Join Us for the June Atlanta BENG Chapter Meeting featuring Michael Q. Parker who will speak on the topic:“How To Look When You’re Looking” About Michael Q. Parker  Before serving as President of Dressed To Deal, Michael held executive marketing and general management positions at leading global companies including Cox Enterprises, General Mills, and Laureate Education. Michael is a frequent speaker at several local job networking ministries including Roswell United Methodist Church’s job networking program. In addition, Michael presents to clients of global outplacement companies including Right Management and Lee Hecht Harrison. His workshop, “How To Look When You’re Looking” is consistently 5-star rated by participants. Here’s a quote from one of his past workshop participants… “I took away some great tips which I have previously overlooked or never thought of as a big deal. I will be sure to work on all my rough edges with regards to my visual presentation going forward.” Michael’s talk is part workshop and part motivational speech with something for every job seeker. You’ll leave with actionable tips to improve your interview presence and increase your chances of getting the offer. Trust us, you don’t want to miss this! Linkedin
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Pan Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
A week ago, Saturday, my wife and I attended an event hosted by the Pan Asian Pacific American Council of Georgia, celebrating Asia-Pacific American unity. We were invited by a client of Laotian descent who is very active in the Gwinnett County, Georgia community. I enjoy experiencing different cultures, although it’s usually by sampling their food. However, I lived in Hawaii for three and one-half years, during junior high and high school, so I have some experience with the Asian community. I knew this event would be fun.
The evening was a celebration of their successful blending into the American mosaic. It began with a flag ceremony; the American flag leading the way, followed by women in traditional costumes, carrying the flags of their native lands. Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a solo rendition of the national anthem.
The atmosphere was a mixture of pride for their heritage and old fashion American patriotism. The event featured traditional music, songs, dance, and wardrobes. The drummers were awesome! Naturally, events like this are a magnet for politicians, so the agenda featured speeches by local representatives. Thankfully, they were brief and unremarkable. The last event of the evening, just before my wife and I had to leave, was the scholarship presentation to new high school graduates. It was symbolic of the community’s progress.
May is set aside to honor Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. During this month, we celebrate their culture, traditions, and history. May was chosen for this recognition as events significant to the Asian Community occurred this month. The first Japanese immigrants to the United States arrived on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad was May 10, 1869. Many of the workers who laid those tracks were Chinese immigrants. On October 5, 1978, President Carter signed legislation recognizing Asian American Heritage Week. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed a law to expand this recognition period to a month. At that time May was officially designated as Asia-Pacific American Heritage Month.
The following Tuesday, I was scheduled to meet my client at her office in Lawrenceville, the Gwinnett County Seat. We planned to meet at 1:00 p.m. to review a draft report of the initial assessment phase of my work. My client saw an opportunity to add a free lunch to our agenda. She invited me to join her for the Pan Asian Pacific Islands American Appreciation Day at the Gwinnett County Courthouse. According to the U.S. Census Department, the July 1, 2018 estimate for the population of Gwinnett County was approximately 927,781 citizens. Americans of Asian and Pacific Island heritage count for 12.3% of the total population, making them a very significant constituent group.
We were surprised to learn, however, that what she thought would be a quick lunch and proclamation, turned into a 2 1/2-hour affair that included speeches from County Commissioners, a panel discussion, and then a recognition ceremony at the beginning of a meeting of the County Commission. It’s safe to say that whenever politicians get involved in an event, the time commitment will increase. As I had set aside the entire afternoon for my client, I wasn’t fazed a bit. In fact, I enjoyed it.
The event began with a welcome from a County Commissioner, as we enjoyed our lunch, followed by a few words from an Asian American Commissioner. A Panel Discussion was the next item on the agenda. The Panel included a Muslim American, two Vietnamese Americans of different generations, a Chinese American, and an Indian American. All are first-or-second-generation Americans, many coming to the United States as a result of the Vietnam War. The gist of the discussion was about aligning around common interests and challenges to move the community forward. I found some very interesting parallels to those of a business start-up trying to establish itself in the marketplace. They spoke to the same points I had made in an earlier post on networking; the key to success is to interact, participate, and to engage.
