Tag: Change Management

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COMPANY RESTORATION IN THE NEW NORMAL ©2020 Donald H Turner From the mind of Don Turner – PART 2 NOT YOUR DADDY’S RESTRUCTURING, BUT RESTORATION

In Part 1, we identified some of the more important characteristics that will be driving the New Normal. In this discussion, we will focus on how business professionals should be looking to respond to the New Normal.

First and foremost, it is clear that many companies are and will be faced with survival, pure and simple – doing whatever they can do today to ensure they are in business tomorrow. This is a reality that must be dealt with. Some will make it, many won’t.

That aside, if the company has enough “liquidity runway” to reenter the marketplace than the question is “how?” As we return to the world of commerce, it will be clear to all involved that is not going to be “business as usual.”

Given the current situation, the natural tendency is to turn to the methods that fall under the topic of “Turnaround” or “Restructuring” in an attempt to return a company to prosperity. Even so, I believe we will quickly find that these traditional ways of  “fixing” organizations are insufficient. I believe these Restructuring/Turnaround approaches must be modified and evolved to reflect the realities of conducting business in the New Normal.

To differentiate this new perspective,

I’m suggesting that conducting commerce in the New Normal will require a “Restoration Strategy” mindset. We aren’t simply “restructuring” companies, we are “restoring” them to going entities. We aren’t simply “turning around” companies, we are “restoring” their business models modified for the realities of the New Normal. Restoration will require answering questions, developing approaches, and executing tactics that have never been part of a “typical” Restructuring or Turnaround effort.

I’m suggesting that the fundamental difference between Restructuring and Restoration will be the underlying environment. In a Restructuring situation, the company itself is distressed. In a Restoration environment not only the company, but it’s a marketplace – Customers, Suppliers, Lenders, everyone – are distressed also. This extra level of calamity will force us to conduct commerce in entirely new ways with new levels of focused cooperation.

TYPICAL RESTRUCTURING

To understand the concept of “Restoration” – which builds on “Restructuring” and “Turnaround” methodologies, let’s make sure we understand what is typically involved with the Restructuring/Turnaround.

Please note, we are taking the concept of “Workout” out of the equation here. In my distressed company lexicon, a “Workout” is when a company is already in or close to some form of receivership and it is likely no longer a going concern. In this case, the focus is working with Banks and Creditors to maximize asset monetization. Workouts in the New Normal will clearly be common, but the focus of this article is with businesses that have the potential to restore themselves and prosper.

In contrast – as someone who has been involved in a few turnarounds over the years – I view a Turnaround as a situation where the company is distressed and clearly in trouble but there is a possibility of “fixing it” and making it a healthy, growing concern again. I would be the first to admit that it doesn’t always end that way but the difference is the intent going in. That intent drives what you immediately do in a Turnaround situation.

As a common discussion point, let’s all reacquaint ourselves with “Turnaround 101” by discussing the four major stages – as shown in the following exhibit:

Let’s briefly review each stage.

Stage 1 – TRIAGE – this first stage is the most critical and essentially represents a “GO” or “NO

GO” decision. You must quickly assess the company in terms of liquidity, resources, operations (ED: “processes”), and its marketplace. Note, a comment on this last item. Some turnaround efforts ignore an effective look at the marketplace and after fixing the company find out that it should not have been fixed in the first place because of an unattractive market based on size, growth, competitors, profitability, etc. – i.e., remember to look at the external marketplace during Triage. Back to this initial assessment, you are trying to answer the question, “do I have something worth saving as a going entity?” Your focus is on items such as liquidity, burn rate, and Customer communication (i.e., read “retention”). The bottom line, you are focused on what we call “stopping the bleeding.” Further, what is often not realized is that in this early stage of triage, you must simultaneously start developing a “vision” for the future of the Company that can be communicated to Customers and Stakeholders (i.e., employees, board, investors, creditors).

