Delvin R. Chatterson's Blog, page 18

Starting well helps.

An old Blog post, that is worth repeating for the lessons it reinforces.

My Dad used to say, “Nothing succeeds like success”. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression also. My interpretation is that the more you succeed the more you and others expect to see you succeed.

It is true in business and golf. A couple of examples.

Out for another round with my 7-year old grandson and this time he did much better. A strong, smooth swing was connecting more frequently and sending the ball long and straight (for a 7-year old). Every golfer’s favourite swing result. On top of that he rammed a couple of 4 to 5-foot putts straight into the cup to the surprise of all of us watching and to his delight. He was so encouraged with his game that he insisted on going immediately after the round over to the driving range and the practice green. He was motivated to get better and enjoy the game even more.

I had a similar experience earlier this week in a rare round with my son-in-law. He is a very competitive former fullback with a vicious swing and a huge slice that he manages to keep in the fairway. We were both ready to impress each other. I got the better start.

Off the first tee, a short dogleg left downhill to a small well-bunkered green, I hit a perfect (for me) 5-iron that drew around the corner and ran down about 225 yards. Hit a full sandwedge about 100 yards and landed right side of the pin, then sank a curling 18-foot putt for birdie. I’m loving this course! (Son-in-law lost his drive in the trees and went downhill, literally, from there.)

The rest of my round was the usual roller coaster from par to triple bogey but I was not bothered after the great starting hole and the expectation by me and my playing partners that I was going to hit it well. That first hole just kept me confident and relaxed for the day and happy to come back soon.

The lesson learned was one often stated by the pros, “Keep visualizing your successes instead of your failures and that is what you are more likely to repeat.”

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Deciding when to launch your business

Look before you leap

I often say, “Starting your own business is a lot like sky-diving – it seems like an exciting idea, but you’re not likely to do it until you’re pushed out the door.”

In my own case, I had literally been pushed out the door of a technology company (AES Data) that was winding down and my number came up. Not a surprise, since I had spent the previous nine months closing facilities and letting people go, but it was a painful experience, nonetheless.

I quickly had two other corporate job offers from Nortel and Rolls Royce, both with similar job descriptions and compensation packages, but I decided it was time to take care of my own career plan and not let someone else decide whether I had a job and what I was doing next. Besides, with an MBA and lots of experience, I was ready to prove that I was at least as good a manager and businessman as the people I had been working for. So I went back to consulting on my own and started to explore opportunities to start in business for myself.

That’s when I met the owners of TTX who were looking for a distributor of their computer peripheral products in Eastern Canada. That appealed to me because it matched my interests in technology and I had good credentials in managing the distribution side of a business. So I quit consulting, put in some cash and agreed to start with no salary as we opened a joint venture in Montreal. It was a great experience from the first day.

It was only much later that I recognized the two important checklists to go through before you launch your business.

First,  my short list of the Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur

Energetic, competitive, independent, confident, persistent, action-oriented, decisive.
Passionate, persuasive communicator.

If you don’t have them all, then you better include a partner in your plans.

Don’t quit your day job yet

And before you leap into the unknowns of entrepreneurship, you need to go through another checklist, starting with your Basic Defensive Interval. (Simply: How long can you last without income?)

The “Before you Launch” Checklist

Skills, knowledge, experience, and contacts relevant to your business plan.

Expectations and preferences for the entrepreneurial lifestyle – work routine and environment, prestige and compensation, work/life balance.

Personal strengths and weaknesses that will help, not hurt, the business.

A healthy foundation – family, physical and financial. Solid not shaky.

Strategic resources in place – partners, suppliers, facilities, key customers and employees.

Financing for start-up – including your Basic Defensive Interval and the first few months of negative cash flow.

If you can’t put a checkmark with confidence in every box, then you better try harder – recognize the deficiencies and fill in the gaps. Maybe you require more time to develop your skills and get more relevant experience or to beef up your foundation and strategic resources before launching.

