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How’s Your Plan? | Extraordinary Business

By Rick MeekinsMay 29, 2014Comments Disabled

How planning can and will impact the success of your company

Apple bought Beats by Dre…AT&T bought Dish Network…Facebook is after WhatsApp. Which question is more important – the what, as in what did they buy or the why?
Well, more than likely, these were part of their plan to perhaps gain more market share, expand their capabilities or offerings, purchase some new technology or knowledge or some other strategic initiative to increase shareholder value. In the case of these businesses, they have their board of directors and stockholders that are holding them accountable for achieving or exceeding the company’s strategic goals. No acquisition is done in a corner or without some type of planning.
As small business owners, while we aren’t beholding to our stockholders, at least to the extent of larger companies, we should have some type of accountability to ensure that we are creating and following through with the strategic initiatives that the company requires. This could be – should be – people who would be willing to have a stake in the success of your business and will be committed to making sure you don’t drop the ball.
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How’s Your Plan?

Management and Leadership

How’s Your Plan?

By Rick MeekinsMay 29, 2014Comments Disabled

How planning can and will impact the success of your company

Apple bought Beats by Dre…AT&T bought Dish Network…Facebook is after WhatsApp. Which question is more important – the what, as in what did they buy or the why?

Well, more than likely, these were part of their plan to perhaps gain more market share, expand their capabilities or offerings, purchase some new technology or knowledge or some other strategic initiative to increase shareholder value. In the case of these businesses, they have their board of directors and stockholders that are holding them accountable for achieving or exceeding the company’s strategic goals. No acquisition is done in a corner or without some type of planning.

As small business owners, while we aren’t beholding to our stockholders, at least to the extent of larger companies, we should have some type of accountability to ensure that we are creating and following through with the strategic initiatives that the company requires. This could be – should be – people who would be willing to have a stake in the success of your business and will be committed to making sure you don’t drop the ball.

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Strategy

Resources for Organizational Growth | Extraordinary Business

By Rick MeekinsMarch 06, 2014Comments Disabled

Most business owners realize, as Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is in overalls and looks like work.” He goes on to say, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

What is not said, but might be implied, is that it often takes more energy, more resources to get a product or project to the point of success – beyond the inertia of complacency. While he seems to referring to work in general and the idea that it takes more to simply get over the top (being close to success and giving up,) what it boils down to is that to you have to put more energy into being successful.

Continuing in that line of thinking, you could assume that in growing anything – overcoming not growing or being at rest – requires more energy. Physicist Sir Isaac Newton offers in the first law of inertia that an object at rest, unless acted on by an external force, tends to stay at rest.

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Resources for Organizational Growth

Strategy

Resources for Organizational Growth

By Rick MeekinsMarch 06, 2014Comments Disabled

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Management and Leadership

You Can’t Fix Stupid | Extraordinary Business

By Rick MeekinsJanuary 28, 2014Comments Disabled

How addressing one part of your company’s operations may not be effective

I think that one of the scariest things that can happen in business is suddenly being slammed with new customers and not being able to fulfill their needs, costing the company much more money than as planned in order to struggle just to keep up. While you, as a business leader, struggle to keep the business afloat, you can’t help but wonder what is going on that you cannot see…are you still profitable? Is it damage to your brand? Are there quality issues that you cannot meet? Are you engaging customers in such a way that they will come back???

Is your company’s infrastructure stupid??

When you are in the midst of the storm, you will find out, rather quickly, that you can’t fix stupid! Therefore, it is essential for business leaders who intend to grow their businesses to think differently about their company and how it will continue to survive!

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Management and Leadership

You Can’t Fix Stupid | Extraordinary Business

By Rick MeekinsJanuary 28, 2014Comments Disabled

How addressing one part of your company’s operations may not be effective

Is your company’s infrastructure stupid??

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Change Happens

Business Development

Change Happens

By Rick MeekinsMay 23, 2013Comments Disabled

Spotting marketplace trends that will impact your business in order to develop products and services to address those trends

When the weather is bad, have you ever seen the drivers that continue to drive as though they are riding on dry pavement, thoroughly convinced that nothing will happen to them? Driving through Atlanta on morning as such I saw a car coming up behind me very quickly. In front of me, there were a number of cars spread across the lanes, leaving one lane open. I thought to myself “this guy is crazy,” as the car went flying past me. Unfortunately, the driver had to swerve around a slower moving vehicle, went into a tail spin and ended up crashing into a concrete barrier that divided the highway. Fortunately, the driver wasn’t going so fast as to actually get hurt, but she (as I later learned) ended up being extremely late for wherever she was going. Plus her vehicle was damaged.

Do you run your company like this? Do you continue to operate the same way, day in and day out, regardless of what is going on in the marketplace? Do you find that you are so busy “doing” that you sometimes miss the queues that might suggest to you that you need to make some change or changes in your business? Do you find that fewer people are paying attention to you or purchasing your products and services without any indication of why? Do you find that you are reactive to things that happen in and around your business?

Has it cost you?

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The Path of the Innovator | Extraordinary Business

Products and services, Strategy

Products and services Strategy

The Path of the Innovator | Extraordinary Business

By Rick MeekinsOctober 11, 20121 Comment

Getting your idea from the drawing board to the marketplace

The idea person says, “Hey, it would be pretty cool if we could fix this problem” but stops at the point of talking about it.

The inventor says, “I can make something that will solve this problem” but stops short of figuring out how to bring it to market.

The innovator says “This is how we can solve this opportunity, which provides a value for a market that is in excess of the cost to solve the problem,” and does it.

(With the right messaging, positioning and sales, the investors say, “I get it. Let me throw some money at it to make it happen faster!”)

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