Stage 2 – STABILIZE – this second stage is focused at creating consistency and predictable operations – particularly in terms of burn rate. That is Revenue less Expenses on a cash basis. One of the fundamental tenets of Japanese Total Quality Management developed back in 1954 is that to “fix something” you must do whatever you are doing – no matter how badly you are doing it – in a consistent manner. Starting your “fixing”, your initial focus is outward-looking – repairing/improving any and all Customer-facing activities such as product quality and delivery. At the same time, you communicate to Customers the actions you are taking to assure them of the company’s health and ongoing vitality. Internally, you concentrate on those items in the “Delivery Cycle” – specifically Sales, Delivery, and Customer Service. Generally, these can all be fixed relatively quickly. As the “Delivery Cycle” is stabilized you can then later turn your attention to the “Development Cycle” that includes Marketing/Development/Engineering (ED: this latter cycle has a slower “velocity” or “cycle time” and requires more time to change). In stabilizing the company, your greatest focus is on those items that can make an immediate, positive impact on Cash, Customers, and Delivery. During this stage, you also begin communicating the “vision” that was developed in Stage 1 to Customers, Shareholders, and Employees. Particularly with Employees, you must encourage your top employees to stay and embrace the vision (ED: in a typical distressed situation your best employees most likely already have their Resumes “on the street.”)

With Vision, there is clarity of purpose. Without Vision, there is chaos of existence.

Stage 3 – PROFITABILITY – If you have effectively stabilized the company to some form of consistency than the next stage is focused at profitability – generating EBITDA and a cash stream that ensures sustainability. There are countless techniques Turnaround Professionals use – dependent upon the situation – but some of the more obvious ones might include: product line rationalization, Customer attractiveness prioritization, revenue-generating Customer service, alternative Delivery approaches, cycle time reduction, product testing improvement (ED: product quality may take longer), etc. At this stage, you are also starting to work the “Development Cycle” including the product roadmap for new offerings that might be more attractive to your Customers. The bottom line, at this point you have a going concern and your next focus is how to put the company on a healthy growth track.

Stage 4 – GROWTH – with a going, profitable, concern you are now looking more strategically to the future in terms of markets and offerings. You are addressing questions such as: “Do I have the right offerings and business model for my current market”; “What else can I sell to my current Customers”; “Can I use my offerings or core competencies to expand to other markets” – i.e., generate new Customers. Generally, most of these questions all fall under the auspices of the Ansoff Matrix – which represents an effective framework for identifying growth/risk opportunities (ED: have used this framework dozens and dozens of times to help identify, evaluate, and select growth initiatives for an organization). The final, bottom line “big question” is “What company focus – i.e., “strategy” – will generate the maximum return for the Investors?”

These are the basic stages of a typical Turnaround. Given the many possible problems and the many possible solutions, Turnaround approaches are almost always modified as needed for a specific distressed situation.

HOW IS RESTORATION DIFFERENT?

What is different about a “Restoration” versus “Restructuring” as it relates to the New Normal? The actual stages of a Restructuring remain the same, but the underlying conditions are significantly more formidable – creating greater requirements and likely entirely new requirements to successfully “restore” the company to a healthy status. You can think about these requirements in four major categories – Environment, Personnel, Liquidity, and Emotional Intangibles. I am sure we could address more, but let’s focus on these for now.

ENVIRONMENT – as mentioned, in a typical Turnaround the Company is in a distressed state whereas in the New Normal almost every business surrounding the Company will be in some form of distressed state – i.e., everyone is “in the same boat.” The good news is that everyone around the table will be acutely more focused and amenable to “making something happen.” This reminds of the quote from the 18th century English writer, Samuel Johnson, who said;

“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

The environment in the New Normal will be characterized as a fierce determination to survive that will force business professionals to develop and consider new approaches to keeping their business alive – particularly through the early stages of the New Normal. Expect less long-term relationship development – “survival timing” simply won’t allow. Discussions between marketplace partners will be one of “putting your cards on the table” and asking “what can we make happen between us that will be a win-win?” Golf course discussions will become lifeboat discussions.

PERSONNEL – in a normal Turnaround situation your best employees have ample opportunity to go elsewhere – that is why they are your best. However, in the New Normal their prospects of leaving are diminished – that is the good news. The bad news is the increased challenge to motivate people when they feel they are “trapped.” That said, I envision this as an opportunity to build an esprit de corps in your company culture like never before. In our next installment where we discuss “Culture”, we’ll explore this a bit more. Suffice it to say that the New Normal will create the “potential” environment where coworkers become akin to “battle buddies” and all that implies – ask anyone who has been in armed conflict about this significance. Note, an important point is that leading battle buddies will require a far more effective leadership than supervising coworkers.