 Look before you leap

(An extract from “Don’t Do it the Hard Way” by your Uncle Ralph.)

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Book Signing & Sales Events

I don't recommend two on the same day. Even if I have a nom-de-plume it's not the same as being two people.

But I did enjoy my day Saturday with the Author book signing and sale events at McGill Bookstore and Chapters Pte. Claire. Sorry you missed it. It was a great experience. I had fun, made some new friends and even sold a few books!

Del

RYDER CUP – Lessons in Teamwork

And Europe wins again, decisively.  How can all the golf stars from America keep coming up short in the team competition against Europe known as the Ryder Cup? Held every two years, it’s now 8 out of the last 10 won by Europe.

Somehow the European players from the UK, Germany, Sweden and France have found a way to play better golf consistently.  My observation is that the Europeans are able to focus on playing their best golf under pressure by focusing on the team and keeping it fun.  The Americans get preoccupied with patriotism, pride and politics  - looking good for their country  - and choke on the pressure.  Not their best golf.

It would be easy to blame it on the nature of PGA Tour golf as an individual sport. For 23 months of 24 (ignoring the occasional interruption for the President’s Cup – US against the rest of the world except Europe – and now the occasional Olympic experience) every tournament is about earning some prize money and looking good for the sponsors.  Then suddenly there is a new commitment required to represent your country against very high expectations and the constant questioning of why him, not another guy? It would be unfair to suggest any lack of motivation because of the missing prize money.  This is not the FedEx Cup playoffs worth over $10 million to the winner.

So the biggest challenge goes to the captain of these solitary golf superstars getting them to think differently for  the Ryder Cup.  Stay focused and relaxed to perform at your best. Paul McGinley got the best out of his team, Tom Watson did not. Selecting a captain for coaching skills is more important than recognizing past champions for their accomplishments.

Very similar to the Sales Manager trying to manage a group of individual sales reps all focused on making their commissions and bonuses.  Requiring them to be part of the larger team and move together towards corporate objectives of profitability and long term value respecting social and environmental responsibilities.  Not a simple tweaking of sales compensation, but constant coaching to play as a team and achieve winning results.

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Passport to Turnaround?

Come on Canada! Get onside with Wayne Gretzky and cheer for Blackberry.

The new Blackberry Passport is more than a smart phone, almost a full-featured tablet.  I like it and think it will be a winner for Blackberry.  Maybe not a quick fix for the company turnaround, but a clear departure from trying to follow the leaders – Samsung and Apple  - with another consumer friendly wannabe.

Focused on “serious” users of the smart phones who appreciate the real keyboard and high security features over games and cute apps to impress their friends.

You may think I’m only interested in pumping up the sickly share price, but I’m OK holding on for $20 a share and we’re not likely to get their  soon, even with a Passport.

I think the company has put in place more competent, less ego-driven management and a strategy to leverage its substantial strengths into market success.  A new and improved Blackberry that Canadians can be proud of again.

We don’t need another technology success story that crashes and burns like Nortel or (AES Data that rose and fell before it).  Also an easier symbol of Canadian entrepreneurship to promote than the Alberta oil sands. (And much less controversial.)

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Exit Strategies – Don’t wait until you’re looking for the emergency exit.

Many entrepreneurs are at the later stages of their careers and working on their exit strategies.  They are discovering that the exit is just as difficult as the start-up.

I recommend that the strategy should include these three steps:

Determine the current valuation of the business and the steps required to improve on it.
Start working on management transition to make the business less dependent on the current owner.
Develop and analyse the options of sales, merger/acquisition or management buy-out before initiating the action plan.

In summary, improve the value of your business and make it less dependent on you.  I refer to it as the evolution of your role in the business from employee to owner to exit.

Still not simple to do, but important to have a plan before you are looking for the emergency exit.

