Seth Godin takeaways

So, after finishing my MBA recently I have been looking back at some great post's from a very well known man who is well deserving of the notoriety, Seth Godin. I have heard him speak personally, watched several video presentations, begun but not finished yet a couple of his books, and am thankful for his contributions to our business society and the common knowledge base. So, as a resource I am clipping and posting a few links to some recent favorites from Mr Godin's blog.

The future of the library
How to be interviewed
The game theory of discovery and the birth of the free-gap

More to come shortly.

Saturation

How many is too many? I remember last semester in class we had the discussion with our Dean about his work with a certain company and the discussion was centered around the fad or trend within the frozen yogurt industry. We wondered then and I still wonder now if the fad of frozen yogurt isn't going to be short lived.

This isn't to say that some money isn't to be had in the mean time by those who want to get in the industry through cheap franchise buy in fees compared to the typical restaurant start up cost. I wonder how many surveys and market study's were done by these owners or if they just had a hunch and went with it hoping it might pay off.

According to the business life cycle, Fresh Berry for instance, who was the first "new" style frozen yogurt companies to hit the scene, has added products to the choices to help draw people in for more than just the cold choice.of frozen yogurt. I know that from this authors perspective, we do go to the frozen yogurt places more in the spring and summer as it warms up. In the business life cycle as you approach the maturity of one product or business strategic choices must be made to either market differently, find a new market to develop or penetrate one that you are presently in. There of course see other options such as adding new relates or unrelated products to diversify and not put all the eggs in one basket. So it would seem that Fresh Berry here in Tulsa particularly is trying to diversify so as to lower risk and forge the rivers filled with the many other yogurt ships in the market place.

Here is an article that talks about this from this morning's Tulsa World.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=46&articleid=20110313_46_E1_CUTLIN260738

Staying in your core

Well, I have made it through the first phase of my Strategic Management MBA class and am truly enjoying the concept of looking from a strategic perspective at how the wants, needs and demands of a market have to be aligned with the core competencies of a business who wants to reach those customers. This morning I got to read an article from my wise professor of Strat about what happens to companies when they decide to stray away from their core competencies.
Here is the link for your reading pleasure: http://fxn.ws/hw84Hu

In this article Wal Mart- the retail giant is said to have left the founding purposes and core that the founder Sam Walton built it upon. If you ask the general person on the street, what is Wal-Mart known for, they would likely tell you "Lower Prices." And yet, Wal Mart has taken a strategic approach to introduce items that are higher priced, and to even increase prices on some items while lower prices on others. With the amount of volume that comes through their stores, I am not sure how they, they being the executive strategic team, would think that consumers would not notice. As part of my first project, we were dealing in the beverage industry, specifically with Coca Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS). Clearly the big two players in the market are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. However all three state in their financial reports that Wal-Mart is one of their big customers. Both DPS and if I recall, KO stated that they had been dealing with some pricing and advertising discrepencies with Wal-Mart but those had been resolved in the 2010 year and shelf space and location of retail displays were being cleared up. It makes me wonder if the beverage and snacking industries (PepsiCo) are being hit with pricing shifts by one of the most well leveraged and well positioned retail corporations today, what their true market strategy is.

As we found in our project, Coca Cola's most critical core Competency is their brand. The "Coke" or "Coca Cola" brand is globally known. This I think ties with one of my previous blogs about Starbucks and since that post I can see that this kind of brand recognition is possibly what they are after within their Coffee and food industry. So, if Wal-Mart brand is known to be value based and a strong Cost-leadership corporation, then they tried to differentiate with certain product lines and they flopped completely.

From a retail product display perspective, I can say that my wife and I have wondered around a few of the new stores with their wider and more open layout and I can say it was VERY frustrating to us as we always knew how to get in, get our stuff, and make it to the customary 10 people deep lines because they never have enough people up front to handle the demand. The know people will generally wait, and so they can save cost of labor having limited number of people there. Flipped from that perspective, my wife and I visited competitor Target the other week, and we approached the lines and there were 6-7 people in 4-5 checkouts, and I could hear over some radio's "Please send all available help to the front to assist" and within moments there were 4-5 more checkout lanes available and we were out of there within a matter of minutes. That experience and customer based approach stuck with me. I feel like Wal-Mart HAS strayed from being customer focused for the best prices and experience, and gone to being the profit driven machine that it is today. Wal-Mart needs to make a shift, it's just a matter of how quickly that shift will show up in their EPS and Net Income.

Starbucks Coffee....or just a mermaid

So I have just come upon news that Starbucks has made the "strategic decision" to drop the "Starbucks Coffee" from it's logo and just go with the green and white contrasted mermaid/greek siren logo for it's signs, cups, and all form of branding. I for one, as a Gold Card member and frequent customer of our local fill up spots, am not in favor of the changes.
When I say the company name "Starbucks" what is the first word that generally comes to mind? Coffee..right? And if I am selling breakfast sandwiches or donuts or muffins with the coffee drink, would I rather be known for the sandwiches, which McDonald's, QT, and BK all have variations of, or the point of differentiation which is the Starbucks coffee experience. I am currently beginning my last semester in my MBA program and am in the class Graduate Strategic Management. One of our discussion points in the first few classes has centered around alignment of resources with the needs, wants, demands of the customers to form the core competencies. Starbucks seems to have a core competency as being the coffee company of choice. And the CEO Mr Shultz states that in his video, but actions do speak louder than words. McDonald's in recent years has brought the McCafe in to compete in direct competition to Starbucks and I wonder if Starbucks realizes that by taking away the Coffee from it's branding it in some ways is taking the focus off of the very thing that created them to be who they are today.