LIQUIDITY – in the New Normal everyone has limited liquidity, not just you but your Customers, your Suppliers, Your Lenders, etc. Everyone wants to conduct business but everyone also has limited buying power to purchase goods and services. Surviving and then prospering – relatively speaking for at least the short-term – in the New Normal will require creative ways of using limited capital to conduct business. I fully envision the barter system to be resurrected for certain types of transactions – particularly in the service sector – as well as creative consignment approaches for getting product in front of potential buyers.  Payment terms will have to be negotiated almost simultaneously along the entire supply chain.

EMOTIONAL INTANGIBLES – by their very nature normal Restructuring efforts place tremendous stress on everyone in the business. Be that as it may, in Restoration – under the New Normal – we can expect a higher level of emotional stress throughout the organization than we have never seen before. The options we face under the New Normal are limited and with limited options comes an accompanying realization that this is truly a “do or die” situation. Decision-Makers will agonize over their choices more than they ever have – as will everyone in the organization whose livelihood is impacted by those decisions.

As we can see, these underlying factors of the New Normal will place tremendous pressure on every business professional to get creative. I believe one positive outcome – and I actually think there will be many – of these pressures is for a greater level of transparency in transactions between parties. The urgency of “restoring” business in the New Normal simply will not allow for the typical “games” often found during the sales and negotiating activities.

In many ways, the Restoration of companies in the New Normal can be viewed as “Restructuring on Steroids.”

What should businesses do in trying to respond to the New Normal? In Part 3 we’ll discuss some thoughts about specific actions.

 

 

 

Dpm Turner

don@turnerworld.com

678.361.3313

www.turnerworld.com

 

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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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.

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COMPANY RESTORATION IN THE NEW NORMAL ©2020 Donald H Turner From the mind of Don Turner – “Creating Clarity in a World of Complexity

“I’m not Chinese. I thrive in interesting times.” ~ Charles de Lint ~

In both culture and commerce, we live in what many would consider “interesting times” – as stated in the old Chinese proverb. A proverb, by the way, that is intended as a curse, not a blessing.

Our “interesting times” have officially decimated the worldwide economy, ravaged social norms, and rattled the psyche of many. As we come out of this pandemic-driven calamity we face a truly “new world.” Whether it will be a “brave new world” is yet to be seen – but a “new world” it will most certainly be.

I have learned in a career-focused at disruptive technology marketplaces – often leading edge – is that change is a threat to the meek but an opportunity for the bold. Navigating the New Normal will take – as we will discuss in future parts of this Article – an intrepid head and an empathetic heart.

As a serial CEO and Business Strategist, I have also learned that identifying change is part and parcel to an effective strategy. In its simplest form, the “essence” of strategy is to “look over the horizon” and identify macro trends – i.e., read “change” – that justifies the investment. The need to understand what is over the horizon and see those macro trends that merit the investment of manpower, capital, and time is more important than ever.

With this four-part article – that will be published over the next several days – I thought we would explore what the future holds for all of us. The four parts are Part 1 – The “New Normal” – No Going Back to Normal Part 2 – Not Your Daddy’s Restructuring, the Idea of Restoration Part 3 – 5 C’s Restoration Strategy – the first 3 “C’s” Part 4 – 5 C’s Restoration Strategy – the final 2 “C’s”
Writing is a cathartic process for me that forces me to think more thoroughly through ideas and concepts. It is my hope with this article to prompt some productive discussion about what the New Normal will be, how companies can start moving from isolation to the New Normal, and finally, what the long-term implications are for conducting business.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and even more so to comment – I am interested in everyone’s opinion since that is how we all will learn and move forward together.

THE “NEW NORMAL” – NO GOING BACK TO NORMAL
©2020 Donald H Turner

I keep hearing from both mainstream and trade media talk about “when things will get back to normal.” From my perspective, that is simply wrong thinking. There is NO getting back to normal after this global disruption of – in our lifetimes – unprecedented scale.

As business professionals, we are being forced to take a fresh look at the fundamental societal changes that exist now and will be occurring in the future and understand how they will drive new ways of conducting business.

Simply put, we must prepare for the “New Normal”

After giving it considerable thought over the past several weeks, I’ve developed four observations that I’ll share here as fodder for discussion.

FIRST, the New Normal will NOT come all at once. It will evolve in phases over the next six to twenty-four months as we move from isolation to controlled distancing to an environment that – once vaccines are readily available – will allow us to interact face-to-face again on a safer basis. One thing I know for sure is that many individuals throughout our society will be permanently “scarred” from this pandemic and never embrace face-to-face interaction as they did in the past.

