By Donald Mitchell
In recent days, Apple announced that co-founder Steve Jobs would be leaving the company for a time to deal with some health issues. Investors and analysts closely eyed how the stock price responded.
In interview after interview, people wanted to know whether Apple could maintain its cutting edge innovative abilities while Jobs is out of the picture. Isn't that interesting? Why wouldn't Apple continue to innovate? Or will it?
Now, ask yourself how well your organization would do in making business model innovations if you weren't available? Hopefully, it wouldn't make any difference and your business model would be continually updated without you.
For most organizations, however, that's not the case. The "solitary genius" toils seemingly alone (or at least doesn't let anyone else make a decision) in many companies. When that person dies or retires, everyone knows that the glory days are over.
Whatever happened to Edwin Land's Polaroid?
You get the idea.
Most organizations are led by mere mortals, and they look to create a systematic source of success. A few organizations are blessed with geniuses who can continue to find more successful business model innovations. That blessing, however, turns into a curse if the genius stops delivering or leaves.
While one person does all the thinking, others daydream about what they will do after work rather than coming up with their own business model innovations.
A better approach is to install a process that engages lots of people in proposing and testing potential business model innovations. Examples where continuing business model innovation had been made into day-to-day work are few and far between. Typically, however, when the leader who had organized the innovation process left, business model innovation for that organization ended.
During a time of economic crisis like 2009, most companies will stumble because they will keep doing what they've always done . . . even if that approach stops working. Boards of directors will be shouting for better cost controls, for stronger balance sheets, for more influential leaders. And those won't help if the business model is broken.
Wake up! Smell the coffee.
If you don't have a process to upgrade your business model by the end of 2009, you are in trouble.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
1. Have lots of experiments going that don't cost very much.
2. Cut off experiments that don't seem to be going where you want to go.
3. Share insights into what kinds of improved business models might work.
4. Watch progress on developing new business models very carefully.
5. Invite stakeholders to participate.
6. Consider running global contests to get lots of help from the world's best thinkers.
7. Let non-experts have a crack at making improvements, too.
8. Focus on innovations that will expand the market by providing new reasons and opportunities to do business with you.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
(my own article directory)
Donald Mitchell is an author of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist, The 2,000 Percent Squared Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage. Read about creating breakthroughs through and receive tips by e-mail through registering for free at www.fastforward400.com
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Small Business Branding: The Power of Integration
Let me tell you about two different small businesses. Both have been in business similar amounts of time and yet they have followed two totally different paths.
One business feels integrated. It feels like a "big" business even though it is still only a fledgling. The other feels ad hoc. It feels as if the business owners cobbled together their business on a shoestring and at any moment it may close its doors.
What is the visible difference? Their small business branding.
The integrated business worked with their graphic designer and marketing company from day one. Even though they didn't have the budget to have everything done at once, they started with their business cards. They had a logo developed, colour palette and font selected, key words defined and marketing message specified. They included their logo on their emails and invoices, and had a Word template done up for their letterhead for their letters sent via PDF attachments. They made sure they had a marketing template that they then used in all of their future work.
The ad hoc business (a graphic/web design agency) has by the look of it have had a number of different designers work on their branding. The letterhead doesn't match the website design, which is different again to the marketing material they send out to promote their business. Their catchphrase or USP (unique selling point – editor) varies across all the different mediums. Particularly given the nature of their business, this does not inspire confidence.
One of the most important things any small business can do is to ensure that the branding for its company is 100% integrated. Learn from the big companies and check every document and email that you send out is consistent in terms of style, image, feel, language and approach.
Visual branding: When businesses start up they often are working on a very tight budget and watch any penny carefully. It is false economy not to have a professional branding concept created. Invest up front and you will save money down the track. You don't have to spend a fortune on printing. Just print what you need when you need it, but make sure your design reflects the image of who you want to be on the market.
Make sure your images have consistent colours across all media and reproduce well both in print and electronic media.
Create a "style guide" so you use the same font size and type across your business. Also include guidelines for employees in terms of how they are to create their signature block at the end of letters and emails.
Consider also the decor of your business, the layout of your store or office and how tidy or untidy it is. Also consider the little things like the cleanliness. A good cleaner is worth their weight in gold to reinforce your professional visual brand.
Word branding: Consistency of word branding is also important. Many small businesses create their own website and brochure content. If you can't afford a copywriter to help you put your business into its best light, then at least pay for a professional editor to check your spelling and grammar. Poor sentence construction costs you customers. People do notice!
