22. October 2009 by The Original Bulldog - Bob Griffin.

I hate Mission Statements.  There I said it.  There is absolutely no reason to waste good time on a paragraph of words that no one looks at, lives by, or is inspired by.  Do NOT create a Mission Statement.  If you must, here are all the words you need: excel, inspire, create, serve, endure, success, and forge.  Man, I had to struggle to write that last sentence.  Yuck!

Instead of a Mission Statement, make a Vision Statement.  What’s the difference?  Peanut Butter!

I wrote recently about listening to elevator pitches from MBA candidates and I started thinking about a speech I heard from Ray Barton, CEO of Great Clips, Inc, who instructed new franchisees to the chain to create a vision statement.  Ray said that a Vision Statement is more than a bunch of words, it is your vision for your business.  (I may be paraphrasing.  It’s been some months since I heard him speak those words).  The idea is to have something you can describe in vivid detail how it works and where you see the business going.

Mission Statements are an endgame approach to describing business.  It’s a “This is what we do” statement.  Vision Statements paint a picture of what success is and the path it is on.  Ask Ray what he sees when he thinks of Great Clips and in a few words will make you want to buy a franchise to be a part of that vision. There are only a few people I have met in my life that make be thankful for having the time to speak with. Ray is one of those people.  He paints a picture you can see yourself in.

OK, so where does the peanut butter fit in?   When you describe your family or your favorite car or something you love.  You have words that make the description stick.  Those are peanut butter words.  It’s those words that are still on the tip of your tongue after you hear someone talk about something they are passionate about.  As the listener, you internalize those words like they mean the same thing to you.  If you can’t describe your business with the same kind of peanut butter words that you would use to describe something you love, sell and get out before the business sells you out.

To describe what I do, I say:

“I use magic bullets to make small business owners successful.” 

I am asked for the magic bullets all the time.  Those are my peanut butter words.  The bullets I use are the Bulldog Rules for Business on the second tab of this website.   It makes people interested in what I do.  I never want to sound like I am bored telling you what I do.  A Mission Statement will do that.  I also don’t want to be glib and say, “I increase sales and lower costs for business owners.”  What sticks there?  Nothing!

When you say your Vision Statement be creative, inventive (no one says you have to use real words), and keep changing it up.  Your business is never the same form one day to the next.  Why should your description of it stay the same?

Inspire me with your peanut butter words too.  I bet there is a Peanut Butter phrase that will make me talk about YOU next.  As of now, we have more than three dozen countries reading this blog and more joining every week.  I would love nothing more than to give you a forum for highlighting your business, job, or talent.  That is why I created this site in the first place. Which country has the best Vision Statement?  I guess we will see who grows the tastiest peanut butter.

Posted in Marketing, Creating the Culture, Being the Boss | Print | 1 Comment »

17. October 2009 by The Original Bulldog - Bob Griffin.

I had the opportunity to work with Chris Hanks, Director - Terry College of Business - University of Georgia, this past week.  Chris has created one of the best Entrepreneur Programs in the country and is working to develop the best new minds in the business world.  I was blown away by the ideas, the concepts for business models, and the services that were being brought to life and could see in the eyes of the students the desire to make millions of dollars.

For this event I was a judge for an elevator pitch competition for the MBA candidates.  It was eerie to be back in the hallowed halls I once wandered myself as a student.  I didn’t mind being older, but there was a sense of “what would I have become if I had the knowledge then that I have now”.  I could see myself up at the front of the class as a student and I cringed knowing what they needed to know.  For all the great ideas that were tumbled out before us in 60 second speeches, there was an element that was missed.

I come from a background of sales and retail.  That’s my bias.  It comes from that place where the customer and the deal meet.  I understand that there is a critical point where things are changing and in the end I am going to have to change my views.  The internet, networking pathways, viral marketing, and emerging future trends are all moving the dynamics of business beyond the brick and mortar stores we see today.  With that said, I can easily see that almost all of the businesses pitched are missing the direct communication of the product or service to the customer.

Before I start getting emails telling me all about elevator pitches and what they mean, I had the chance to ask questions after the pitch to clarify the statements and get a better idea of what the students were asking vendor capitalists to invest in.  Take it easy readers.  I wouldn’t make a leap from a 60 second pitch to a full blown critique of a business.

I was struck by the lack of any business having a store front and how that simple change in strategy is a clear indication of where the next generation of business owners is going to move.  This is not to say that some of the groups didn’t need the traditional businesses to sell to.  In fact, their products and services were dependent on having the traditional business owner buy from them or have them sell the products on store shelves.  There was, however, no one willing to have a retail shop of their own.

I have pushed and pulled this through the filters of my brain for days.  Do we need stores in the community to sell things?  Is it possible to have businesses totally free from rented spaces and still grow?  Will the human need for face-to-face contact be eliminated?  If you spend enough time on anything, there begins to be a fuzzy logic that can make the ridiculous seem correct.  I got a bit overwhelmed and decided to go eat.