SECONDLY, the New Normal will certainly contain “holdovers” from our current isolation phase that will represent – in some cases radical – changes to our lives in general and how we conduct business specifically. Yes, we will make more use of, be more comfortable with, and find ways to enhance the virtual experience that we have been forced to at the present moment. One individual I recently read said, “We’re currently in the epicenter of the biggest remote-work experiment in history….” Clearly, there will be part of the population that permanently embraces “electronic presence” over “physical presence” and will want to continue to live and work that way.

THIRDLY, the New Normal will change the commerce landscape – there is simply no getting around that. Some products and services will simply become irrelevant, while others become more important. Of even more interest are the new solutions that will arise to support – if not enable – the New Normal. Will movie theaters ever enjoy their historical attendance as many find they have enjoyed in-home entertainment more? Will discretionary “claustrophobic” air travel ever reach traditional levels as many will value individual travel freedom in a car? Will this drive more travel domestically versus overseas? Will office space ever be viewed with the same attractiveness? How will relationship-building evolve as we simply don’t have the same level of physical interaction as in the past? What will take its place? Will we focus less on the trappings of a business environment and focus more on what individuals are saying? Answering these questions and many more are all part of trying to understand the New Normal.

FOURTHLY, we – as a country and more specifically as a consumer population – are going to be taking a harder look at our trade with foreign powers. Yep, you guessed it – specifically China. China has managed to reposition itself in the global mindset from one of historical suspicion to blatant cynicism. At this point, I don’t believe anyone knows the real origin details of the coronavirus and who is responsible – or is it simply a force majeure of epic proportions. That said, this we do know:

  • China delayed letting the world know about the coronavirus – there was a government-driven movement to suppress information about the coronavirus – even threatening the doctor who warned his colleagues about a possible outbreak. On 3 Jan 2020, Wuhan police summoned and admonished him for “making false comments on the Internet” – forcing him to write a retraction. Unfortunately, this ophthalmologist, Li Winliang, later personally contracted the virus and has since died at the age of 33.

 

  • U.S. healthcare found out quickly that too many of our critical supplies – including pharmaceuticals – were made in China. Our healthcare supply chain was negatively impacted by the virus in China, creating significant problems in the U.S. Furthermore, as China rushed to provide us with needed supplies like N95 respirators, ventilators, and other medical supplies we found out they had serious quality problems and were all but unusable. There is already a movement to take a fresh look at what we allow to be manufactured in China versus in the good ole USA. Hopefully, we will recognize that having a stuffed toy being made in China is of far different importance than from having a life-saving medical device. I am all for a global economy but I’m also all for prioritizing our supply chain and identifying those items that independent of the cost are best manufactured at home.

 

  • China has both misrepresented and misreported coronavirus statistics to the world. There has always been skepticism about information from China, but now it has become blatant. In a world where we are seeing in the hundreds of deaths per million people – e.g., Spain 455, Italy 399, France 310, UK 241, with the US at 129, etc. – China reports “3”. That is right, in the country where it all started and I would suggest doesn’t have the Healthcare System of the aforementioned countries, they are reporting 3 deaths per million people. In case you’re curious about what other countries of importance are reporting numbers similar to China you don’t have to look any further than Russia – another bastion of information transparency – which is also reporting “3” deaths per million people. The bottom line, it is difficult to do business with someone you can’t believe and simply don’t trust.

So, these observations beg the question, “what does all this New Normal mean for business?”

In Part 2, we’ll address the idea that managing in the New Normal will require an approach that goes beyond what we have typically referred to as Restructuring or Turnaround. It will call for an approach that I’m referring to as “Restoration.”

