Managing to a Manic Market and Low Volatility

I am starting to see a change in tmarket condition, couple that with a low volatility and there is an opportunity for the market condition to change.

My Business Partner and Economist, Mike Tucker, purports that there are nine market conditions based on, of course, Supply & Demand fundamentals and what then happens to Price and Quantity demanded can be the difficult question to answer.

So, business leaders….  It is time to be on your toes for the next quarter.  Low volatility in a manic market (up/down) and recessionary global activity has me concerned that the market (1 of 9) may be about to change and Leaders need to recognize and respond accordingly.

I am looking at a change in Demand (reduced), where supply remains robust – Price will go down and quantity demanded will be questionable.  Another market condition is a change in Demand (reduced) and supply follows; Quantity demanded will go down and Price becomes questionable – can the market hold its asking Price?

Remember, low volatility is the clue here….

Today, at some point... give pause to those who died on 9/11; having spent more than a decade working in aerospace and defence I am grateful to those who serve in uniform and who provide services and equipment.

Hey….Come Down from the Cheap Seats for Better Decisions

Over the summer break from teaching my work in my private practice has seen a few repeated mistakes from clients, which has me commenting about the macro environment conditions.

For example, it is no secret that the Euro-zone is struggling but it is also not to anyone’s surprise either so why then are companies trading at such a discount and near or below book value?  Too much emphasis is being spent on what I call the “cheap-seats”.  You know the ones…. Way up high in the rafters where you cannot see the specific plays unfold.   Apply that scenario to business and you will see we are making decisions from too much macro data – and now we have a problem.   

Do this one simple thing:  When you are reviewing or creating your strategic plan look at the micro economic information first then complete your situational analysis and better business decisions will result.

And 1 more thing:  Happy Birthday to my business partner - Mike Tucker - an economist that makes economics interesting! 

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.