I went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant.  The food was good, the presentation was pleasing, and I was satisfied when I was done and paid the bill.  In this example, someone had to make and sell the plate I ate from, the chair I sat on, and the glass I drank from.  What I saw at the University of Georgia was similar to all the businesses that made this restaurant work.  Without the restaurant running well, there is a lot of other businesses that go under.

Where is the desire of the students to be on the front line and see the customers?  Have things become so disconnected that we are creating new ways to avoid each other?   This is the same question that has been bounced around since the phone was invented.

The true problem is easy to see if you look at your hand.  I was speaking to a group of franchisees a few days ago.  I held up my hand, spread my fingers and a told them to look at the distance between my thumb and my little finger.  There is a gap between each finger leading all the way from thumb to pinky.  The thumb represented them as the franchisee.  The next finger was their General Manager.  The next finger was the Manager, then the front line employee, and then the pinky was the customer.  The gap between them and the customer, although not far, was far enough for any message they wanted to get across to be muddled and confused.

You can have the owner and the General Manager be on the same page and the rest of the people pulled away.  This is a weak link if all you are doing is touching the thumb to the first finger.  You could add the Manager and the crew, but you are still weak.  It isn’t until you have a clear message from all parts of the sales process that you have strength.  Put all the fingers together and you have a fist.

How can you have a strong business model if you are not a part of the sale to the customer?  How many businesses fail, not because they did something wrong, but because they were dependent on someone else selling their stuff?  Can you change the businesses of all these students and have a model that helps the retail outlets sell merchandise?  Yes.  Can you have the businesses open retail outlets to sell directly to customers and take the message directly to the customer?  Yes.

What I see is that there is a focus for new businesses on not having to be bothered by the general public.  That is where the next business is going to succeed.

Closing the gap is where the next billionaire will be made.

Posted in Marketing, Customer Service, Creating the Culture, Being the Boss, Making Money | Print | 2 Comments »

3. October 2009 by The Original Bulldog - Bob Griffin.

When I am asked by small business owners how to improve their business I ask questions.  The more questions I ask, the better I can see how their business operates.  More importantly, the more questions they answer, the more they can see about their business.  Often we put blinders on when we look at our business, employees performance, or customer service.  Having a list of questions to answer about facets of your business can bring a clearer focus to what you think you know about things.  The way to do that is to SWOT it.

SWOT stands for:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Have four sheets of paper ready to work on this exercise.  The more you are able to write (even if you think it is not important) the more clearly you will see your business and the changes that you can make to have an immense impact on your success.

What are the strengths of your business?  This is also known as the elevator pitch.  You should be able to give a clear description of what your business is about and why someone should work with you as opposed to a competitor in the time it takes an elevator to go from the lobby to the top floor of a building.  Of course, you should have more bumpers ticker phrases to give all the strengths about your business.  Starting with “Why should I buy from you” is a good focus for the first run through on a SWOT analysis.

Weaknesses are tougher to name.  Both because you do not like to mention them, but also because you may not easily see them.  Answer the question, “Why do people NOT buy from my business?” and you will have an uncomfortable list of things to fix.

Opportunities are the part of your business that more often than not costs you in time, money, or effort.  Be honest with yourself.  Think, “If I had unlimited time, money, or manpower to make changes, what would I do?”  The answers to where your opportunities are will show up on your list easily.  Take you time and think back to when you were first starting your business.  What vision did you have when you wrote your business plan?  What do you need to change to bring that vision to life.  Business Bulldog Rule #7 - Dream about where your business can go and then make it happen.

Threats are easier to see, but no less tough to see on paper.  Competition is the first on the list, but what about internally in your organization?  Are there people on your staff who are not helping make your vision come to life?  What about cash flow? Are you able to ride out this economy and still make payroll?  Threats can come from every direction imaginable.  Are you covered if someone gets hurt at your store?  What if the street in front of yuor store closes down for a week or a month?  What can you survive and grow despite?

Bulldog Rules for Business were written using this format. Bulldog Rule #6 - Failing to plan for your day, week, month, and year is unacceptable is a good example of where this website came from.  How about Bulldog Rule #8 - Re-examine your business often is what we are doing when we use the SWOT method.  Even Bulldog Rule #12 - Be aware of your entire business is a SWOT in the right direction.

SWOT every business you can.  Not only will you find interesting facts that can help make your business stronger, but you will be able to forecast when business opportunities become available before your competition.  You can SWOT anything really.  Your business is just one part of you day, so why shouldn’t you look at what else in your life takes time away from building your business.  SWOT your business and then make the changes you need to grow, thrive, and build a business that exceeds your vision.

Posted in Creating the Culture, Being the Boss, Training | Print | 12 Comments »