Dpm Turner

 

don@turnerworld.com

678.361.3313

www.turnerworld.com

 

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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

 

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How to Design A Successful HR Strategy For Returning To Work During Pandemic

Successfully-Returning-To-Workplace: by Jim Cichanski and Jamie Sieja

The past few months have been unpredictable as the pandemic has taken a toll on most businesses. Almost all small to midsize companies have learned to adapt to these arbitrary and varying new working environments. However, it seems the change is actually going well for workers. 57% of U.S. employees think COVID-19 has changed the way we work for the better.*

Workplace Flexibility Moving Forward After Coronavirus

Therefore, it’s time to start looking ahead and getting businesses back on track by implementing updated work policies as the economy restarts. It’s imperative that Human Resources communicate their restructured plans to ensure a healthy and safe operational environment. Jim Cichanski, CEO of Flex HR states “we are working with hundreds of clients to bring back the workforce into their offices. The one key message I urge companies to convey to their employees encompasses the measures you are taking to keep them as safe as possible upon returning to the office. Conversely, be careful not to over promise-keeping your workforce completely safe. The research is still unclear as to exactly how an individual can catch, and spread, COVID-19; therefore, there is no way to create a perfectly protected environment while at work.” While some organizations have begun opening their doors for staff to return to physical locations, the majority of businesses are acclimating toward a remote workforce. Consequently, this means companies are fully transitioning to flexible working arrangements in the foreseeable future.

“If workplace flexibility is an expected employee perk, then employers will continue to offer that benefit to hire and retain quality people, which should be a prime the goal of the employer,” says Karen M. McGrath, assistant professor of finance at the Freeman College of Management at Bucknell University. “So as long as productivity remains strong, and employees experience greater job satisfaction, then I do not see things changing.”

Employers and Staff Returning to the Workplace

“HR executives should be the leaders in transitioning employees back to the workplace,” says David Osborne, chief executive officer of Virgin Pulse, a wellness company. Several employers are phasing employees back into offices, staggering workdays, moving office spaces (or cubicles) 6 -10 feet apart, and conducting temperature screenings before entering the building. Furthermore, other companies are asking their workers to self-administer temperature checks at home and attest that they have no COVID symptoms before entering their workspace each day. All of these transformations throughout the organization need to be relayed to all employees to ease their anxieties and to provide peace of mind. In short, companies are being trusted by their employees to do the right thing, follow the right guidance, and bring them back safely.

Overcoming New Office Challenges During The Pandemic

As the impact of Coronavirus across the country is lingering, one new challenge that organizations are experiencing is navigating day-to-day productivity efficiently. Thus, it’s essential to design a return to work plan that is sufficiently adaptable to evolving recommendations, guidelines, and orders issued by federal, state, and local governments, such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Additionally, employers should reference guidelines published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which summarize key considerations for preparing workplaces when bringing back employees.

Human Resources Is Vital Right Now

Business owners need to invest in the proper HR expertise now more than ever to successfully strategize and manage the modifications of new office policies. Businesses around the nation are trending towards outsourcing their human resources. Companies like Flex HR, Inc., a full-service HR firm headquartered in Johns Creek, GA, oversee these adaptable transitions all while mitigating possible liability risks for the employer. HR professionals have become the principal leaders of positive change; inventing new ways to work, altering job functions, developing new learning and communication methodologies. “The HR profession has taken on a heroic role. I am more inspired and energized to support the HR profession than ever. HR leaders are rolling up their sleeves, partnering with IT, facilities and legal functions, and figuring out how to react, respond and re-engineer all aspects of work,” notes Josh Bersin of Human Resource Executive.

Streamlining business complexities during the COVID crisis is perplexing in itself. Leadership is currently overwhelmed in making effectively-balanced valuable decisions for both staff and the organization. Simultaneously all while trying to enforce the company’s core values and safeguarding the well-being of employees. To ease the burden of management, HR companies, like Flex HR, have created “helpful tips for managing the Coronavirus crisis” online, specifically addressing COVID-19 business impact concerns. For checklists, sample return to work letters, and other essential information for having your staff return to work, contact Flex HR now.

*Source: WalletHub using https://datavisu.al/

 

Jim Cichanski

Jim Cichanski, the founder, President, and CEO of Flex HR, Inc., has 30+ years of experience in human resources, holding senior-level positions in companies that were privately held, pre-IPO, foreign-owned, joint venture, Fortune 50 and one labeled the “fastest-growing F1000 in America.”

Jim Cichanski
Flex HR, Inc.
President and CEO
Flex HR, Inc.

 

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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

 

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Planning for the Rebound – Part 2 of CEO Preparedness Guide

Planning for the Rebound

Business is Reopening

Like the eye of a hurricane, businesses raked by the leading edge of the COVID-19 pandemic are now taking a cautious look outside. Though the winds have subsided, and it’s tempting to think that the worst is over, the eye simply gives us a chance to prepare for what’s left to come. But the time is now to begin planning for the rebound.

