Customers Are Business

Customers Are Business

Customers are business. If you buy into the simple concept that business is lifeless without customers, then it follows that “your” customers are “your” business. The complications beyond this thought are the distractions that derail visible activities, yet your efforts will be more efficient if you keep your mind on simplicity.

It is simple—customers are business. The equation is more personal if stated, Your Customers = Your Business.

Since customers sustain business, then taking action on customer input will create more activities that can enhance the customer's perceived value of your efforts. The math is simple. More Customers = More Business. Absolute sales dollar volume and profits are the result of increased activity that compels customers to engage with your team.

For today, when I refer to business, I am opening up the door to the thought that business and activity is effectively the same thing. The equation adapts to consider that visible activity will help your business grow, and the equation evolves further; More Customer Perceived Activity = More Customer Engagement. Activity seen by those outside your walls drives profit to the bottom line. Action creates customers that want to engage with your group, paving a path for customers to follow back again and again.

Business is a compilation of activities, products, services, employees and so on. The bottom line (Profit) is a measurement tool. Profit is created by the daily efforts within your internal and external visible reach. The bottom line is at the bottom for a reason. The entire list of top-down exercises is what makes up the variables that produce sustainable profit. Effort from the top fills the funnel of success as it bounces through the Pachinko Palace of challenges that faces your team.

Allowing your effort to produce bottom line profit is the natural goal. “Customers are business.” The simple thought is what provokes your group to engage with customers to create valuable customer retention.

Value is a business element that leaders control. Value is the intangible that companies must create to win long-term customers. Remember, if you agree that “Customers are Business,” then it pays to take action on the needs of your core customers.

The customer is the ultimate decision maker when it comes to the interpretation and realization of the “value” created by your group. Value is determined by the outside world, and good companies tailor products and services around feedback from core customers. Ideas supported by the expertise of what your group can create will result in sustainable activity. Value is created when external customers take notice and deem your efforts to be worthy of spending their hard-earned dollars with products and services produced by your team.

The equation expands—More Customers that “feel” value = more Business. Noticeable activity follows and good management takes care that the Pachinko Ball of value is managed to avoid unnecessary expenses that can erode potential profits. Managing expenses is a vital part of business, yet expense management is proportional to the activities that create perceived value.

Customer Service is a worthy activity that builds customer relationships. Even great companies, with fabulous products and services, eventually run into a customer with a problem. When a problem is managed well through outstanding customer service, the customer gains additional respect for your company and the initial problem provides an opportunity.

Often, a well handled customer issue creates a customer experience that is positively remembered, and the memory is better than if there were never a problem at all. Customers appreciate being taken care of, and when issues are handled in a quick and courteous fashion the customer “remembers” the experience as a positive activity.

Customer service is an art. Customers have been trained by large corporations to dread calling in for service. Long hold times, untrained or rude staff, constant transfers, dropped calls and a simple lack of care have created customer fear long before they call your company. In fact, some customers never call to report issues, as the hassle of poor customer service invades their lives all too often.

When customers avoid calling it is very detrimental to companies, as they lose the ability to collect needed feedback. Customers can be left with a bad taste even though your company was more than willing to help out. When customer fear prevents your customers from calling, the equation equals lost business. Taking care of all of your customers creates a groundswell of positive word of mouth communication.

In niche businesses stories get around, so your customers will repeat great customer service stories often.

When your company receives a customer service call it should be considered a welcomed opportunity. Good companies “want” to cure customer issues and build a long-lasting bond when given the chance. Always keep in mind that you know in advance that you can help a customer, but the customer is already callused by poor treatment from the past. Customers need to feel that you are going to take care of them in the first few seconds of the conversation.

The trick is to encourage the customer to talk out the issue in a casual and conversational way. Once you understand the problem, you can choose the resolution process that meets the situation. In their effort to help, customer service people can ask too many questions upfront, and these questions can make customers feel that the questions are designed to find a way out of taking care of the issue.

Tell valuable customers that you can help as soon as they have described the issue. Follow-up questions can be asked after customers have completely delivered their concerns. By communicating your desire to help first, follow-up questions become welcomed. Starting with questions can make your customer feel “questioned,” and recovering from this territory is nearly impossible.

Quality companies truly want to hear from their customers. Customer service is an engaging one-on-one “activity.”

Our customers can be a wealth of great ideas. Great ideas = Great Activities. Activities lead to new business and increased profits.

It is beneficial to listen to ideas that could add new products or services to your lineup. Use caution, as it is easy to fall into the trap of only hearing what you want to hear. Your preconceived thoughts can be reinforced by customer requests. Create activities that meet a wide audience. Be sure that ideas for new products or services have real merit.

Taking action on new product ideas is an activity that is “noticed” by your customers. Activity that is seen by the external world manufactures sustainable growth. Targeting activities aimed at your core audience gains traction. Taking on every idea leads to wandering and waste.

Produce activities that will be seen by your customers. After all, your customer is your business.

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

Trade Show Game Plan

Trade Show Game Plan

Centralizing your industry focus in one location reduces travel expenses and places your products in an environment of excitement. Industry buzz adds to promotions, making Trade Shows the perfect vehicle to promote your company.

Since Trade Shows come with the associated expenses, it is wise to think about your goals when attending or exhibiting any shows. Looking beyond the obvious will enhance many facets of your organization. Trade Shows place shoppers and vendors in a room that sets the mood for a proactive business shopping experience.

Advance planning will help you to gain the most benefit. Everyone at a show is busy. Setting up meetings in advance, with a time range, will prepare customers or vendors so they are aware of your presence. Being flexible will help you to see more products and people.

Setting a hard time at a Trade Show is difficult, and a time window creates the best opportunity for your contacts to be on the lookout for you.

When exhibiting—most companies are good at bringing their exciting products and company catalog. A well-designed booth welcomes your customers into your mobile store in an inviting fashion. Booths with open spaces guide even timid customers to learn about your company and products. Preparing your mind in advance of the show allows you to look between the colorful booths to find the true hidden gems of information that can be found in every corner of the hall.

When displaying—be prepared to answer “the” question in an effective, informative and concise fashion. “The” question is asked at every show—every time. One hundred percent of the people that enter your booth will ask your people “What is new?” Usually, customers ask about new products before they even say hello.

A new product at a Trade Show generates conversation that is fueled by the customer. Trade Shows turn the sales equation around, and answering questions replaces selling. Rehearsing sound bites for each new product will help your team to gain the most attention for your company and products.

New products generate excitement, and proper display promotes items in an atmosphere where customers are looking to learn or buy. This special moment in time is when astute show planners display their people.

People in your organization are paramount in creating year-round business. Taking the time to meet your customers lays the groundwork for repeat sales. Face to face conversations allow your organization to overcome future problems and issues. Customers that know the people in your company feel safe in communications based on the familiarity that is gained at the show.

While we all enjoy the revenue stream that comes with selling products, networking might be more important than selling at a show. Keeping a pulse on the industry identifies new trends that are entering your marketplace. Getting outside the walls of your building opens doors to new opportunities. Accidental meetings in the hallway, or after show hours, often produce new ideas that can be implemented as soon as you get home.

