Executive Compensation …..

What is wrong?

Like you I have been watching and listening to how much bonus money is, and has been, paid to the big bank executives and executives in general.  And like you, I am getting more and more annoyed with their respective boards because clearly “big money bonuses” are incentivizing the wrong behaviour!

You do not have to look far to see that corruption is all around corporations.  Corporate governance needs to take a step back and revisit this now.  Sure it is a very complex structure – align pay with performance etc. but it should be capped – just my opinion but a worker-bee is a worker-bee and if you look back 15-20 years an executive compensation use to be 10-1 now it has gone to the ridiculous! 

So let’s take step back to where real risk-reward lies and that is with the entrepreneur.  The lady or gent who worked 7 days a week to make a dream come true and to ensure payroll was met and who was the last to be paid….  They deserve the wealth.

Cheers to the Entrepreneur!

Small Business Should Not Avoid Technology Upgrades

All too often small business fall prey to tight budgets and the mindset that: “What we have is working for us!”  Boy, if I had a penny for every time I heard that…..

What we have learned from our small business clients over the past 6 months are:

1)      Small business owners tend to not take advantage of technology upgrades.  Finding yourself way behind on versions may mean that the provider is no longer supporting your version.  Now you have an even bigger cost to face.  Keep current.

2)      Small business owners do not give enough attention to the customer records process. Technology is more than a repository that exports a file to the accountant.  When the data is entered (pain-staking, I know) it can provide deep insight into your product/service offerings and point you to trends.  This is invaluable to a small business owner to be able to notice changes and to respond accordingly.

3)      Small business owners tend to lag on a having a website strategy.   We hear over and over that “We have a website…. It’s been there a while.”  If that sounds familiar, you are not alone.   Your website is a constant marketing tool.  Spend some time and money and use it to create and sustain customer engagement.  Digital brochures do not help.

These are 3 points that can help you hone your message and grow your business with the effective use of technology.

3 Steps To being Responsible in Social Media Marketing

As a Social Media Marketer you need to keep 3 things in mind as you run your campaign.  A customer has a complaint, the product has a technical problem or a mistake has happened in upstream activities - -  regardless you need to take these 3 steps:

1)  Acknowledge - Once you find out the actual problem - take responsibility.  Failure to do so will have the customer keep living the experience by repeating and with that their unhappiness now includes you!

2) Apologize - An upset customer must be calmed down, if you can - try the "feel/felt/found" technique before you apologize.  It goes something like this:  "I would feel the same way..."  "I have found that calling as quickly as you have is important...."  This leads to number 3:

3) Act - You have acknowledged the problem, taken responsibility and placed yourself in the customer's shoes - - Do something.  Any front line person needs permission/budget to ACT.  "Calling the manager.."  No, not the best approach.  "Placing someone on hold for an extended period of time..."  No, not the best approach.

3 simple steps to build credibility and customer satisfaction, should you experience some customer satisfaction turbulence.

Try it.

Women in Leadership

Where there’s a WIL, there is a way!

There is little doubt today we are much more self-conscious about who leads us and how.   For young women today, “everything is possible” - - rewind some 50 years ago and that was not the case, but the good news was women in the 1960’s were breaking the very ground young women stand on today.

The Business Insider reported that in 1996 there was only 1 CEO in the Fortune 500 companies.  Fast forward to 2010, 15 companies on the Fortune 500 list were run by women.  What is disappointing is there are 47 companies, or 9.4% of the S&P 500 that have no women on the board of directors at all! 

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-07-09/strategy/30050996_1_female-ceos-stock-market-companies#ixzz1nxqvVVH7

Let’s stay with looking more at the positive side of the growing trend; here is a small list of Women in Leadership….