I AM interested to learn more about what drove the company to this decision and how they think that this will be a point of strategic growth for them. Here is the link to the full story on a Forbes.com blog: http://bit.ly/dXtgGv and the new logo:

Also here is the link to the post by the CEO about the change.

http://www.starbucks.com/preview

Happy Coffee drinking-

Time - alarms vs schedules

Time- it's something we all have the exact same amount of, and yet it's the application of management to that time that can change a day from nothing much to very productive and accomplish a lot of things that we wanted to do. I have been talking with my class I teach at ORU about time management and utilizing the various methods and tools available to them to help make sure they complete the items necessary within a given day or time period. I have found myself having to utilize two platforms for myself- 1) iPhone 4 - Yes- my wife and I have them and have had them since July, but I have had to adjust my technique's of reminding myself to get things done and my wife has been a good inspiration and reminder of how to use the alarms and calendar events to not forget what's coming up and things to do. 2) Paper print out of my office calendar. In as much as I want to not waste paper, I have found that if I can actually have something handy to write things down onto and look back at it and make new notes, then the things I think about or talk to someone about doing, don't get lost in the shuffle of my meetings and actions.

If I may elaborate on this subject for just a bit- I began to think about this tonight and how it's so easy for us to turn ourselves into alarms about our time. Think about it, are we waiting until a certain time and then reacting to it, like an expense that is coming up, or a meeting, and instead of preparing, we BBRRRRINGGGGG- react and go off?! Or as an alternative, what if we were to be a schedule that is able to be adjusted, make notes and be fluid throughout the times to work ahead and to accomplish much more so that the alarms are going off as simple reminders of what you have already done and are ready for, rather than what has just come up.

So, with that, I am following my schedule which says I need sleep in a day! So, until next time, which won't be as long in between either, have a great one.

Full and empty at the same time...

There was a man who had saved his money up for some time to make it on a special cruise. He did not get to go on trips like this. When the day arrived, he was so excited and thankful to get to be on the cruise. In the outer areas passing from his quarters towards the galley, there was a table of cheese and crackers. He would go by and grab a handful and stick them in his pockets and then walk around the ship snacking. By the day 2 of the 4 day cruise, he was becoming quite hungry.

You see, he did not have the clothes to wear that fit in with the dining areas and he figured they must be mighty expensive, so the cheese and crackers were a sure way to get something to eat. On the 4th day while they were heading back to port, the Captain was walking by and had seen this man eating only the cheese and crackers a day or two before. The captain asked the man, why are you still out here eating the cheese and crackers? The man replied, well, you see sir, I don't have any clothes to dress like those people and I know it must be very expensive to get to eat in the dining areas. The captain looked at him, saddened somewhat by his response, and he asked the gentleman, "Don't you realize that with your ticket to this cruise, you paid for it all, including all you can eat of the food?"

One paid it all for us, and we need to realize that we can walk in the confidence and assurance that the ticket is covered and we are to walk out the full and abundant life that God has for us. When you know you are a son or a daughter of the King, you carry yourself a little differently. Not in arrogance, or haughtiness, but rather in the confidence that "my daddy provides all things for me!"

I need to give credit to that opening story, it's a rendition as best as my memory serves me of a sermon I watched yesterday by the amazing Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty. I want to give honor to him and Pastor Sharon for the leaders they have been and will continue to be in what it means to walk full of the Lord and emptied of ourselves! I am so thankful to have been able to have them co-pastor our wedding with our pastors! What a glorious day.

Many have heard and seen various pictures of a glass of water with a level of water in the glass and the question is "Is the glass half full or half empty?" I would contend it is full. Full of air particles and water. We are to live full lives as Christ, who is our all in all, fills in the places where we are empty. Philippians 1:21 states "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." But the context of this is Paul writing saying he does not know if he will live or die because of his circumstances in prison. As we empty ourselves, our agendas, and our desires, He comes in and fills us up with Him, His purposes, His destiny, and His peace.

Encourage somebody today. Go out of your way to make sure someone else around you knows they are valued, loved, appreciated, forgiven, and able to be full as they become empty!

What does success look like

I was reading a blog today from a wise Dean and the question that was posed was if good or great are valid points of references for company's today? Jim Collin's book titled "Good to Great" is a good book for sure, however the thought there assumes that one is already good. So I began to ponder on this, and asked the question "What does success look like?"

Success for many people can be defined by the size of the paycheck they bring home. For others it is the number of children they have running around their feet to watch over and pour themselves into. For a horse jockey, it is making it over all the elements in a course without falling, and in the best time.

I have found success to be comprised of a vast array of things. But at the heart of it all, success is measured by the love we gave to others and the love we allow ourselves to receive. It was said of Jesus in Matthew 28:20 "For Christ did not come to be served but to serve, giving His life up as a ransom for many." I am stirred by this as I also ponder the purpose of the great University for which I get to work. For the founding vision by our late Chancellor Oral Roberts, was to "Raise up your students to hear My voice, to go where My light is dim, where My voice is heard small, and My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in this I am well pleased."

I see these as complimentary and powerfully interwoven. I then take that principal and apply it to the business realm. I am to take the healing power of God while hearing His voice, to the furthest places of the earth. This means that as I serve God's purpose and walk in the knowledge of the Holy Spirit and His voice, I am raised up and I have power not in who I am, but in Christ that allows me to do amazing things. To dial that in at a more practical level, in a world where excellence is dwindling and hard to find, I am to bring excellence into my company. I am to bring creative ideas that no one else has thought of that can "heal" a situation.

I welcome other thoughts.