As your budget situation improves, pay for a professional copywriter to review or redraft your content. The difference in terms of customer conversions and page ranking on search engines for your website pays for itself.
Your copywriter will work with you to ensure that the feel of your business is reflected in the words you use. Is your business hip and funky, traditional or alternative? What is unique about you and your business? The language used needs to reflect who you are and what you bring to the world.
Each business also has core keywords that need to be reflected in their content. This is not just for search engines, but to also convey the uniqueness of the business. What are your business keywords?
Sound branding: People forget that sound also is part of your business. How do people answer the telephones? How do they put people on hold? What happens when someone is on hold? What sounds can people hear in the background when they ring or visit your business? What tone of voice is used in radio or TV ads? Is the tone consistent with your brand? Your sound branding is often forgotten when considering your overall branding.
Feel of your business: One of the most important parts of integrating your branding is how you make the customers feel. Do you make them feel cared for, important, better for having visited you? What unique feeling are you trying to share with your customers?
It doesn't matter how great everything else is in your business, if your customers don't feel great after visiting you, then you need to go back and relook at what you are doing and how you can improve. After all, your customers have the ultimate power over your business.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
(my own article directory)
This article was authored by Ingrid Cliff. She is a freelance writer and the Chief Word Wizard of Heart Harmony - a writing services studio that helps put your business into words. For a free copy of the "7 Secrets of Compelling Copy & Powerful Words" visit her website www.heartharmony.com.au.
One business feels integrated. It feels like a "big" business even though it is still only a fledgling. The other feels ad hoc. It feels as if the business owners cobbled together their business on a shoestring and at any moment it may close its doors.
What is the visible difference? Their small business branding.
The integrated business worked with their graphic designer and marketing company from day one. Even though they didn't have the budget to have everything done at once, they started with their business cards. They had a logo developed, colour palette and font selected, key words defined and marketing message specified. They included their logo on their emails and invoices, and had a Word template done up for their letterhead for their letters sent via PDF attachments. They made sure they had a marketing template that they then used in all of their future work.
The ad hoc business (a graphic/web design agency) has by the look of it have had a number of different designers work on their branding. The letterhead doesn't match the website design, which is different again to the marketing material they send out to promote their business. Their catchphrase or USP (unique selling point – editor) varies across all the different mediums. Particularly given the nature of their business, this does not inspire confidence.
One of the most important things any small business can do is to ensure that the branding for its company is 100% integrated. Learn from the big companies and check every document and email that you send out is consistent in terms of style, image, feel, language and approach.
Visual branding: When businesses start up they often are working on a very tight budget and watch any penny carefully. It is false economy not to have a professional branding concept created. Invest up front and you will save money down the track. You don't have to spend a fortune on printing. Just print what you need when you need it, but make sure your design reflects the image of who you want to be on the market.
Make sure your images have consistent colours across all media and reproduce well both in print and electronic media.
Create a "style guide" so you use the same font size and type across your business. Also include guidelines for employees in terms of how they are to create their signature block at the end of letters and emails.
Consider also the decor of your business, the layout of your store or office and how tidy or untidy it is. Also consider the little things like the cleanliness. A good cleaner is worth their weight in gold to reinforce your professional visual brand.
Word branding: Consistency of word branding is also important. Many small businesses create their own website and brochure content. If you can't afford a copywriter to help you put your business into its best light, then at least pay for a professional editor to check your spelling and grammar. Poor sentence construction costs you customers. People do notice!
As your budget situation improves, pay for a professional copywriter to review or redraft your content. The difference in terms of customer conversions and page ranking on search engines for your website pays for itself.
Your copywriter will work with you to ensure that the feel of your business is reflected in the words you use. Is your business hip and funky, traditional or alternative? What is unique about you and your business? The language used needs to reflect who you are and what you bring to the world.
Each business also has core keywords that need to be reflected in their content. This is not just for search engines, but to also convey the uniqueness of the business. What are your business keywords?
Sound branding: People forget that sound also is part of your business. How do people answer the telephones? How do they put people on hold? What happens when someone is on hold? What sounds can people hear in the background when they ring or visit your business? What tone of voice is used in radio or TV ads? Is the tone consistent with your brand? Your sound branding is often forgotten when considering your overall branding.
Feel of your business: One of the most important parts of integrating your branding is how you make the customers feel. Do you make them feel cared for, important, better for having visited you? What unique feeling are you trying to share with your customers?