Open minds look for opportunity. Seek out networking opportunities and make them happen by actively going beyond the comfort zone of those contacts you already know. Make it a priority to make several new contacts at every event.

At a Trade Show, people are prepared to meet new people, and those that put themselves out there first get more done. Meeting new people leads to new ideas. Might new ideas result in improved infrastructure at your company? Maybe you learn about a promotion that you can emulate and tailor for your group? Maybe you will find a cost-saving idea, or perhaps find a new service that improves efficiency back home?

Educational opportunities are abundant at Trade Shows. As hard as they try, Trade Show employees are often amazed at how often the education opportunities at shows are missed by attendees and exhibitors alike. Seminars are a great source of information, and many of them are offered at zero cost. Attending as many educational opportunities that are pertinent to your company is sound business.

Too often, people seek out others that provide information that mirrors their own opinions. Effort should be placed on looking for feedback that cultivates positive change. Feedback given directly from users provides the fodder to improve products and customer service.

Customers at Trade Shows are happy to share experiences. Often, a customer brings a problem to light in a helpful way. Loyal customers enjoy providing feedback in a manner that is positive, helping to cure issues relating to product performance. Longtime customers are happy to help improve your company, leading to real change. Knowledge is gained and corrective action can be taken before problems become a haunting online complaint.

Keeping a pulse on the industry inspires new thoughts that might push your company in new directions. Looking for ideas that help your company evolve should be a point of focus. A stale idea seen in a competitor’s booth can help you to visualize areas of improvement for your company. Getting out there and witnessing what the industry group is doing provides the motivation for your team to generate new ideas and opens the doors of change.

The all too familiar landscape of our office walls can lock us in ideas of the past. Trade Shows add vivid scenery to the imagination, inspiring new visions that can be implemented, allowing you to move future potential into today’s reality.

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

Driving Business

Established roads can set you on your way and ultimately wind around business challenges, driving you away from sound business decisions. The roads of positive change drive you and your business along a more direct route, making the trip fun, rewarding and profitable. Your business and employees will thrive if your drive includes a road map that is embraced by all. Going along for the ride is replaced by the excitement and anticipation that accompanies participation. The destination of success is one sweet ride.

To truly drive your business, setting destiny in your favor, it pays to educate your team while painting a detailed description of the ultimate destination. It seems reasonable that the road to success will lead to opportunity if you and your team grasp the overall concept of where you hope to end up. Defining the destination is step one in implementing your route to growth and continuous improvement. Painting a clear vision empowers the group to collaboratively create their own milestones, rest stops and high-speed zones. A clear picture of the intended destinations allows engaged team members to reroute based on ownership of contributions that move the group. Drive requires that the entire team is willing to get behind the wheel. With everyone in the car, the view out the front windshield creates piercing focus, and the eyes of the team move forward enthusiastically.

The rear view mirror can provide source material and historical perspective—or it can take eyes off the mission, as looking back can be where the library of distraction prevents travel to new places. The question “Are we there yet?” fades behind the hills of the past when the group uses the winds of change to fill balloons of future prosperity. With buy-in from all, forks in the road are eagerly taken and the blur of noise seen out the side windows is replaced by the resolve of winning groups that revel in the changing landscape known as success.

Accepting the status quo is often the easy route for those that become comfortable in familiar surroundings. Fear and the patterns of culture memory should be supplanted by the hope and belief of inspired change. Being locked in the past is the speed bump that can derail any new initiative. To achieve, new projects need the energy supplied by groups. True leadership puts away the “Boss Card” and trades commands for evangelism. Believers in ideas move forward on their own merit and with passion that exists within the potential of our future leaders. Commands work well when the boss is watching—the breakdowns occur when overbearing managers turn their back. Astute leaders know that the synergy of a group accomplishes goals even when valued employees are out of sight. The best teams feel the freedom to place a light on the shortcomings of new ideas. Through empowered discussion, employees that feel valued participate by adding to new endeavors. Leaders can always pull out the boss card, but using it sparingly improves morale, overcomes, and gets more done.

Motor State Distributing exemplifies great leadership. History shows that George Lane noticed a need to supply racers with the parts they needed. George transformed his racing hobby, and in 1964 he took one small step for his racing company—one giant step for the racing kind. He worked hard to deliver great customer service and built a business from a one-man shop and humble beginnings. George identified a market and set out to solve the parts supply challenge that faced racers of the day—the Internet was still years away. In time the business grew, and George used wisdom to grow with the times. Growth requires help. Help requires trust. Today, the family tree known as the Lane family participates in the operation of what was once a one-man operation. Clear role definition allows well over 100 people to perform. Doug Lane has accepted the Warehouse Distributor of the Year trophy at SEMA multiple times.

To accomplish such success, George and Doug rely on many. David Lane provides modern warehousing techniques that are the envy of all distribution centers. Longtime dedicated employees such as Curt Spalding head up new initiatives, increasing the footprint and visibility of what George started many years ago. George could have stayed a garage-style business, but I believe he knew that empowerment would help him to achieve. The Lane legacy lives on within the walls of Motor State, and mentorship prevails in every corner of the building.

Scott Wahlstrom guides promotions, and longtime employee Craig Mullauer manages a knowledgeable sales staff with grace. I could point out other companies that have been successful, but my goal here is to diagnose and provide motivation for all businesses to take steps of improvement. Motor State recognizes that the power of trust has transformed a black and white photo containing a few race parts and one George Lane into a brain trust of amazing people that believes in mentorship.

The dedicated Motor State staff, ranging from accounting, to customer service, to sales, to shipping, to creative, to spin-off companies, eagerly embraces empowerment. The leadership style provides freedom for all employees to find the opportunity that suits their individual goals. The group that is defined as Motor State embraces the ideals George Lane laid out years ago, and they have been given the freedom to take the original ideals to new levels that go beyond what one person could do.

In a very short time, Darren Lane has become an active participant in the Motor State fold, taking on the challenges that the digital age presents. At a young age, Darren has taken his education, racing knowledge and self-imposed talents to heights that could only occur due to the willing mentorship and support voluntarily given by the entire staff in Michigan. A staff that chooses to be involved creates an atmosphere of continuous improvement. Dustin Lane is lurking in the background, providing new technologies that are rooted in the plan for success inspired by Grandfather George Lane not so many years ago. I can hardly wait to witness what the future holds for Karianne Lane—her contribution could be within the business, or perhaps her family values will propel the Motor State gang to places that would be impossible without her future guidance and support. I know Doug Lane excels due to the support from his wife Kim—business success is a ton more fun when family support inspires.

George Lane had a plan—he implemented it well and provided clear guidance for hundreds of people around him to excel. Respect is easy when you witness the true five- tool player—family, integrity, vision, empowerment and trust. George foresaw his life plan, and taking a second to remember your long- and short-term plan is sound advice.