I was impressed by the pride these Asian-Americans have for their heritage and appreciation for their American Citizenship. Clearly, their assimilation hasn’t been easy, but they are thriving and optimistic. My takeaway is that one’s success in life requires a commitment to a goal. To achieve that goal, one must interact, participate, and engage. This recipe holds for building a business, assimilation into the community, and for gaining political power.
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Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
Jim Weber Completes 1st Phase of Turnaround Engagement
Jim Weber has completed the first phase of a Turnaround Management Engagement for a client in Chapter 11 Reorganization.
His work revealed a clear path for a successful exit from Chapter 11 and a strategy to generate sustainable growth for the client. The next phase will include a detailed plan and the introduction of performance metrics.
For more information about ITB Partners and what we can do for you, contact Jim Weber at; Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com
Communicate Like a Fortune 500 – 6 Lessons For Start-Ups
By Sebastian van der Vegt, Untold Communications
Thanks to a booming economy, the start-up scene is thriving. Co-working places everywhere are full of entrepreneurs with innovative new ideas, taking advantage of a digital economy that is providing unparalleled opportunities, the likes of which the world has never seen before.
Yet, statistics remind us of a sobering number. Among start-ups that manage to attract outside funding, around 70% never make a profit. Over half of all companies don’t even make it past their 5th year.
So how do you beat these miserable odds?
The answer is that it’s not simple. You need thick skin, a strong mind, a lot of determination and not just a little bit of luck. But you can greatly increase your odds by creating an awesome communications strategy and narrative.
By strategy, I simply mean the purposeful use of communication to fulfill your mission – the right message/content, to the right target audience, at the right time using the correct medium/messenger. Done right, it will inform investment decisions, win over potential clients and investors, and position a company for long-term growth.
Sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s not. Most start-ups have a business plan, a financial plan and even a basic marketing plan to establish an online presence. Very few have a sound communications strategy mapped out. In fact, among the start-ups that I’ve come across, I’ve yet to find one that had thought about this.
Some start-ups do decide they need good ‘PR’, usually after about six months to a year into their existence, but they often do it for the wrong reasons, or with little or no strategy.
Just last week, a prospective client asked me if I knew any journalists. “Of course, I do” I answered, “I know plenty,” but explained to him that it’s really the wrong question – see point 5 below.
Initially, most small companies also rely on communications and marketing themselves. After all, they can write, sell and know their product better than anyone. Thanks to a wide variety of new digital tools, everyone also has access to inexpensive solutions that help you build a website, post blogs, send mass emails, or do basic marketing.
Being an entrepreneur naturally means they should take advantage of these new tools. But there is a reason that large, successful companies spend millions on communications and marketing, and smaller companies would do well to adopt some of these same lessons.
So here are 6 of my favorite lessons that I learned while working at a fortune 500 company, that could benefit any start-up:
- Starting with why is not enough
Most start-ups will have been advised to start with why (thanks to Simon Sinek). It’s a good start, and better than only talking about what you do, but it’s not enough.
The why is only part of the ‘context’ – which should include why you exist, what problem you are solving for your customers, what gives you the authority, and, implicitly, ‘who’ you are targeting.
Tell the story of how and why you were founded. If you can, try to make an emotional connection in the delivery, it will make for an audience that is a lot more engaged. Extra bonus point for telling the story of how you are helping your customers achieve success.
- Explain what you do in a few words
Any idea worth its time should be told in a natural way, in plain English, in less than 15 seconds. It’s more difficult than you think. For most, this will mean forgetting all the technical language they are accustomed to. It also means forgetting that 100 other companies make similar claims.
Too many start-ups try to differentiate themselves unnecessarily through complex wording or technical capabilities to prove that they are special. My advice: differentiate yourself through the way you fulfill a need and address a problem for a segment of the market, in a way that a prospective customer would easily understand.
- Include strategic communications in your business plan
A great business plan will benefit enormously from a great communications strategy.
That means that if you need to find software engineers to power your start-up, you need a strategy to boost your brand with the local university. Go give a lecture, a seminar, or sponsor a hack-a-thon.