It doesn't matter how great everything else is in your business, if your customers don't feel great after visiting you, then you need to go back and relook at what you are doing and how you can improve. After all, your customers have the ultimate power over your business.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
(my own article directory)
This article was authored by Ingrid Cliff. She is a freelance writer and the Chief Word Wizard of Heart Harmony - a writing services studio that helps put your business into words. For a free copy of the "7 Secrets of Compelling Copy & Powerful Words" visit her website www.heartharmony.com.au.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
What is Identity Theft Anyway?
By Michael Gentleman
Imagine opening the mailbox and finding bills for things you never bought, credit card statements for places that you have never shopped or been to. Imagine getting denied for health insurance because your records indicate some kind of chronic disease that is expensive to treat. All those things, and more, can happen if you become a victim of identity theft.
Identity theft has no prejudices, nor does it target a specific geographical area. It can target anyone, any age, at any time. Identity theft is defined as any activity in which someone obtains information about another person and uses it some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. In many cases, the damage caused by these thieves is more than just the out-of-pocket costs, but immense additional cost when trying to restore reputation and correcting the erroneous information in the person’s credit reports, medical records, etc.
A thief will first take the victim’s identity, and then begin to use it to finance their own needs. Whether the theft is done by applying for credit and loans, credit cards from banks and retailers, steal money from existing accounts, establish accounts with utility companies, rent an apartment, file bankruptcy or even obtain a job, no type of identity theft is minor. To perform identity theft, there are only a few bits of information needed. A thief will typically hunt for your social security number, your birth date, phone number, address, and other details. Once they obtain this information, it is possible for them to go as far as obtaining a false driver’s license and using it to begin their crimes.
Lower tech identity theft can be as simple as getting your information and using your credit cards to make purchases online. The impersonator can get information about you from many places. A doctor’s office, health insurance carrier, lawyer, a dentist, a school, and many more. By obtaining simple information over the phone they can begin to piece together the parts for the bigger crime. According to filife, only about 3% of the US population is affected by identity theft, and a quarter of those are only credit card fraud, and not real identity theft. Real identity theft is when multiple infractions with different accounts, loans, etc are made in your name.
Though not as common as many people think, precautions (like keeping your personal information personal and confidential) should be taken to keep yourself safe. It is better to error on the side of caution.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
(my own article directory)
Mike writes about credit identity protection. If you are interested in protecting your identity then visit his website for further information. Credit Identity Protection Guide can protect your identity.
Imagine opening the mailbox and finding bills for things you never bought, credit card statements for places that you have never shopped or been to. Imagine getting denied for health insurance because your records indicate some kind of chronic disease that is expensive to treat. All those things, and more, can happen if you become a victim of identity theft.
Identity theft has no prejudices, nor does it target a specific geographical area. It can target anyone, any age, at any time. Identity theft is defined as any activity in which someone obtains information about another person and uses it some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. In many cases, the damage caused by these thieves is more than just the out-of-pocket costs, but immense additional cost when trying to restore reputation and correcting the erroneous information in the person’s credit reports, medical records, etc.
A thief will first take the victim’s identity, and then begin to use it to finance their own needs. Whether the theft is done by applying for credit and loans, credit cards from banks and retailers, steal money from existing accounts, establish accounts with utility companies, rent an apartment, file bankruptcy or even obtain a job, no type of identity theft is minor. To perform identity theft, there are only a few bits of information needed. A thief will typically hunt for your social security number, your birth date, phone number, address, and other details. Once they obtain this information, it is possible for them to go as far as obtaining a false driver’s license and using it to begin their crimes.
Lower tech identity theft can be as simple as getting your information and using your credit cards to make purchases online. The impersonator can get information about you from many places. A doctor’s office, health insurance carrier, lawyer, a dentist, a school, and many more. By obtaining simple information over the phone they can begin to piece together the parts for the bigger crime. According to filife, only about 3% of the US population is affected by identity theft, and a quarter of those are only credit card fraud, and not real identity theft. Real identity theft is when multiple infractions with different accounts, loans, etc are made in your name.
Though not as common as many people think, precautions (like keeping your personal information personal and confidential) should be taken to keep yourself safe. It is better to error on the side of caution.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
(my own article directory)
Mike writes about credit identity protection. If you are interested in protecting your identity then visit his website for further information. Credit Identity Protection Guide can protect your identity.
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