actions, challenges, teamwork, change management, commitment, future trends and external forces.

These are the points at which every company must assess its own status and chart the process forward:

The Big Picture

The organization is not now what it started out to be.
There seems to be a need to change the direction of the organization.
Management is concerned that resources are not concentrated on important things.
Management of the organization seems tired or complacent.

Growth

Management is cautious and uncertain about the company’s future.
The company has grown too rapidly.
No-growth or slow-growth has occurred.
There is a need to step up growth and improve profitability.

People – Productivity

Apathy, low productivity and discord are exhibited.
Management seeks perspective and needs to be recharged.
There is the need to develop better information to help management make better decisions.
Individuals are more concerned about their own areas than for the overall organization.

Processes

There is a sense that company operations are out of control.
Management expresses a need for better internal coordination of company activities.

External-Marketplace

External forces threaten the status quo…and open up new opportunities.
The environment in which the organization competes is rapidly changing.

What a Review Could Include:

Among the components and professional specialties that could be represented in a performance review, per each branch on the Business Tree, include:

Branch 1: Core business, core industry.
Branch 2: Environmental, safety, IT systems design and computer software, training for computers and technology, architecture, engineering and legal
Branch 3: Accounting, banking, investments, financial planning, benefits programs, real estate, fund raising for non-profit organizations and investor relations services for public companies.
Branch 4: Training for diversity, team building, professional education and development, motivational and executive development-mentoring. Human resource administration, employee testing, behavioral research, executive search, talent pools, reorganizations, downsizing, executive outplacement, labor issues and negotiating.
Branch 5: Sales strategy, sales training, marketing strategy, customer service, advertising, direct marketing, public relations, special events, video production, promotional specialties, graphic design-production and website design-production.
Category 6: Business performance reviews, research, quality management programs, government relations, public policy, community relations and re-engineering.
Category 7: Corporate strategy, visioning, strategic planning, futurism, thought leader program and emerging business issues.

Expected Results of an Institutional Review:

Your service is efficient and excellent, by your standards and by the publics. You are sensitive to the public’s needs, and you are flexible and human in meeting them.
Your staff is likeable and competent. They demonstrate initiative and use their best judgment, with authority to make the decisions they should make.
You have a good reputation and are awake to community obligations. You contribute much to the economy. You provide leadership for progress, rather than following along.
You always give your customers their money’s worth. Your charges are fair and reasonable.
You are in the vanguard of your industry.
You provide a good place to work. You offer a promising career and future for people with ideas and initiative. Your people do a day’s work for a day’s pay.
The size of your organization is necessary to do the job demanded of you. Your integrity and dependability make the public confident that you will use your size and influence rightly.

What Well-Run Companies Accomplish:

Prestige or favorable image…and its benefits.
Promotions of products and sales.
Good will of the employees.
Prevention and solution of labor problems.
Fostering the good will of communities in which the company has units.
Good will of the stockholders, board of directors, and owners.
Overcoming misconceptions and prejudices.
Good will of suppliers.
Good will of government.
Good will of the rest of your industry.
Attraction of others into the industry.
Ability to attract the best personnel.
Education of the public to the purposes and scope of the product.
Education of the public to a point of view.
Good will of customers (and their friends and colleagues).
Seeing that the industry is properly represented in the curricula of schools and colleges.
Assisting educators in teaching about the industry.
Creating public support for legislative proposals that the industry favors or public opposition to legislation that it opposes.
Obtaining public recognition for the social and economic contributions that the industry makes.
Addressing outside interference or competition with the industry.
Public understanding of the regulation of the industry by the government, in order to assure equitable treatment.
Consumer understanding of how to use the product.

Grounding Factors for Business:

Being stable does not mean that an organization stands still. Upholding traditions does not necessarily mean that one vehemently resists change. Being a family run company does not mean that outside stakeholders do not exist. Lawyers go to school to study the law, not how to become a lawyer and run a legal practice. The same analogy holds true for accountants, engineers, doctors and architects. All are taught professional skills but must absorb along the way the business talents necessary to run their practices.

Authority figures must be effective disciplinarians. They must also be recognizable role models in order to inspire commitment from their team members. The best leaders are adept at the balancing acts of business priorities. Organizations are collections of individuals, team clusters, operating units, departments, management philosophies and ideologies.

To gauge the company’s future direction and avoid roadblocks to success, independent reviews must be conducted. The objective is to benefit from changes, rather than become the victim of them. By spotting trends and recognizing inner strengths of your existing company, you can compete and excel more effectively than without any strategy at all.

About the Author

Hank Moore has advised 5,000+ client organizations worldwide (including 100 of the Fortune 500, public sector agencies, small businesses and non-profit organizations). He has advised two U.S. Presidents and spoke at five Economic Summits. He guides companies through growth strategies, visioning, strategic planning, executive leadership development, Futurism and Big Picture issues which profoundly affect the business climate. He conducts company evaluations, creates the big ideas and anchors the enterprise to its next tier. The Business Tree™ is his trademarked approach to growing, strengthening and evolving business, while mastering change. To read Hank’s complete biography, click here.