It means that if you’re trying to get teachers to use your product in the classroom, you need the right language, the right content and the right medium to reach them. Partner with a teaching website or school district to give your company message.
It means that if you’re taking on a dominant competitor, be provocative – you don’t use ‘safe’ language that a multinational would use. Stand out by differentiation, and by not being afraid to ruffle some feathers.
I could go on, but you get the point.
- Fit the message to your audience.
While a company ‘boilerplate’ with standard messaging is a great tool to have, you’ll need to adjust your messaging depending on the audience. One size does not fit all.
Building on point 3, identify your top 5 stakeholder groups that are critical to your growth and write down the key message points and language you would use to communicate and win over each audience. Once you’ve done that, you can identify the channels/materials in which you can best reach these groups.
This again sounds like a no-brainer, but the discipline of this exercise will help everyone stay on message.
- Own your space.
Many start-ups will look for a silver PR bullet. A write-up in a newspaper, a listing on a top 100 of hot start-ups, a mention on TV. Great – this may work for you if your story is there and you have something new or interesting.
For most start-ups, their story is not (yet) of interest to receive what we call ‘earned’ media, and they are much better off building their brand in the ‘owned’ space. This means writing blogs in a medium that you own; it means building a kick-ass website and content across different social channels; it means writing a regular newsletter and industry content for trade magazines.
Often overlooked is physical space – most companies own assets. You can also consider ‘shared’ media; using your content in partner owned channels can be a win-win.
Point is, start-ups have many options other than selling their story to journalists or buying advertising.
- Be authentic & address your purpose
Audiences smell bull-sX#! from a mile away. In a world where we are bombarded with information and polished content, presenting the real, authentic you is a competitive advantage. Make sure you tell your story in a way that is compelling, with proof points that are real and relatable. Also, remember to include a vision that is purposeful and that has meaning.
The company vision is where communications strategy and company strategy really meet. Why does your company exist? What’s the ultimate goal?
The most obvious and easy answer is, of course, to sell more products & services, but try to dig one level deeper to think in terms of benefits to society. It will not only help focus your company, but it will help motivate your employees, attract investors and ultimately help improve your sales.
After spending years working with some of the biggest brands in the world, I love helping smaller companies achieve their goals and vision. It’s one of most rewarding aspects of my new role after leaving the corporate world behind.
That’s not to say they don’t have their own set of challenges; many don’t have revenue yet, lack good time management, have strong opinions, operate on limited budgets, and present solutions in search of a problem.
Yet, despite all of this they’re still my favorite clients (with apologies to my corporate clients). Quite simply, having a great communications strategy for start-ups can make the difference between failure or success – it’s that critical.
On my next blog, I’ll focus on the basic difference between good and great marketing. Until then, I look forward to your feedback.
Sebastian Van Der Vegt is the Managing Director of Untold Communications in Atlanta A native of the Netherlands, van der Vegt has lived in Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, and Turkey before settling down in the U.S. He has a degree in Psychology and has taught strategic communications at leading business schools. For more information, please contact him at Sebastian@untoldstrategies.com.
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Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
For the Sake of Learning
Recently, a number of info-graphics comparing the habits of successful people to those that aren’t, landed on my Pinterest feed. A few of their points spoke to reading as opposed to watching television and a zest for continual learning as significant differentiating factors. Although I couldn’t disagree, I didn’t pay it much attention until a recent conversation with my friend, Faith. She was excited to tell me that she had just received a tuition reimbursement check from her employer. As she is working to complete a college degree, she is making good use of her company’s education assistance program.
She continued, saying that she valued that benefit and planned to take full advantage of the program. I agreed with her thinking and complimented her employer for offering the benefit. However, I lamented that too many employers have scaled back on their training programs and lack cultures that reinforce the benefits of life-long learning. Naturally, we agreed that it was a topic I needed to explore further.
A few days later, Dennis, an alumni buddy, and I were enjoying our cigars and adult beverages, talking about cars. He told me how another friend, John, got him interested in doing his own car repairs. John showed Dennis how to research the issue, find the right parts, and make the repairs. Over time, he gained confidence as he accumulated experience. He has resolved many maintenance issues, like replacing brake pads and rotors, saving a lot of money. This is a skill set he developed with a little encouragement from a friend. I know that he takes pride in this ability which gives him great satisfaction.