Leadership should set things in motion and allow the group to build on needed strategies. Guidelines should be set, and teams that are free to pursue and grow ideas, without hard rules, come up with amazing creativity. If your leadership style forces your will upon others, then you end up with the IQ, energy and power of just one person—you! Letting employees go with their beliefs builds energy within the combined resources that work with you. Why not give your team some leeway and see what they come up with? The combined IQ and creativity of many will consider all of the challenges from angles that enjoy sightlines from a point of expertise. Ideas are enhanced and waste is reduced.

The concept of giving your team leeway is based on the context that you have provided clear direction. Often, leaders or management face challenges that must consider the big picture. Individuals on the team may not have access to certain information, so it is natural that leaders should set guidelines and goals. Freedom within the team is great—chaos is short of what we are after. Empowering teams should come with check-in and participation from management. If you set the direction, you should also set boundaries to ensure that freedom is contained within the context and budget of any project.

We are all busy, and if we had time to stare at the efforts of our employees 10 hours a day, then we would probably have fewer employees. In sport and in management, analogies help to set the scene for success. For me, a train of great ideas is an excellent reference for a descriptive analogy. At the start of any task, big or small, I ask my team to think about the direction that has been set, and place them face forward with a healthy dose of conversation and debate.

Once agreement creates the framework of progress, I work hard to let employees make many decisions. In exchange for the freedom, I ask that teammates stay on the railroad tracks that we agreed upon. Trusted employees can wander off the railroad tracks and onto the railroad ties based on their own discretion and knowledge. I think we call this empowerment! We can also let our talent adjust and make their own decisions when initiatives take them off the creosote coated railroad ties and onto the gravel covered railroad bed. In the event great employees find themselves falling off the mound of the gravel railroad bed, then that is the point in time when they should stroll back to management for a fine-tuning of goals.

Knowing when the direction has found the hard curves of risk is paramount in creating an environment that is free of the fear of mistakes. Fear is paralyzing. Freedom is enlightening. The best employees seek out additional project detail when the gravel of the railroad bed crumbles beneath their shoes, sending them off-balance and potentially derailing an important or expensive idea. True leadership empowers teammates to find the edge of empowerment on their own. The best creativity occurs when employees find the limits of direction and circle back for more communication based on their own initiative. It is at the edge of limitation where answers to the biggest challenges culminate in the sea of sustainable satisfaction and progress.

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

Pricing For Profit

Free market America is a competitive place. Closing sales is paramount to building a loyal customer base. Generating volume leads to growth. Growth pays the bills—or does it? My definition of selling includes closing the sale while making a fair profit. The free market system only allows for a modest profit—especially in racing, where our customers fight for every penny to keep cars running all season long. For all you racers reading, you can be assured that your manufacturers and dealers run on minimal profit. While it is great to have low prices, it is also nice to have needed items in stock on Fridays. Knowing your dealer will be around next week is good too!

We manufacturers and dealers chase after the discretionary dollars of our customers. Our biggest competition is less likely to be our direct competitor and more likely to be found at all of the places that take cash from the wallet of our customers. While we need to make quality product that gives customers a reason to purchase “our” brand, we also must remember that we need to make a compelling case for customers to buy from us in the first place. We need to make our products exciting to buy—and we need to make a little profit, allowing us to serve our loyal customers year after year. Profit funds growth and ingenuity. To keep our customers excited, it is vital that we companies evolve and invent.

Our true competition surrounds us at every turn. The purchase experience needs to make customers feel good about buying from us. Competition is good and helps us to focus on how to create an environment where price is just one of the factors instead of it becoming the only factor. Would a driver work as hard if the grandstands were empty and no other racecars or teams were at the track? Competition provides the relativity and drives performance. We should strive to lead and initiate, as falling down to the level of lesser competitors is bad business. While comparing your company to another can provide insight, the real goal is to reach for new heights that lift us above comparisons.

Companies that drive prices down as their only tool to create volume usually fail. It is OK to make a profit—even the people that buy from us understand that we have expenses. Our customers know that our companies must make money. Even though those same customers are trying to save on every purchase, they reluctantly understand that businesses need to be paid for hard work.

Often, dealers lower prices too quickly for fear of losing a sale to competitors. Market share is important, and paying close attention to market pricing is a worthwhile effort. As a dealer, it is difficult to hold onto a higher price and lose a sale. To be successful, sometimes it is wise to lose a sale if the price required to close a deal is a break even proposition. Technology has created new pricing pressures as consumers can shop from many places in a short amount of time—even on the road right from their phones. Prices today are now pressured by access to instant information and gratification.

When dealers enter into technology-based sales platforms to sell their products, a new set of rules becomes part of the game. E-commerce, online advertising, and product sales through online product fulfillment resources cultivates new business. A new set of customers is introduced to the company product line in a dynamic fashion that evolves daily. Print media is etched in paper and information can become stale the second it is printed. Dealers benefit by accepting both sides of the T Chart by realizing that the new digital marketplace has wonderful advantages. In return for advantages, new and challenging disadvantages must be accepted and managed. Taking the good with the bad is an old adage that is built into utilizing new online technologies.

Accepting the limitations will help dealers to fulfill their goals with less frustration. The “system” will give you advantages, but the same system comes with the strings of instant visibility. Online pricing is broadcast instantly for all to see. Competitor reactions that took days or weeks in the past, now take seconds. Companies that realize the digital marketplace is constantly changing will prevail. Relying on a low price business model as a selling tool is erased by competitor reactions. The new digital norm places a focus on providing service, as low pricing published online will be matched by your competition before sunset.

In fact, dealers that enter the technology-based world with a methodology of undercutting the established norm start a battle, and the casualty is likely to be lost profit. Reactions are swift—retaliations are harsh. All dealers work on thin margins. I ask dealers often to focus on knowledge and service while they have a little margin at their disposal. The company that relies solely on pushing a lower price tips the dominoes to fall in the wrong direction. Within minutes, competing companies simply match price, and instantly the segment is running on unsustainable margins.

The economy we now live in has already squeezed most companies to the brink—the cutbacks have already been made. To survive, efficiency is required and some of the savings should be pocketed. The market needs more service as cutbacks have eroded the knowledge sharing that was once plentiful. Employees wear many hats as smaller staffs are asked to do more. Just watch the poor person at your favorite fast food drive thru that is taking your order through a head set, packing your meal and forgetting your fries!

So yes, competing dealers can see low online prices just as quickly as customers. In fact, they are likely to see price drops even quicker than customers. Software programs and simply paying attention bring new low prices to light at about the speed of light. Loyal customers call to buy product and reference a lower price from the company across town or even more likely out of state—dealers nearly always match price to keep the sale. Yet, sometimes it pays to simply let the sale go as profit is the energy drink that keeps companies energized. Most industries are limited by the free market system, and it takes hard work to have a few dollars left at the end of the year. Growing companies nearly always reinvest profits to fund growth—at least the smart ones do. Growing builds equity and your accountant will tell you that the tax man is rich enough. Re-investing verses paying more taxes.… Not a hard call there?