If you withstood the worst of the impacts of the pandemic so far, you likely have accepted that the storm was coming, and had battened down your hatches (or at least applied for PPP funding to keep vestiges of your business afloat). Now, as we can start to imagine a future, it’s critical to have your plan in place when the rebound hits.

For those who haven’t been willing to consider the details needed in your post-pandemic recovery plan – or simply weren’t willing to “go there” – now is the time to plan for your rebound.

The public has been released from their quarantine in many states and other states are scheduled to open. Research indicates consumers will be ready to shop and dine. The world into which they will venture will indeed be changed. Will their appetite for dining with you also be transformed?

In my view, planning for the rebound – the re-grand-opening into the brave new world – will require a three-step planning process:

  1. An accurate assessment of NOW – Analysis and cost-cutting based on where you are today, and how you’ll conduct business until social distancing is no longer needed;
  2. Planning for NEAR – Executing on pivots or changes to your offerings to help your cash flow to improve your survivability, and;
  3. Plan NEXT – Stop random acts of marketing and follow the 12-step approach that follows “The Growth Gears,” a strategic marketing book authored by Art Saxby and Pete Hayes, to plan for your recovery.

https://www.growthgears.com/

Let’s explore further.

Step 1: ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF NOW

Where have your customers gone? Are they still in need of your unique brand of hospitality? Have you maintained your competitive edge? Can you keep your employees active and engaged in the business? Many businesses are grappling with these and other questions, as they fight for survival in an apocalyptic present, and uncertain future. Here are four tips to consider when planning for the rebound and assessing your business:

      • Review costs

Most people have already done this – things like canceling recurring services that are simply irrelevant, asking for payment terms on necessary services, and in general, having a series of difficult conversations about labor, supplies, and rent. Job No. 1 is to understand your cash flow – and factors influencing it.

      • Review competition

        What is your competition doing now? How have they pivoted? Did they reduce hours of operation?  Were they forced to close? Is there something you could do with your local competitors to encourage customers to order takeout and delivery?  For example, an entity called “The Great American Takeout” has formed, and has encouraged customers via social media posts to takeout food to support restaurants every Tuesday since March 24.

      • Reconnect with your employees

Did you furlough or lay anybody off? With the crew that is left, what has the pandemic done to morale? How are you? Now is the time for frequent communication with your current and past employees. To prepare for reopening, you should prepare a plan to re-hire and train employees.

      • Reassign tasks

To keep employees on the payroll (assuming you have sales because you are offering curbside pick-up or delivery), reassign team members to answer the phone, shuttle deliveries, or serve as curb-side ambassadors. In the short term, this could also mean repurposing the business for strictly philanthropic purposes. One restaurant invited the American Red Cross to park its Bloodmobile in their parking lot for a blood drive to help medical professionals.

Step 2: PLANNING FOR NEAR

Planning for the rebound needs to happen now.  If you’ve withstood the worst of the pandemic so far, you may find that the tweaks you’ve made temporarily should be considered for permanence. Now, more than ever, understanding the customer’s needs and wants – and how you are positioned to be a guiding force in their upturned lives – can be a make or break proposition. Here are some ways to be a part of this change:

      • Rethink offerings.

If you’re a restaurant, you might offer groceries or sell toilet paper. Most restauranteurs reduced their menu offerings to optimize the to-go experience. For retailers, this can involve sticking with conveniences like online ordering and curbside pick-up. Creativity is key. Here are some creative examples:

        • Red Roof Inns: The lodging company offered up hotel rooms as a remote office and alternative resting spaces during the day for truckers for only $29.
        • Fogo de Chao: The unique Brazilian restaurant shifted its focus to offer curbside packages of ready-to-grill cuts of meat.
        • Wow Bao: The restaurant has begun “selling the materials necessary to make a simplified version of their menu of bowls, buns, and potstickers to other restaurants and ghost kitchen facilities,” according to the website Restaurant-Hospitality.com.
        • Subway: The sandwich chain is testing a Subway Grocery concept in California. The beta program allows customers to order items such as baked bread, deli meats, sliced cheese, vegetables, and soups.
        • Panera: Like Subway, Panera Bread has launched a grocery offering at scale to allow customers to order essential grocery items such as loaves of bread, milk and produce, and to have the items available for delivery or drive-up pickup.