On the other hand, I am reminded of a colleague who had no interest in learning how to use a Personal Computer. It was a time when PCs were moving rapidly into the workplace but before the introduction of laptops. He told me, “why should I know how to use a PC, that’s why I have an assistant.” The irony is that the PC replaced the administrative assistant, except for the more senior level staff. I often wonder how long it took him to catch up to his peers?
Much has been learned about the brain that supports the value of lifelong learning. A healthy body and sound mind is the key to a long and happy life. The brain is like a muscle, either use it or lose it! Learning is like any other skill that requires practice. With practice one masters the subject. Lifelong learning or continual learning is an attitude, a mindset. If one believes in the importance of learning new information, or skills they will make the effort to pursue that course. If not, stagnation may develop, putting one’s career in jeopardy. As a commercial enterprise is a collection of people, an organization, it follows that it would benefit from continual learning. Building a learning culture is a viable strategy to keep employees interested and engaged, supporting innovation and productivity improvements. A learning culture creates competitive advantage.
I am a big fan of YouTube. The variety of their videos seems to be endless. Among others, I have viewed programs to improve my efficiency with Office 365, manage my websites, develop landing pages to build my contact database, and facilitate greater exposure for my brand. My time on YouTube has increased my productivity in so many areas that I’ve become an addict. The point is, YouTube is a free service. It’s a platform for brands to build customer loyalty by training to maximize the utility of their products. Tuning into YouTube seems to be a ‘no-brainer,’ for individual learners, and for employers.
It is all too easy for professionals to get into a rut, going on autopilot as it were, as the vicissitudes of daily life take president. Companies are no different. They develop successful business models and continue executing that formula, sometimes without noticing the changes happening around them. Brands that maintain long term relevance, do so by listening to their customers. They Learn. The best brands know that their employees are their customers too.
Creating a learning culture really isn’t difficult. One small change can spark a virtuous cycle of change. Providing education benefits to employees is a good step toward creating a continuous learning culture. At the end of the day, however, it’s the responsibility of leadership to build a culture for success.
Thank you for visiting our blog.
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
Demystifying Blockchain and the 3 Supply Chains
By Antony Francis antony.francis@lakehillpartners.com
April 11, 2109
About 20 years ago, I produced a diagram showing that there are 3 interconnected supply chains: The Physical, the Informational and the Financial. All three, of course, interconnected and feeding off each other.
This interconnection is important. The quicker you get information into the transaction set from physical activities, the quicker you get an ASN and the quicker you get a POD and can invoice your customer. Time is money.
There was also much talk about Global Inventory Visibility. We dreamt of the ability to know what was inside each box on a pallet, but the private batch processed networks and lack of internet-driven transactions made this a pipe dream. I remember discussing with a client in the late ’90s whether we could know within seconds at the UK HQ whether an item had been sold in a store in Tokyo and immediately pulse out a replenishment shipment that same day. Of course, today we would say: “no brainer, we can!”; back then, the lack of inter-connected systems and batch processing of file exchanges made this a dream scenario.
So, where does Blockchain come into the picture? Firstly, it is important to define what we mean by Blockchain. There are two pieces to Blockchain when it relates to supply chains. One is the distributed on-line ledger that enables one to track the work-flow process from PO to an approved A/P transaction on the buy-side and a sales invoice into A/R on the sell side.
A recent article described Blockchain as an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently, securely and in a verifiable and permanent way.
Some of the key elements of Blockchain were explained by Iansiti and Lakhani in a recent Harvard Business Review piece:
- Users of a Blockchain have access to all the data so that no one person has control over the information
- Each record is linked to the ones before it, once entered any alteration would create a snowball effect in the blockchain. Algorithms are employed to ensure the accuracy of the data.
- There is no need for a centralized entity, for example, a bank, individual transactions can be executed directly.
- Each user has a password to access the blockchain, each user can share their personal information or remain anonymous. (Ed. I differ with this last point because, in my opinion, and as explained above, we need a full audit trail on each transaction).