A long time ago, one of my dealers felt it was best to move product off the shelf instead of carrying non-seasonal inventory through winter. His belief was that he needed to lower prices to move product and move it now. Agreed, inventory turns are important, as turning inventory quickly creates healthy cash flow. That said, losing money based on fear of lower than desirable inventory turn levels creates a quick path to purchasing an Out of Business sign.

I eloquently explained to the fearful dealer the math and visually showed him how he lost money by reducing pricing to below sustainable profit levels. When you factor in freight, cost of funds, salaries, overheads and all the elements needed to keep the doors open—the sales price he chose cost him both cash and profit. Ironically, he was happy that he “moved” the product off his shelves and put less cash back in his pocket than before he bought inventory. My time in the banking industry taught me that cash is King. If cash is King then profit is Queen. We need both, and we need the King and Queen to be powerful equals. The Cash King reign only lives as long as the Queen produces profit to repeat the cycle. Then we have the prince and princess that will take over someday. Build some profit as the heirs to the throne spend first and add later.

My dealer friend literally sold product at the cost he paid me (the manufacturer) for product so as to not carry inventory through winter. He did it with me standing right there —so much for my MAP policy. The dealer I refer to was adamant about his pricing habits, and I had to work hard to show him the math. He listened, but he didn't act on my advice. Instead, he chose to initiate a price battle with a competitor that was located an hour away—even farther during rush hour. I wish the strategy of my dealer was successful. He was a good person and a friend. He built a nice customer base and literally built a new market from scratch. Pricing missteps proved to be the domino that knocked his business out. The benefactor was the Out of Business sign company where my dealer friend purchased his last item. The Out of Business company closed their sign sale deal—literally.

Analyzing product pricing and positioning is difficult and takes experience. It also takes confidence during those times when you charge more than your competition. To help illustrate the importance of focusing on profit, I built myself a spreadsheet that shows me what will happen if I lower price in a visual format. I can just give you a formula (Simple Formula: Existing Gross Profit dollars: Divided by Proposed Gross Profit Dollars: Multiplied by Existing Unit Sales = New Unit Sales to Maintain Current Profit Dollars), but I like the visual look that my spreadsheet provides. Add a comment to this post below with your information and I will email you my spreadsheet. To use the spreadsheet you simply plug in a few numbers and everything instantly tabulates automatically—if you don’t like how the sheet produces prices or profits, you can just keep plugging in numbers until you find a price/profit balance that passes your common sense test. I wonder how many companies lower prices and simply have zero idea how many more units they will have to sell to make the same amount of cash. Cash pays the bills—percents are just funny symbols on your keyboard.

Often, what seems to be a modest price decrease presents a scenario that forces you to double sales to make the same amount of money (real cash). If you knew how many more pieces you needed to sell in advance of a price drop, I bet companies would be more selective about lowering prices. Maybe the price drop would have been less? Maybe a pricing issue would be viewed as it pertains to one retail situation. Blindly making an across-the-board price change available to all is likely more detrimental than companies realize. The spreadsheet is easy to use and fills in within seconds—it is meant to be a guideline and not the end-all decision maker for business. You only need a few basic pricing numbers to get a visual look at cause and effect. Even if you estimate the numbers you plug in—the relative message will be the same and your business decisions will come from a scientific baseline verses just guessing.

If you choose to use my visual spreadsheet, you will vividly see how many more unit sales you will need to make the same amount of cash as compared to your established pricing. In nearly every case, you will see that the new unit volume required, based on lowering prices, will appear unreasonable. A lower price may bring in “new” sales. With thought, it may be time to label a specific item as discontinued?

You must make a profit, as more volume multiplied by a product that is losing money equals a lot of lost money! If you lower prices—your goal should be to bring more cash into your company. Why would you lower prices only to manage more unit sales (more unit sales creates more work and internal costs) just to match the current cash level you are bringing in on an item? Your goal is to make more money, not just work harder to make the same money.

The reality is that your competition is going to price match quickly. Dealers that think there will not be a reaction to their low price entry into the market are potentially making a business ending choice. Competition matches price within hours, and now both parties provide their knowledge and service without the benefit of getting paid? Why not simply provide quality, service, and sound knowledge while you can still put some money in the bank?

Pricing products is an art form. Spreadsheets and science should be coupled with keeping a pulse on overall market conditions. Charging a fair price that keeps you competitive is the way to go. Coming into the party thinking lowering established prices rarely works. If you have found a way to lower historical costs and are passing your savings on to your customers, then perhaps you can gain a sustainable market advantage. Efficiency that creates savings, that can’t be easily reproduced by your competition, may allow for sustainable lower prices. Simply placing an X through established pricing and hoping a new low price will give you the market lead is a choice that comes with an unpleasant ending. Service, knowledge and filling your shelves with the correct blend of products builds your company. Cutting price based on believing you will have a monopoly on low pricing shrinks your company and evaporates the contents of your wallet.

It may appear that my process promotes raising prices so that profits zoom upward. Reality dictates what the market considers a fair price. The competitive landscape creates a price range for all products. Charge too much and you will miss every sale. Undercut the market and you will miss making payroll. The idea is to keep a balance and realize that the focus should be on the small portion of every dollar that you get to keep. Too easily, companies look at sales dollar totals when they should be focused on a fraction of that amount found in the profit column. Many good companies thrive on profit percentages in the low single digit range. Double digit profit is a home run. Huge profits are rarely found in small business. 25 percent profit is reserved for oil companies, tobacco companies, and politicians.

Service and ingenuity always prevail—my goal is to prevail before we have zero profit to fund our future. Be fair in your methods and you will profit in more than just dollars. The reward comes in the form of pride, as serving happy customers turns work into play. Spreadsheets are unable to measure enjoyment, so have fun and cultivate profitable customers with an energetic supply of knowledge and service.

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

The Name Game

Spirited conversation often leads to an explosion of ideas. Often, the conversation weaves its way down a road that is different than the original route installed in our mental navigation system.

Recently, I found myself doing research on selecting company names and product names. During my search, my goal was less about companies and products and more about the impact that quality naming has on products and services. I truly believe that some products and companies end up succeeding due to the emotions formed on the name alone. Oh sure, the companies and products have to be good enough for the names to gain lasting relevance, but I do wonder if an impactful name is the initial kick start that propels business inertia in the positive direction.

Strategically, identifying the feelings invoked by certain names has never been more important. 30 years ago - companies had a sea of names to choose from that were specific to their business. Today, there are groups that snap up names that they never plan to take to market for their own business. Instead, they make a profit center out of owning names that they can sell at a later date to companies that actually need specific names. Unique names, that conjure up intended emotions, are hard to come by. Selection is not necessarily limited, but discovering quality names requires superior creativity backed by solid science.

On my product and company naming journey, I ran across naming expert Nina Beckhardt the founder of The Naming GroupTM. I am always amazed what you find once your eyes are opened and you start looking. By looking I mean actually seeing and interpreting information with the conscious goal of reaching an informational destination that culminates in meaningful action. With wide open eyes, the mind receives and retains valuable data. Nina has identified scientific strategies to create great names. Her approach works – her customer base is the proof. Nina enjoys relationships with high profile automotive customers such as General Motors. Beckhardt and her staff have built a process driven approach to identify great names. They complete the challenge within a reasonable time frame – they sustain a proven program and adapt as needed. Adaptation trumps all when it comes to business. The Naming GroupTM and their process based approach produces results. Valuable results, just ask GM.