      • Reconsider sacred cows

As businesses rethink their offerings, they can run smack into certain “sacred cows” that seem to be integral to their identity. For example, a full-service eatery may balk at delivery options, since that fish dish might be ruined in the 30 or 45 minutes it takes to deliver it. This is no time for those kinds of pretensions. Find a way to make a meal pack, or focus on offerings that can be delivered successfully. Several restaurants have created pop-up drive-throughs, with no more than a tent and a landlord’s blessing. And the likes of Home Depot have shifted to curbside pick-ups even as it prided itself on counseling customers in the store.

      • Reschedule Initiatives

Retailers and restaurants that had planned remodeling projects could move those up, but only if the resources exist to do so. Only the best-capitalized businesses will be able to embark on a remodeling project now, but if you can move up the date, it’s worth doing while your dining room or bricks-and-mortar location is closed. Of course, such initiatives can still be hindered by government directives that limit non-essential work and will vary by municipality.

      • Reconnect

Communication matters more than ever. We may be keeping our distance physically, but we’ve never been more social. We have regular Zoom happy hours, and we can still call upon clients virtually on a regular basis. B2B companies will have closer relationships since they sell directly to their clients, but B2C companies shouldn’t go quiet either. They need to reach out every few days, so long as they are mindful in tone and content.

On an April 8 webinar sponsored by Valassis and featuring data from Technomic, they suggested:

Planning for the Rebound: Connect to your guests
Source: Valassis

If you can maintain communication with your customers through advertising, social channels, and email, do it.  You must be mindful of your tone and message, but the research of the past 93 years is clear – if you can maintain or increase your advertising during a downturn, especially when your competitors don’t, you will be rewarded with higher sales and market share during the recovery.

Step 3: PLAN NEXT

Opening Soon

Planning for the rebound sooner, rather than later, is critical.  Those who wait for the rebound to begin will be late to the party. If you wait too long,  you will likely lose market share to more aggressive competitors.

With what you’ve gleaned from studying your competitors and company in Step No. 1, above, it’s time to learn more about your customers as they exist today, to get an idea of what and who they may be in the future. The shifts in public policy, social interactions, virtual workspaces, and personal hygiene will likely be tectonic in scope. As a result, you need to understand how the shifts will affect your business and which ones you may be able to exploit.

Ways to learn about your customers now, so you can plan for the Next.

  • Google Analytics – Look for shifts in devices used, demographics, source of traffic, etc.
  • Email surveys – Query your customers about their lifestyle, media preferences, food choices, favorite foods, etc. as they were prior to the pandemic, and as they are now. Do a gap analysis to find opportunities.
  • Read – Information abounds online regarding perceived or guessed new behaviors by many sources. Pete Hayes, CMO, and Principal for Chief Outsiders outlined the basic steps to follow in his blog “COVID-19 Crisis – 12-step Pre-Recovery Checklist for CEO’s. Also, McKinsey & Company posted an opinion on how to prepare for the next stage of the crisis. Their opinion is deeply rooted in management consulting expertise and is more about preparation for the next stage of the crisis vs. recovery.

Regardless of your current posture on the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a certainty that the danger will eventually come to an end. Now is the time to be sharpening your pencils and honing your strategies so you can be ready for the next steps.

Photo Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider

https://www.chiefoutsiders.com/profile/doug-reifschneider

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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

 

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Top 10 Changes for Restaurants After COVID-19

Top 10 Changes for Restaurants
Top 10 Changes for Restaurants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big changes for restaurants after COVID-19

I thought it was time to look into the crystal ball.  After scouring news articles for 60 days, several themes arose from the ashes of the pandemic to reveal the top-10 changes for restaurants after the crisis ends.

  1. Chains will rule – 7 of 10 restaurants are owned by individual operators according to the National Restaurant Association, most of whom are independent. Unfortunately, those independents have been the majority of closures and if 10-15% of all restaurants permanently close during the pandemic, then only healthy chains will be left.

Prior to the Pandemic, the outlook by the National Restaurant Association was reported here for context. https://www.restaurant.org/research/restaurant-statistics/restaurant-industry-facts-at-a-glance

Outdoor Dining

2) Growth will rebound – Chains will increase unit growth to fill the void left by closed restaurant locations. New independents will arise out of the ashes. The new wave of restauranteurs will have learned from the recent crisis and will focus on sustainability of operations by leaning hard into delivery, take-home, contactless payment, and other enabling technology.