Financial Post 500 (28 Companies With Women CEO/Heads) 

·         Shelley Broader, Wal-Mart Canada Corp. (#12)

·         Louise Wendling, Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. (SVP) (#29)

·         Monique F. Leroux, Mouvement des caisses Desjardins (Desjardins Group). (#30)

·         Karen Kinsley, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (#35)

·         Dianne Craig, Ford Motor Co. of Canada (#38)

·         Laura Formusa, Hydro One Inc. (#72)

·         Monique F. Leroux, Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company (#85)

·         Kathy Bardswick, Co-operators Financial Services Ltd. (#92)

·         Nancy C. Southern, ATCO Ltd. (#104)

·         Dawn Farrell, TransAlta (#119)

·         Linda Hasanfratz, Linamar Corporation (#146)

·         Barbara Bellissimo, State Farm Group (#152)

·         Sophie Brochu, Gaz Métro, Inc. (#161)

·         Karen Gavan, The Economical Insurance Group (#167)

·         Monique F. Leroux, Desjardins General Insurance Group (#189)

·         Katherine (Kathy) Bardswick, Co-operators Life Insurance Company (#235)

·         Mandy Shapansky, Xerox Canada, Inc. (#238)

·         Debra Armstrong, Bank of America MBNA Canada Bank (President) (#269)

·         Heather M. Reisman, Indigo Books & Music Inc. (#283)

·         Marilyn McLaren, The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (#289)

·         Christine M. Day, Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (#345)

·         Nancy L. Knowlton, SMART Technologies, Inc. (#350)

·         Tamara Vrooman, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (#356)

·         Ellen J. Moore, Chubb Insurance Company of Canada (#361)

·         Monique F. Leroux, Caisse centrale Desjardins (#419)

·         Tracy Redies, Coast Capital Savings Credit Union (#429)

·         Marie-Claude Houle, EBC Inc. (#430)

·         Susan L. Riddell Rose, Perpetual Energy (#485)

Research from Becca Lipman purported that large companies with female CEOs are outperforming organizations run by men.

March 8^th is International Women’s Day - - Support one another, email or call a women who inspires you. 

Lastly, for all of those brilliant young women I have had the privilege to teach – take a moment and picture your name on this list.

Why Some Ads Go Viral and Others Don't - Video - Harvard Business Review

Why Some Ads Go Viral and Others Don't - Video - Harvard Business Review

Skipping past the commercials seems to be normal watching behaviour.... Research indicates a change in where the "punch" occurs can retain the viewer.
Have a watch.

Should multiple voices represent the Company?

Over the weekend this question came up a couple of times from clients and that has prompted me to write a short response to all of you.  “Yes”, I believe “voices” can resonate better with the target customer.  Take for example a great Canadian brand WestJet.  You never see one voice but rather you see multiple voices with one message “I’m a WestJetter too”.  What must happen is the communication strategy must be clear so that we are all “on message” and not having conflict arises from differing communiqués.  Now Apple had a single voice in Steve Jobs; will Apple now employ multiple voices to further engage…  Tell me what you think?

Social media can help build and sustain your voices – Use social media tools to engage the customer.  Remember, create the communication strategy first, unify the message and have those voices engaging!

When do you need a Contingency Plan?

Follow this simple 3-Point Rule…..

First things first, let’s look at this from an impact and likelihood standpoint:

High Impact – High Likelihood - - Strategic Plan;

Low Impact – Low Likelihood - - Operations Plan and;

High Impact – Low Likelihood - - Contingency Plan.

Using this 3-point rule you can quickly assess the likelihood of occurrence and the potential impact.  The Contingency Plan is all about the “Who does what when IF “_____“should occur?   Here you should list out what events/triggers can change the business?  Authors Nolan, Goodstein & Goodstein suggest that events stem from either the:   1) External environment and 2) Internal issues.  Most organizations have the Strategic and Operational Plans but they miss out on the Contingency Plan development.   

For example, during an acquisition, the target is identified and you start working away quietly.  You may need a contingency plan to deal with a second bidder, assuming the impact to your business is high if you lose out.  If you do not plan, in this case, for a second bidder and one appears, then emotion can be left unchecked and price escalation is the result.  Or the outright loss deeply affects your competitive position in the future.  Take another....  An organization is planning to have a contract renewed, assuming it will be as management knows that the service levels are good and there have been no supply disruptions - business as usual, right?  Then "Suprise!" 

Management teams today should develop Contingency Plans as potential changes that are of high consequence, albeit a low likelihood of occurrence are out there. "Surprise!" does happen…..