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BSM Executive Advisor |
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David C. Guenthner |
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dave@bsmexecutiveadvisor.com |
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(402) 660-7667 |
| Contact Dave Today!!! |
All About...
BSM Blog
IT’S ALL ABOUT LEADERSHIP
[11.24.2008]
Watching the turmoil in the markets over the last few weeks has been extremely painful but entertaining and instructive. It points out, I think, that it is all about leadership.
First, Hank...
10 TIPS TO SURVIVE A SLOWDOWN
[11.20.2008]
Wow, it’s getting rough out there. We are in a recession made worse by a liquidity crisis and a government that refuses to get out of the way.
If you believe everything you are reading the...
THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
[11.19.2008]
The free market economy of the United States, left alone by short sighted politicians, is very resilient. Government needs to get out of private enterprise or it will stifle all innovation and entrepr...
Mark Cuban and the S.E.C.
[11.18.2008]
Four years after the fact, the S.E.C. has filed a complaint against Mark Cuban for insider trading on a $750 million dollar deal.
This sounds a lot like the Martha Stewart lynching conducte...
Why not us?
[11.18.2008]
If you’re serious about growing your business, ask this question of your managers and employees every day.
Someone is going to be number one or number two in your industry or market. The qu...
HERE COME THE RULES and REGULATIONS
[11.11.2008]
The stock market has crashed and we have a liquidity crisis. The crash and crisis is the result of another failure on the part of regulators to adequately do their job of keeping an eye on greedy and ...
THE IMPERIAL CEO
[07.09.2008]
A column in the July 9 Wall Street Journal made some good points about the control some CEO’s exercise over their Boards as Chairman and CEO. I doubt, however, if splitting the Chairman CEO role will ...
MORE REGULATION OF BANKS AND FINANCIAL MARKETS EQUALS PRICE CONTROLS IN THE MARKET
[07.08.2008]
Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson are both making a major power play to increase the role of the FED and the Treasury Department in regulating the countries financial markets. In the meantime, Chris Cox ...
JOHN MCCAIN IS WRONG ON EXECUTIVE PAY
[06.11.2008]
John McCain is showing his lack of real life business savvy with his recent proposal to let shareholders approve executive pay. Executive pay is the Boards job, not the shareholders job. His plan may ...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[05.28.2008]
TEN IN A SERIES OF TEN POSTS
FOCUS ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION, NOT HIRING.
Employees are assets not expenses. They are very expensive assets to acquire and get into a position where t...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[05.28.2008]
NINE IN A SERIES OF TEN POSTS
BE VISIBLE AND APPROACHABLE TO YOUR STAKEHOLDERS.
You can’t run a business sitting behind a desk and looking at a computer screen-at least you can’t...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[05.28.2008]
EIGHT IN A SERIES OF TEN POSTS
CELEBRATE THE SMALL VICTORIES.
Major successes are the accumulation of hundreds of small, often unnoticed efforts; not one gargantuan achievement. ...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[04.25.2008]
SEVENTH IN A SERIES OF 10 POSTS
ASK YOUR EMPLOYEES WHY.
Why?
This is the greatest question in business. Ask your employee’s why they do th...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[04.18.2008]
Sixth in a Series of 10 posts
TERMINATE YOUR TWO LEAST PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES.
Your company, in fact any company, is only as good as its worst emp...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[04.09.2008]
FIFTH IN A SERIES OF TEN POSTS
IMPLEMENT A PERFORMANCE BASED COMPENSATION PLAN.
Most people are motivated, or at least partially motivated, by money. Most companies, however, fai...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[04.09.2008]
FOURTH IN A SERIES OF TEN POSTS
LISTEN BEFORE YOU TALK.
Don’t let your mouth get in the way of coming up with the best solution to a problem. As surprising as it may seem, you’re...
TEN WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[03.31.2008]
THE THIRD IN SERIES OF 10 POSTS
MEASURE IT AND IT WILL IMPROVE.