When you purchase a new car - your car of choice was on the road before, but your brain did not yet build a deep impression. Great names inspire memorable impressions. The car you hoped to buy someday passed by quietly before you owned one - often barely noticed. Once you purchase your dream car, you leave the showroom and from the comfortable seat in your newly purchased ride, your perspective is forever changed. Your brain guides your internal navigation system and stores a highly memorable experience. Much mental ground is created through the myriad emotions that are involved with a car purchase. A deep impression is ingrained and will be remembered. A new set of eyes sees what was invisible prior to installing a good memory. When it comes to names, our job is to set the landscape to form easy access for our customers to locate positive memories.

Sporting your designer sunglasses, you crawl in your new hot rod and experience the feel of the seats and the soft grip of the steering wheel for the first time. The new car smell takes you on a journey that goes beyond roads. Your mind suddenly sees what was a nearly invisible just seconds before. Prior to diving into your dream machine purchase, you knew about the car model, yet you didn’t feel it. The impression was yet to be burned in your mind. You reflected on mental pictures developed through the buying research process, but now that you own your new auto - that car is everywhere. You see all of them at every stoplight, parking lot and latte stand. The fit, feel and flavor of the chosen one burned feelings in your mind creating one of the deepest impressions possible. If only all marketing created such an emotional experience.

In reality, the exact same quantity of your car brand was on the road the day before you signed on the dotted line, but now that your favorite song is coming out of the dash of your personalized version, you identify and recognize – instantly. The visual is burned in your brain and instinctively, a deep memorable impression draws your eye to the vast population of identical cars that now litter the landscape – you see all of them. A blurry vision before is suddenly in perfect focus. You are amazed at how many of “your” car type is on road. With a mental impression burned in, it is nearly impossible for a similar car to pass by you without you noticing. The car that was invisible yesterday is now seen everywhere. Your model was there before you spent your money, but your brain did not yet build a quickly accessible memory. Your car is now everywhere because an experience created a very memorable impression and now you can “see and feel” all of the sibling cars where ever you go.

The identification and association created in the brain nearly forces your eyes to identify cars that mirror your recent purchase. The same holds true for baby names. Just name your newborn anything you want and suddenly what you thought was a unique name shows up on every magazine you see while reading National Enquirer headlines at the checkout line of your local grocery store.

With delight, you exit the hospital (in your new ride of course) and within minutes you hear the baby name you chose on your upgraded stereo system. You do more than hear the name – you feel it. The parental choice of a baby name is burned deep into brains even as small as mine.

When it comes to naming a company or product, your team would be quite lucky to mirror the impression burned into permanent memory associated with a car purchase or naming your first born. While naming a company is less emotional than a first car or a first baby name, the naming bar should be set high and you should strive to discover a name that forms a deep and emotional experience for your customers. Hopefully, the emotions are positive and compelling. Ideally, the chosen name evokes the “need” for your customers to act.

When choosing a company name, would you pick a name that is bluntly descriptive like Best Buy? The Best Buy name just throws it out there and little is left to the imagination - this name type would have less emotional feel and would be obviously a "buy products from us" type of program. Or, would you pick a more creative name that created a quality perception and prompted customers to “feel” why they should purchase from you? Creativity may ask the mind to fill in a few blanks, but the result would paint a picture and inspire more emotion. A name like “Apple” may not relate to phones, but does draw upon visions of Newton and of a good idea at a subliminal level. Heavy right?

Gaining information starts with knowing what questions to ask. Answers are out there. For the naming question, Nina Beckhardt has condensed 4 (or more) years of college class work into a concise two page “answer” to help you identify names and understand the terminology behind each name type. Of course, to take full advantage of benefits of her company you will need to reach in your piggy bank and pour some pennies her way. The benefit of reading her concise naming article (white paper) is that you can go into a fee based brainstorming project with great information in hand. By reading her free naming synopsis online, you will be well tooled to utilize her services if you felt the need. Or, you can go it alone as Nina and her team gives you valuable online resources that hand you their secrets in 2 pages. Secrets are grand, yet the creator of said secrets can go deeper and utilize experience to tap into the desired emotion that your company or product name needs. 

The Naming GroupTM happily gives away much naming advice on their website as they know that educating their customers is the conduit that connects relationships for mutual gain. The fear of giving away information is superseded by the confidence in their process. Nina leads a sea of naming doctors and her proven team can tell you in advance what emotions/impressions a name will create and why. Her experts can translate what is given away on their website and provide an accurate diagnosis helping you to achieve repeatable results. I am amazed how much she has on her website – absolutely recommended reading if you need to name a company or product.

Products and companies are benefited by a name that associates the company/product with the benefits that bring more customers. During a naming exercise in my head, I visualize shapes and allow them to form. I get out my mental hammer and blast away at the process until the fuzzy shapes become identifiable. Dialog provokes thought. Thought leads to action. Action leads to progression. Progression leads to great names. Great names create new and needed business. I pound away at the name and hope for a result – experts know the results, in advance, and replace mental hammers with the experience and past knowledge for a creative feather light touch.

A short time ago, I owned a golf company named Innovex Golf – a good name! Innovex Golf was my baby that I reluctantly sold. From a product line perspective, Innovex would compare to TaylorMade or Callaway. The product mix was very high quality and Innovex manufactured a complete line of high end clubs and golf balls. Sales were certainly a miniscule fraction of the large national brands, but the product quality was equal and often better due to the handmade personal approach. Great products and service were assured for all Innovex customers. On the other side of the coin, I must admit that the branding power of TaylorMade and Callaway were leaps and bounds above what an upstart such as Innovex could create – Innovex can get there, but those big names have a giant advantage – they have already climbed the marketing hill and the view is so nice from up there.

Starting from scratch and powering past proven brands is a mighty challenge.  Still, quality and great names created victories within the golf company I formerly owned. Out pacing the top brands in the sport and winning the Golf Digest 2011 Ball Hot List Award was truly a proud day. A tiny company displacing huge brands and their large R&D budgets produced a huge win with very limited resources. The win was big and very rewarding. Sometimes personal achievement outweighs financial gains – at least that is what I tell myself!

Part of the Golf Digest Ball Hot List victory was based on the name of a top quality ball. Leading up to the award, I chose the name E-Motion for a great quality price point ball. I really liked that name as the goal of conjuring up emotion was about as obvious as you can get. Stretching out the name and placing an emphasis on motion fell in very nicely with golf, ball speed and distance.

When I designed the Golf Digest Award winning Innovex V-MOTION ball, my naming goal was to carry forward with a family of golf balls evolving the mid quality ball in an effort to place a higher end ball in the brightest light. Of course, the high end V-MOTION ball would be of the highest quality – I spared no expense to create a golf ball that could win on the PGA Tour. Together, The EMOTION and VMOTION golf balls would benefit and product family synergy was created.