 

 

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“Don’t Do It the Hard Way”

“Don’t Do It the Hard Way” has been released to the printers! You should see it soon at your favourite bookstore. Here’s what to look for …. Learn to be a better entrepreneur and do better for yourself, your family, customers and suppliers, your community and the planet.

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Montreal Gazette Survival Tactics

It’s been a week now since the new and improved Montreal Gazette got delivered to its few remaining subscribers.  Can you see the difference? I can’t.  But let’s give them credit for not quitting and giving up on old-fashioned print media.

Unfortunately the decline will continue.  I think the National Post and Maclean’s magazine do a better job of survival tactics – sensational headlines, attention grabbing photos combined with high-quality journalism and provocative commentary. That works for me. But maybe only for a few other stubborn traditionalists who want to browse, digest and share a printed product.

At $30 a month the Gazette is losing its appeal.  It’s not enough to shuffle the format and add some colour.  Cost cutting by out-sourcing printing may help, but maybe delivery to the door of every subscriber is another issue.  Canada Post has already decided it cannot be done economically. (Although the postal worker is clearly higher paid than the newspaper carrier.)

I’m trying to be supportive of the local paper because it’s an important alternative source of news and views on our community and the world around us.  But I’m not optimistic for the business model. And certainly not proposing a taxpayer funded CBC model.  We may be looking at another example of creative destruction and the Gazette will only survive by evolving to a more effective digital media hybrid.  The plan just needs to be more creative.

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The Golf Business in Trouble?

A great perspective by Brad Ziemer at Vancouver Sun Sports the golf industry crisis.  Worth $14.3 billion a year in Canada alone, it is struggling with economic difficulties and changing consumer preferences.

Some experts believe golf is in decline – fewer golfers, less interest in a 5-hour sporting commitment and too challenging to be a relaxing break for the constantly connected.  Ziemer quotes Mark Twain describing golf as “a good walk spoiled,” but also suggests his comment that “reports of my death are greatly exaggerated ” may be more appropriate.

The challenge for golf is to keep the traditions that make it attractive while adapting to make it more appealing for everyone.  Maybe more player friendly nine-hole courses, and some special fun events, but please forget the death-wish fulfilling gimmicks like saucer greens and 8-inch holes.  The industry simply has to accept the inevitable business cycles.

The infatuation with Tiger Woods has ended.  He is still a draw for tour events and TV audiences, but declining with every year he ages.  And no longer the role model for young athletes.  Fans and potential golfers are now drawn to Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler and other young stars.  The big money on tour will also appeal to some parents and their athletic children as they assess career options in professional sport.

But the sport will never have the “everyman” appeal of soccer, basketball or baseball.  It is
 more exclusive, expensive and demanding – like tennis or hockey.

Meanwhile, let’s enjoy the game.

 

 

 

 

 

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Beware of Desensitizing Acronyms

Most of us tend to over-use the special acronyms that are familiar to us and our colleagues in the same industry or profession.  They are useful for confirming membership in the group and for excluding outsiders. (You know them.) But they often create a barrier to communicating effectively with a wider audience that is unfamiliar with our jargon.

On the other hand,  there are two widely used acronyms we have a habit of using that enable us to avoid really connecting with the issues: HR and CSR.

How did we ever arrive at calling employees Human Resources? They are people, right? That’s a perfectly good word.  What consultant or accountant though we would manage them better by describing them like capital equipment.  People are more complicated. They all have different aptitudes, abilities and interests. They have families, health and financial concerns, personal objectives and career plans. People we can relate to and empathize with.  They are not assets to be used and written off.

And now we have a lot of attention on corporate social responsibility, but we immediately desensitize business leaders and operating managers by calling it CSR. Like it’s a software product. So it gets delegated to the marketing and public relations department to keep those annoying socially responsible employees and customers happy. Why don’t we just say, “Stop pollution!”  Or “Be kind to our neighbours” and “Protect the planet!”  Those are clear and easy to understand as socially responsible behaviour.

Let’s stop hiding behind the acronyms.

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