Inundated with Data? How to Increase the Value of Your Data

If you want to have your business doing better, then your data needs to come alive.  I Just finished up a client project with my Consultancy students and it never ceases to amaze me just how much data the client has, yet becoming informed enough to make solid business decisions seems to be a struggle; here why.  Data talks and companies today are inundated with just about everything and nothing at the same time.

It has been my experience that if you simply pull data and see the “ups and downs” there is little to be gained and you are left to wonder “Where do I begin?”   This is by far the biggest obstacle to overcome.  So lets begin with answering the question.  How does my data become more valuable?   

 

Before I start to look, sort and analyze the data I sit with the leadership and their team and decide what do you want to know?  Data, when properly organized, becomes information.  The information when analyzed and cross-tabulated is the knowledge/metrics we use to make good business decisions.   Over time, know-how is the destination every leader is seeking.  The business and external environment are always changing so the more valuable your make your data, the better your company will perform.

 

Time to Stop Exploiting Unpaid Interns

 

I understand that young graduates are eager to launch their careers and what better way to show your prospective employers your skills than as an Intern.

The role of an intern is not new – in fact student interns work closely with their academic supervisor and a participating organization for years.  What is new is how this role is changing due to the external environment – “hard times/recession”.  When times are tough employers are using this tactic of “Unpaid Internship” inappropriately as free labour versus participating with academia in a supporting/community service role.

Talented graduates need employment – hell - a worker a Tim Horton’s or McDonalds is valued more as they are paid minimum wage.  We have employment laws in this country and the little loophole is being exploited.  Students today are actively seeking a paying summer job, and sadly, the incentive is for them to find employment in the service industry - the loss befalls to you.  You will not experience the talent that they offer and you are only delaying their work experience.    Think about this:  Would you rather hire a graduate with specific work experience or one who worked their way through school by working at a bar/restaurant because they could not afford to take an unpaid internship?  Employers are missing the opportunity to see and enrich the student.

Remember back to when you were a college/university student…..  And how good did it feel to land a summer job!

Value those who are bettering themselves and pay them to provide value to your business.

2P's - 2C's

I love to teach those new to marketing about the principles of marketing and this semester is no different.  And while I like the classic textbook, fillled with information and descriptions of the 4P's:  Product, Price, Placement and Promotion I cannot help but want to have them think differently about the "P's".

Take Product, for example, and begin to think more about the needs and wants of the Customer - This is "C1".  What about Price, young marketers today are bombarded with "SALE" signs everywhere.  Online, printed material and in-store tags are covered with them - so it is no wonder why some of my students believe that dropping the price is what a marketer should do as step 1.  So for "Price", lets first think about the value curve and what ask yourself:  "What will the customer pay for and what is the overall Cost-to-Serve?", this is "C2".

Start with these 2P's and think differently about what Product and Price really mean to a marketer.

How to Grow when Demand is Flat

As a boater and someone who loves being in the water, I love my TAG watch.  But over the last 4 years I have watched TAG Heuer make market moves that puzzle me.   Once considered a “premium product” found only at higher-end stores and under lock and key, the company wanted growth and in 2008 they entered into online retailing; “Okay…”, I thought and in the months and years that followed I then began to observe another shift in TAG’s management behaviour and that was they then looked to their current retailers and added to their volume requirements.  “Okay…”, more products with the no change in demand and guess what happens to price?  “Down”, you say, “Right”, it comes under pressure and retailers cut prices to make their volume commitments.  While back at TAG Headquarters they haven't realized it at this early stage but retailers will be silently annoyed at their dropping margins and arrogant OEM stance.  This dismay is then conveyed to the territory representative or distributor, who in turn relays it to upper management; meanwhile more months go by.  Fast forward another year or two and the once higher-end retailers become fed-up because now prices are dropping and they are left to compete with others who are in an overstock position too and with the OEM and their online retailing presence!

What to do?   Well, I believe that a premium priced product needs to stay as such and so I first look to the demand side of the equation.   Either the OEM finds new markets to fill their increased production or reduce the amount produced and raise prices instead.  No executive wants to hear that!  But the OEM needs to keep their retailers happy and that cannot be done if they can’t make money with a proper profit margin. 

Okay, so let’s change the approach and look at the product side for a moment.  Any OEM needs to ask themselves:  "Where is innovation with the product"?  The new bands sure look good but what about the technology or the product itself?  My latest TAG is fairly new but as I look back at all 3 that I have from the last decade I don’t see much change (except in the band); and there lies an opportunity.  Sorry to pick on TAG, but I don’t wear a Rolex, and they too fall into this example, like many more……

Regardless of which decision any OEM makes… standing still isn’t one of them!

Credit, Ceiling and the Cliff - 3 "C's" for the USA to Tackle

The United States seems to find itself in a continued fiscal mess and now is not the time to play politics.  The ceiling, the cliff and a possible downgrade to their credit rating have investors selling and holding cash.  Companies, hereto, are sitting on a lot of cash, and rightly so.  I am watching the 200 day moving average and hoping that the volatility index stabilizes or further selling is likely to continue into January 2013.  Some investors are heading to gold stocks.... I am not.  Some are actually buying Research in Motion stock...  I am not.

"Thelma and Louise" comes to mind as the cliff  deadline approaches......  The unanswered question is: "Is the cliff the Grand Canyon?"  I don't believe so.....  January will see Bush tax cuts go and a new policy begin; it is the uncertainty that is killing everyone!

Looking at the various polls, more than 54% of US residents agree to increase taxes, cut spending and pay down the debt - so if the majority can agree why can't the political leaders get this done?

4 Ways to Improve the Health of your Organization

For some time now I have been a big fan of the Crossan, Fry and Killing - brilliant strategic thinkers! In their 8th edition of 'Strategic Analysis and Action' they include measuring operational performance  and organizational health.  Think about the areas of Learning, Enthusiasm, Boundaries, and Sustainability when looking at Organizational Health and I ask that you expand from the qualitative headings and ask yourself the following questions.

1.  Are "Lessons Learned" captured?  How do the people in the organization currently learn from each other?

2.  How do your employees feel about their work?  How enthusiastic are they?  How often do you survey employees?

3.  Do individuals stay in small sub-groups?  Or are teams created that enable "openness"?

4.  How much capacity does your staff have?  Or Are the "tanks empty"?

In the following weeks I will explore each of the areas in more detail.

Rhonda

Recognize the Power Shift and How

Executive Leadership Requirements are Changing

Working in the social era requires leaders to embrace: team work, shared leadership, thought development and innovation by unlikely contributors – Are you prepared to enable them and drive power up versus down?

The so called: “Bosses” need to recognize that their true power lies beneath them on the organizational chart.  Real power comes from your ability to harness the resourcefulness of others by collaborating, sharing authority rather than dominating it.  People, your people, are connected and it is in those networks where problems are solved much more rapidly than in the past.  Understanding this shift may have a direct and positive impact on how you serve your staff and customers – This can be a Bottom-Line Booster and Competitive Advantage so why do some managers, leaders, supervisors… people in position of responsibility, hold on to the old paradigm?  Title?  Ego?  Both, I suspect, yet new organizations are throwing out the old titles:  the head of Honest Tea is the “TeaEO” – Seth works at all levels. 

What’s really in a title?  http://www.banffexeclead.com/AcumenPDF/Leadership%20Articles/Leadership%20Acumen%2027%20V10%20Job%20Titles.pdf

It’s worth the read and when you are done, think about the “network”, not vertical or horizontal alignment, or the “matrix”, but rather the social era and how today’s young leaders are tossing out the old paradigm of top-down.