So, let’s focus on the transactional work-flow process side initially, the Distributed Ledger. Transparency is becoming increasingly important for retailers; more and more people want to know how and where goods are made. This goes hand in hand with ethics and sustainability. For retailers to understand if they are operating in the most sustainable way, if the products they buy are made in the factory they believe it to be, they need to know information about the supply chain. Blockchain can help with this type of data tracking. When transactions occur along the supply chain, a digital record occurs at each step, thus providing a full audit trail.
Consider how business works today. Keeping ongoing records of transactions is a core and necessary function of any business. Those records track past actions and performance and guide planning for the future. They must, however, operate as an event manager and keep a fully detailed history of who made changes and when. Many organizations have no master ledger of all their activities; instead, records are distributed across internal units and functions. The problem is reconciling transactions across individual and private ledgers takes a lot of time and is prone to error.
In a blockchain system, the ledger is replicated in many identical databases, each hosted and maintained by an interested party. When changes are entered in one copy, all the other copies are simultaneously updated. So as transactions occur, records of the value and assets exchanged are permanently entered in all ledgers. There is no need for third-party intermediaries to verify or transfer ownership.
“Smart contracts” may be the most transformative blockchain application. These automate transaction approvals as negotiated conditions are met. For example, a smart contract might send a payment to a supplier as soon as a shipment is delivered, and the 3-way match is completed. If the product had a GPS beacon, it would automatically log a location update that, in turn, would trigger receiving data. Some IoT devices can even record if there was a change in temperature or shock damage.
When the Internet cloud emerged and started achieving widespread use, technologies like XML were predicted to replace EDI. Rumors of the death of EDI have been greatly exaggerated. The short answer is that EDI works. Companies have invested in it over many years. It may well have been moderately painful to get it up and running, but now it works. Even today, a certain set of core EDI messages (around the buy-sell-ship-pay transaction lifecycle) have and continue to enjoy widespread adoption and are almost universally required by major retailers and manufacturers. It is very prevalent in the Freight Forwarder community. The good news is that Blockchain feeds of all of these data sources.
Consider the situation today with B2B networks: Suppose a given supply chain process involves a buyer, seller, and third-party logistics provider. Today, information flows between these entities are typically one-way and point-to-point, either through EDI or XML-based messages or other mechanisms, such as API-based interactions. It is often the case that a buyer and seller might exchange certain messages, but an intermediary logistics service provider doesn’t see those messages. Or a seller and logistics provider might exchange certain messages not exchanged with the buyer. Events representing the exchange of B2B documents, for example, could be recorded on a blockchain and made visible to all participants in a supply chain process. In addition, blockchain could record supplemental events, such as those provided by IoT and smart devices, providing a more detailed synthesized record of all information flows. The actual exchange of B2B documents that occurs today can continue to operate as is, and a blockchain could simply provide a shared visibility “overlay.”
Such platforms will save the global shipping industry billions of dollars a year by replacing the current EDI and paper-based systems, which can leave containers in receiving yards for weeks. What if tariff codes, classification data, origin information, import and export certificates, customs values, clearance status, and all further required information about goods were available for all involved parties to access and complete through one unique ID, anywhere and anytime, and protected against manipulation thus delivering the same significance as certificates, seals, and signatures?
Permissioning inside blockchain gives you the confidence that you can control your information and grant access only to those you want to grant access to.
Lakehill Partners has a long history of systems integration and business process redesign. Let us help you manage the way forward.
For more information on this subject, please contact Antony Francis at antony.francis@lakehillpartners.com.
Thank you for visiting our blog.
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
ITB Partners Lands Another Engagement
Jim Weber, Managing Partner of ITB Partners, announces that he has landed an engagement to help a Service Sector Company make a successful exit from Chapter 11 reorganization. In this capacity, Mr. Weber will help the client craft a strategy and plan to return the client to profitability and sustainable growth.
Debbie Rodkin to Speak to BENG Atlanta Chapter
Description
Join Us for the May Atlanta BENG Chapter Meeting
featuring Debbie Rodkin, MBA Linkedin
Debbie will speak on the topic: Cost Segregation
Date And Time
Tue, May 14, 2019
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM EDT