The V-Motion name selection of the 2011 Golf Digest Award winning ball gained the ball attention and was a factor in the big win. The concept was to carry on the “motion” concept that is an easily associable identifier for golfers. Embedding the thought of “motion” in the heads of golfers helped to make the golf balls “feel” faster and longer. Happy “emotion” was planted into the marketplace. Of course, the V-MOTION is very high quality. A great name must be supported by product that makes customers want to buy them again. A name opens the door, product quality creates desire, and a memorable name association provides a positive experience creating repeat sales.

E-MOTION led to V-MOTION, which led to accolades and success. Superior product was supported by memorable names. The V-MOTION is truly a Pro Tour quality ball, but I wonder if the name and racing marketing helped to propel a quality ball into a position where it was granted consideration by the golf gods at Golf Digest? I wonder what the new owners of Innovex Golf will name the next evolution in the V-MOTION golf ball family?

I find Ms. Beckhardt’s “free” information to be invaluable. In fact, I almost want to keep it an in-house secret as my competition will benefit from this valuable resource. The Naming GroupTM has a complete library of naming “white papers” on their web site all available online. For today, this link provided by The Naming GroupTM supports the concepts discussed within this piece Suggestive-Names.  Look about their site and you will find plenty of thought provoking information to instantly help you create a great name - Thanks Nina!

In all decisions, taking in the best available information, proving the concepts and taking action is the way to go. Whim and gut often create snap decisions that do not take into consideration the variables accompanied by specific goals. Science fills in the blanks and experts such as Nina Beckhardt can help to create a company or product name that adds to the bottom line. I highly recommend taking the five minutes to visit The Naming GroupTM website – their automotive background fits nicely with the Performance Racing Industry crowd. Absorb their easily accessible and free online information, but like your favorite fishing hole – don’t tell anyone!

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

Magic Bullet Management

Company leaders sometimes believe that hiding on earth there is a magic bullet manager that will come in and fix every ill with a single shot. Magically, all of the things we want done are beamed into the company just by hiring a mythical outside expert. Imaginations dream of the hired gun with a quick trigger fix. It seems we can value the opinion of people we barely know more than people we work with everyday? Familiarity can diminish respect for those that we rely upon most?  If the mythical magic bullet employee does exist, my question for you is; what is their name, when do they start and how much do I have to pay them?

I think the concept of magic employees is a breakdown in the managerial process and should be relabeled as mental laziness. A belief in magic managers is wishful thinking. Daydreaming about magic can be an excuse manager’s use when they avoid communication with the great people that reality presents every day. Spells and wands can be left to Harry Potter. We managers are responsible for cultivating the best from our group.

Organizations succeed by building a bank of people that know how to meet the challenges of their respective market nuances.  As leaders, our business will thrive if we can extract the contributions of our team members as we grow. True success depends on utilizing our people to their fullest potential. We all have hidden gems in our grasp, but we do need a clear mind to identify potential.

Home grown employees, on our team roller coaster, have felt the winds of challenge through the ups and downs on the ride of business momentum that winning groups create. Momentum carries us to growth and impactful leaders provide the seat belt that binds potential leaders on a common path to sustainable prosperity. Engaging people, so they can enjoy the ride of change, comes from ensuring that the twists and turns result in creative energy that is rewarding. Stagnation and predictability are found on straight roads that present a never changing horizon. Roller coasters are fun as long as we fill the rails with adrenaline producing goals. Abrupt changes in course create uncomfortable thrashing in our buildings causing the creative process to empty into the porcelain porthole of waste.

The goal isn’t to say that information from outside of your organization is not valuable – of course it is – I always learn when I get out of the house and absorb information from the world around me. It is the application of gained knowledge that we need to utilize with care. The ideal is guided towards understanding that your own trusted staff can glean information from the big place we call earth based on their own initiative. People, at the point of attack, are 100% immersed in their tasks. Managers walk by and get a sniff of the important details.  If a staff member is capable of asking questions that are tailored to address a challenge within your business, you then have a scenario where existing payroll vaults you ahead. The danger lies in paying “outside” experts to analyze problems without utilizing the “inside” knowledge held within your bank of trusted and informed employees.

If you hire a so called expert to perform a duty that can be handled with existing resources, you risk alienating valuable employees. Continuous lack of faith in quality team members causes them to jump off your roller coaster at the first point of negative inertia. Are you better off bringing in magic through the front door if reality is performing an escaping act through the back alley?  By allowing existing personnel to research magic on their own, you provide a platform that builds obstacle demolition habits from within. Investment in such in house training creates problem solving skills that can be repeated as challenges arise. Management time spent explaining problems to an outsider can often be better utilized to cultivate investigation skills within your organization.  Management time will be more effective by trusting real people that you already know. Baseball teams spend a ton on farm systems. Why bet your cash farm on free agents when you can harvest talent with your secret mix of empowering fertilizer?

Outsiders need a tour of the plant, a company history lesson and they need to understand the challenges in proper context. Outsiders have zero idea that we small companies have learned to do much with little. Tight budgets and groups of employees that perform multiple roles are the norm in small business. Outsiders have a way of spending first and blowing smoke about uniformed potential benefits later. “Build it and they will come” can be restated as “trust your talent and they will shock you with a palace for your stadium”. Why buy outside when your existing talent will have fun growing. Learn from outsiders and learn well. Believe and trust “your” team.

Top employees enjoy new projects – if your employees see an outsider botching a project, that in house staff views as being within their skill level, moral is dinged and expenses for your magic expert have a detrimental impact on your bottom line. Expertise is formed through knowing the questions to ask and considering the big picture. In house employees need not know all – they do need to have the confidence to get on the path of discovery. Supportive management, that cultivates an environment of learning, encourages people to move forward without being paralyzed by the fear of mistakes. The best leaders simply are not afraid to be wrong. Hey, we all like perfection, but the true art of growth comes from empowering employees to get more done without worrying about setbacks. Talent fixes their errors quickly. Managers that sit on the fence tossing out criticism, simply fill the path to prosperity with potholes of resentment.

Managers that teach employees invest in productive decision makers that take personal ownership. Fear of mistakes is replaced with the confidence of self corrective action. Any small business owner has made more mistakes than their employees will ever make – yet, with no one yelling at us leader types, we always figure out how evolve past our failures. Potential flourishes when trust in an individual’s self imposed expectations is exceeded and precedes the awareness of management. Come on, just admit that you are busy and the combined resources around you simply know more about the day in and day out details than you do – let ‘em go and they will grow.

Minimal supervision will limit monetary losses in small business – it is not like we have traders at a bank that can lose 2 billion due to being greedy or having a fat thumb. Most likely, those traders have fat heads. Small company employees carry your baby more carefully than they would hold their own. Good management comes with the internal commitment to identify employees that want more. Good managers direct employees that are “willing” to be wrong onto the path towards prosperity. A person with a Sarah Palin clothing budget, standing at a podium might have something valuable to add to your organization, but they might simply be a high paid consultant that does not grasp the depth of issues that  known and trusted employees live through every minute.