In business, if you measure, monitor and report on something, it will improve...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[03.25.2008]
SECOND IN A SERIES OF 10 POSTS.
IDENTIFY AND ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TOP FIVE KEYS TO SUCCESS IN MEETING YOUR 2012 GOALS.
You probably h...
10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS
[03.16.2008]
FIRST IN A SERIES OF 10 POSTS.
WRITE YOUR 2012 ANNUAL REPORT TO STAKEHOLDERS
The problem that most companies struggle with is having al...
THE REAL SECURITIES SCANDAL OF THE DECADE
[03.12.2008]
Since 2000 we have had the Enron and WorldCom fiasco’s in the securities markets. We have witnessed a backdating scandal and now here comes the sub-prime mortgage crisis created by selling bundled loa...
Elliot Spitzer
[03.11.2008]
Elliot Spitzer
I don’t really need to pile on to Elliot Spitzer, but if ever anyone deserved to have the book thrown at him, it is Mr. Spitzer.
Mr. Spitzer made a career out of ...
IT'S ALL ABOUT EXPECTATIONS
[02.10.2008]
Do you remember your last vacation?
In the weeks preceding the trip you day dreamed about how great it would be to lie in the sun. Perhaps you dreamt of visiting some historical...
THE CFO CAN’T SAY THEY DIDN’T KNOW
[01.16.2008]
When I think about a business and the flow of information and transactions, I always picture it as a giant funnel. Information from sales, operations, purchasing, vendors, regulators, customers, Board...
CORPORATE GREED AND CURRUPTION
[01.03.2008]
I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of hearing the worn out phrase corporate greed and corruption. Greed and corruption is not rampant in American business. The fact is that the Securities...
Fleeing The U.S. Public Capital Markets
[01.04.2007]
During the past several months one of the hot topics has been companies that have sold out to a private equity firm or that have filed their IPO in an overseas capital market. Sarbanes Oxley and over-...
Execution
Execution is the glue that holds a company's vision, capital and infrastructure together. Execution means being predictable, boringly predictable. Customers know what is going to happen every time they place an order with you. Employees know what they must do over and over again to be successful. Stakeholders know what to expect because they have seen you do it a number of times before.
Good execution will save a bad strategy; bad execution will doom the greatest strategy. You have to be able to do what you said you would do.
Great execution is the only competitive advantage most companies have. Every competitor can acquire access to capital. Given time, someone will figure out how to make a competitive product. Someone will be willing to undercut your price. It is far more difficult to copy your ability to execute and be predictable in what you are doing. Execution is a true differentiator.
InaCom was primarily a distributor of microcomputers and related services to business customers. We had the same vendors, the same products and the same access to business customers that our ten top competitors had. The only thing we had that was different was a track record for executing in a reliable fashion. We didn't always deliver but we did the majority of the time and if we didn't we told the other parties exactly why we didn't and what we were going to do to fix the problem. They knew we would be honest and upfront about what was going on.
Great execution requires measurements. If you measure it, monitor progress and report on it, it will improve.
It will improve because your people will know that it is important and if they want to progress in the company, most people do, they will focus on ways to improve what you are measuring.
You can't, however, measure everything. Stick to five or six key measures for the company and make each manager pick five or six things in their area of responsibility that will help achieve the companies five or six key measures. Don't measure just for the sake of measuring. If you decide to measure something, track it and use it.
Tell people what you are measuring, how you are measuring it and why it is important. Assign responsibility for the items you are going to measure. Measure the item and report what the performance against the measurement is. Hold people accountable for improvement and they will figure out the right ways to improve the measurement. They will set measurable goals in their area that will support the improvement of the measure you have set and will follow your lead on how to improve.
Remember, what's important at one company may not be important at another company. What works at one company may not, in fact probably won't, work the same at another company. What's important in an individual company is based on the company vision, culture, core values and people. You must decide what needs to improve at your company. Don't improve something just because someone wrote a book and said you need to measure and monitor this. Just like you, your company is individual; there is none just like it.
Contact dave@bsmexecutiveadvisor.com today to discuss your business needs!