I think, at times, we managers need to be reminded of the knowledge and dedication that is contained in our employee bank.  My thought is to suggest that too often we take our existing in house knowledge base for granted. In our effort to come up with the next best thing, we sometimes forget that we have great resources right in our organization. Our resources already have the fundamental foundation of understanding that is directly connected to our specific daily operations.

A case in point, Facebook was cultivated into a giant entity by a guy that doesn’t even need a razor. Sure, he had an idea and good timing, but are you thinking he is the smartest person on the planet? I will bet your small company has a number people right now that could make better high level decisions than Suckerberg. For all of the incredible brain power at Facebook, I wonder who gets credit for totally botching their IPO by being suckered in by a “Magic Bullet Manager”!  Let us be reminded of how our stock market guru’s and bank housing experts have done such a fine job of totally kicking the biggest company in the world, known as the USA, right in the arse. My guess is that Mr./Ms. Magic is a well dressed person that was standing behind a podium. ZZ Top has a better grasp on decision making than that well dressed “person”.  The magic IPO group totally mutilated what in house talent understood – meetings not required!

 I bet that there were several people within Facebook that would have presented reality and would have launched a very successful IPO by promoting their culture and their good name. Those internal All Stars had the knowledge to create an IPO that would have expanded the goodwill that the Facebook crew spent so many long hours creating. Yet, the massive scar came from an outside magic bullet manager with an agenda that did not match the culture of the almighty Facebook. Suckerberg bypassed his own internal talent and gave the ball to outsiders that had different motivations. They were greedy. They were Magic.

While I have a big time bashing Marky Z., I know that he got sucked into believing the greedy bankers that waved their Lord of the Rings magic paraphernalia from a position that no person at Facebook even understood. Had Facebook listened to their own internal brain trust, their guidance would have been formed by a true understanding of their successes. An abundance of caution would have been present due to the team living through countless failures that helped to make them one of the biggest things of all time. Had the collective insight of Facebook employees been considered, they would have proudly promoted their well earned success moderated by real world restraint. Trusted Facebook team members would have owned well understood cautionary fears and the biggest IPO in history would have been admired. Instead, Facebook leaders saw a well dressed greed based group and misplaced trust in a magic bullet approach. Those “magicians” have now disappeared into the rhetoric of the finger pointing media onslaught leaving investors (real people) holding a bag littered with the holes of empty promises. Hard earned cash of regular hard working people left a trail that would cross the previously battered Louisiana Gulf Coast.

For all the media analysis of the IPO debacle, the Facebook product is the same. Leadership placed trust in an outside Snake Oil salesman that I have “tagged” with the term “Magic Bullet Manager”. Even Facebook wishes there was a “Dislike” button that would illustrate the displeasure felt over the bad PR associated with the horribly managed IPO. Had they believed in themselves – I believe their wild IPO ride would have been a mind blowing success.

 The real world drama of the Facebook IPO fiasco portrays how success could have easily been attained by having trusted team members at the helm of the decision making relating to the IPO. Sure, social media employees know little about the stock market but, they do know their business and they would have presented the well lit areas in the company while placing a throttle stop on the dimly lit corners that were ignored by the unseeing eye of magic. The magic bullet was right in Zucky’s hand. Too bad he aimed poorly and shot himself in the foot, really he misfired about 3 feet higher, resulting in one less magic bullet and about half the anatomy he was born with.

Marky Z forgot how he became so powerful – he ascended to a high level due to the contribution of a stockpile of trusted individuals that he empowered to make important decisions. At crunch time, the allure of magic took his focus off of the greatness that his homegrown “group” created in favor of the magic bullet approach. How many zeros do you put in front of oops, to illustrate several billion in lost credibility?

I am sure Facebook will survive and it is my guess that the outside folks (bankers) that caused the misfire now have their heads rolling down the complicated roads of Wall Street. Marky Z will likely re-align the team that cares about his company. The Wall Street detour, played out by Facebook, gives us small companies the chance to learn from the litany of lawsuits that accompany such a colossal public mistake.

When I make a mistake as a manager, and I have made an unbelievable amount of mistakes, I simply figure out how to reduce exposure to the problem and make the best of a bad situation. Of course if an employee were to make the exact same mistake as their leaders make then why is it “off with their heads”. How come employees face more pressure than company owners/leaders when it comes to decision making?  Can you accept the mistakes of your team in exchange for the power created by truly leveraging the knowledge you already own? Hit the “Like” button above if you agree!

Perhaps we manager types should adjust and simply view everyone as equals performing different roles. Instead of sitting on the fence criticizing, we can take our efforts and train talent how to minimize losses quickly? We can train valued employees about a quality decision making process. Small companies quickly remove truly bad employees so that management is swift. I suggest that we get out of the way of our future leaders. Remove the threat of a hatchet and replace it with faith held in the self imposed expectations of your core group. Believe in your team and they will pull your seat belt on when you are too busy to do it for yourself.

If you buy into the simple assessment that you generally have good people, then it makes sense to listen to them and take action based on their suggestions. Where do the best ideas come from?  Do they come from the Ivory Tower or from the dedicated employees that face challenges on a continuous basis every day? At times, we as managers take our “great” and “star” employees for granted and we certainly should fix that mindset without delay.

An existing employee could present an idea that passes by without fanfare, yet we hear the same concept from an outsider and somehow we give this unknown magician instant credibility? Stick a stranger in front of a podium and our ears are wide open? We sometimes devalue the brilliant ideas of people we know. Somehow, we give an outsider instant credibility when their thoughts are generated without the benefit of understanding our specific market niche. What if we just look for great ideas and value them on merit verses on their source? Through familiarity we can miss good ideas and concepts. My proposal is to consider ideas from your team as if they were presented by someone famous and powerful. Danger lies in giving outsiders artificial credibility. Our goal is to give good ideas legs. Ideas deserve traction regardless of the source.

Certainly, there are times when we need to bring in outside horsepower and add new knowledge. My concept does not challenge the need to add specific or new talent. Believing in magic bullets by hiring a mythical know it all manager comes at a cost that could take years to return. Listen to familiar faces with the same open ears given to outsiders and magic manifested in our imagination will open the real door at the entrance of our business.  

If leadership truly believes in people, then the creative firepower of employees can be focused from equal ground. The magic comes from the barrage of ideas precisely aimed at the desired target. With practice, the entire organization elevates performance. Clear goals steady a confident aim and inspire a decisive trigger. Support from leaders unleashes the shared voices of execution.  All voices are heard and the entire operation fires eagerly at will.  

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

7/5/12

Decisive Inclusion

Racing crew chiefs sign up for pressure-packed decision making and relish the opportunity to make important choices with split second efficiency. With all the distraction and activity found during racing action, crew chiefs analyze available information and act with the authority creating a teamwork model that applies in business.

Crew chiefs sit atop their pit box perches and look forward to the challenge of hundreds of crunch time decisions. Like crew chiefs, great managers  relish making important decisions. During the race battle there is little time to consult others. Prior planning identifies the specific roles of each team member and with no more than a single word, or hand signal, eager team members perform their individual duties in a well choreographed team performance. Teammates that are included perform based on their own integrity. Individual contributions are made even in an unsupervised fashion.  Quality people make good choices based on their own values and always do the right thing even when others aren’t looking.

Clear direction and role identification allows team members to complete tasks in a nearly automatic fashion. Repetitions and rehearsal during the week results in great work on race day.  These same team members are a wealth of information. The people that are on the floor, and at the center of activity, know the strengths and weaknesses of the entire organization. Information at the point of attack should be regularly cultivated by leaders.

Wise crew chiefs consult their teams during the week when there is ample time for discussion. Trial and error outside of the pressure of crunch time increases the odds of producing profitable decisions. The best information comes from the people that actually perform the work.

In business, the crew chief role can be interchanged with president, foreman or any team leader position.  The common theme is that effective leaders consult their teams when there is time to collect and debate the information. As managers, we can mimic a race team that prepares in the shop for optimal race day performance.  Storing gathered team information for future reference is a sound best practice.

Effective managers will improve decision outcomes if they learn to differentiate situations that fit the committee approach from when to make independent management choices. Employees that are included in the committee approach are content when independent command choices (direct orders) are made. Regular involvement allows team members to clearly see why command decisions are needed. During pit stops, everyone listens to one message and discussion is saved for another time.  The result is clean execution of processes improved through a group forum. Defining when the chain of command is needed, balanced by team participation and ROI, leads to better choices and a energized team.

When time is short, intimate knowledge of your collective team resources allows the successful manager to make independent decisions with the best chance of group approval. We as managers need to prepare for situations where group consultation is not possible. Independent decisions that are born with the collective team data stored in memory result in independent decisions that instinctively reflect the needs of the group. Managers that reach a high level of quality decision making have learned that regular inclusion and communications with their team produces an efficient and loyal operation. Successful leaders have the insight to make independent crunch time decisions based on the combined historical knowledge of their team.

Role identification and clear instruction provides the framework for a productive group. Content co-workers identify and discover a never ending supply of great ideas. Leading and following are replaced by guidance and participation.

Race day decisions made by crew chiefs are contrasted by the group inclusion found weekly in their race shops. Comparing your company decision making process to that of a crew chief will help you form the mental vision to make efficient decisions. The crew member making their contribution to a 12 second pit stop is very much like what we see in business.

The race day analogy clearly depicts how our decisions can’t always be supported by the committee approach, yet we know we make better choices if we include the appropriate team members often. We can vividly see how during a pit stop every member of the team has a clear and identifiable role. A pit stop dramatically points out the need for a time frame and a good deadline!

The crew chief comparison shows that game time success is dependent on contributions from the entire team. The collective knowledge of a group creates the decisiveness required for ongoing success. Effective teams have clear direction, identified roles and a time frame to complete their tasks.

If we as managers are respectfully confident in our decisions, then the groups that we lead will cover our shortcomings.  A sound decision making process that allows employees an active voice, results in actions that evolve into the wellbeing of all involved. Sound leadership is followed by personal and financial prosperity. Racing crew chiefs know how to motivate and how to create the ultimate team environment. Managers will be well served to emulate the teamwork model created by professional race team crew chiefs. Inclusion is contagious. Winning on the track or in business includes the entire organization.

Go Forward – Move Ahead
Jeff Butcher

The Nose Knows

Whizzing by me on the 2011 PRI Show floor, at the speed of a young Olympic sprinter, was racing industry icon Tony Tobias. Tony had someone to please and moved quickly to meet the need with a sense of urgency that his customers have come to rely upon – he truly enjoys pleasing all.  He literally ran at full sprint to accomplish his mission when most would chose to casually saunter across the million square feet that is PRI Orlando.  

Pushing around 80% of 100 years, Tobias continuously exudes energy at well over Einstein’s mandated universe speed limit of 186,000 miles per second, otherwise known as the speed of light. In racer terms, the speed of light is 700 million miles per hour. At that speed, bump drafting is highly discouraged. Tony’s mental horsepower is immeasurable as we have yet to construct a dynamometer that can record the synapse speeds racing through the brain of the one and only Tony Tobias. Tony is the Vince Lombardi of the racing community – a proven leader for sure.

Tony’s long tenure, at the insanely well made Racecar Engineering Magazine, provides a documented example of how one individual can maximize a business brand by leveraging their personal brand. Tobias proudly introduces himself to new faces with the self imposed moniker “Tony the Nose”.  He leaves an indelible mark and when he meets someone for just a few seconds, he is remembered. “The Nose” connects himself to his company. He combines his personal brand with the branding of Racecar Engineering. Elephants never forget, “The Nose” is never forgotten.

You can count on Tony to greet you with his glowing smile. The energy he exudes is contagious, it is powerful. Why walk when you can run? Tony is full speed – full time. Tobias is a noteworthy face in the racing niche and provides a human example that everyone can learn from. Racecar Engineering and Tony are one. Tony has created a personal brand that confidently announces his contributions without the need of a high pressure sales pitch. The result is a successful branding effort that subconsciously leaves a memorable and positive experience for his customers – his friends. With few words, Tony ingrains his synergized brand deep into the minds of those he touches. Racecar Engineering is a magazine – Tony Tobias is genuine and he crafts his brand into the framework of his book in a caring and seamless fashion. Think of Tony and you instinctively think of Racecar Engineering.

Tobias is always on the move and gives people what they want. His warm welcome makes all on his path feel better than before he arrived. His approach is to partner by cultivating relationships through integrity, energy, and devotion. Tobias has zero need to sell. His customers are his friends – they are his extended family. He proudly takes a God given physical attribute and utilizes “The Nose” to create a fun and memorable experience. Quality marketing, in its simplest form, is defined as leaving a memorable positive impression. Tony is having the time of his life and has created a coveted branding story by simply allowing others to witness Tony being himself. The deal is closed through identification of need. Solutions are offered verses needing to be sold. Sales people sell – Tony delivers.

Enthusiastically embracing new ideas has made Tobias relevant over the long haul – he has laid the ground work, in earnest, to always be relevant. A quick review ofhis Facebook photo albums displays a man having a blast every single second – the 10 year old boy inside is easily seen. Tony is an avid social media user and his approach to life gives us all an opportunity to learn from his dynamic and ever evolving adventures.

Tony has spent his lifetime creating an individual brand that is remembered. His lifestyle is his brand. By combining his profession with play, Tony proves that passion and fun invoke a high level of success in the workplace.

To create the unique marketing plan, that you can admire and cultivate, taking note of what Tony Tobias accomplishes will give you a proven template to emulate. Tony demonstrates that enjoying life results in overall success at home and in the office.  A complete well rounded life creates a universe full of memorable impressions. If you knew the Tony Tobias formula, then you would be sought after as the one that knows. Memorable marketing is what “The Nose” knows. Being yourself is the one tool that you always control, once you believe that you create your own memorable impressions, then you will be your own unique version of - the knows.

Go Forward - Move Ahead
Jeff Butcher

Tony Tobias, Racecar Engineering Magazine and Autosport Engineering Show.