3) Ghost kitchens – new and existing concepts will cooperate together to develop ghost kitchens where multiple cuisines live in harmony to satisfy the appetite of urban dweller and the virtual food court will become a thing.

Starbird’s is working on virtual brands for what they call a cloud kitchen strategy.  Details: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/emerging-concepts/ceos-5-takeaways-what-works-post-pandemic?utm_campaign=20200601&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jolt

4) Cleanliness is next to Godliness –  Serve-Safe and other entities who train restaurant employees to prepare and handle food will proliferate and the constant disinfecting of communal surfaces such as counters, door handles, tables, chairs, and condiments will become the expected norm. The reopening guide by the NRA will be followed by all and probably expanded by many. https://go.restaurant.org/covid19-reopening-guide

5) Off-premise will continue to grow – Now that consumers are getting used to ordering food digitally and internal and external delivery is expected, the trend may slow after the pandemic ends but the trend for facilitating delivery, take-out, meal kits and the like will proliferate.

6) Digital Rules – Every restaurant, whether they be independent, or part of a chain will provide as many e-commerce channels for guests to order food as possible. Wing Stop, Domino’s, and Chipotle are doing well during the pandemic because they were positioned to survive in a crisis.  All restaurateurs who don’t learn that they need to embrace digital orders and provide ways for customers to get the food where they want it and when they want it will fail. Perhaps this should be #1 on the list for the top-10 changes we will see in the restaurant industry.

7) Shrinking dining rooms – Because of the shift to off-premise dining, new restaurants in all categories will reduce the square feet of their dining areas. Existing locations will remove tables and chairs to always be prepared for social distancing.

8) Marketing mix shift – Whereas TV was a big part of the advertising mix for national chains and larger regional chains, the shift to off-premise will force restaurant brands to lean much more heavily into digital advertising channels. The shift will occur because restaurants will more easily track conversions from online visibility to online orders as a key metric. The brands that do continue to use to TV will determine how to make Outcome-Based TV buying work.

9) Marketing Messaging – All restaurants will need to understand their consumer and know the new customer journey better than ever before. Every brand will also need to nail their brand proposition because if they don’t, all ads after the pandemic ends will be about digital ordering and delivery.  Digital channels may be a convenient benefit, but if every restaurant offers the standard digital channels, those digital channels will not be unique to anyone.

10) Counter Culture – There will also be creative and innovative individuals and organizations that will buck the status quo. Whether they embrace video dining, reinvent food halls, or return to a cash-only payment model, we will see successful attempts to do everything they can to not be trapped by the previous 9 changes.

In conclusion, the top-10 changes for restaurants may be different from this list but you can bet many of the themes will occur because they are happening now.

Photo Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider

https://www.itbpartners.com/doug-reifschneider/

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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

 

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Who can Keep Up with Marketing Technology?

According to a recent study by Chief Outsiders, a national marketing strategy consulting firm, 88% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) see the difficulty in staying ahead of Marketing Technology.

Why?

According to Forrester, technology has not just impacted business, it has disrupted it. So much so that CNBC reported that the average life span of an S&P 500 company is about 20 years. It was 60 years in the 1950s according to Credit Suisse. 1

The way technology is evolving, imagine what that figure might be in 20 years.

All you have to do is look at Moore’s law to understand why technology is moving so fast.

What is Moore’s Law & How Does It Impact Marketing Technology?

In 1965, Gordon E. Moore, the co-founder of Intel, made this observation that became Moore’s Law.

Moore’s Law refers to Moore’s perception that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years, though the cost of computers is halved. In addition, Moore’s Law states that we can expect the speed and capability of our computers to increase every couple of years.  Plus, we will pay less for them too. Another tenet of Moore’s Law asserts that this growth is exponential.2

Marketing Technology is influenced by Moore's Law
Moore’s Law tenet is that the number of computer chips on a single board grows exponentially.

Source: Moore’s Law graph3

It is hard for a human to keep up with exponential growth. And marketers are human.  This is why marketers are having trouble keeping up with marketing technology.

Why specifically do CMOs think it will be hard to stay ahead of technology?

Because many CMOs haven’t kept up with marketing technology to-date.  And the exponential growth that is expected to continue will be mind-boggling.

The Marketing Menu Changed!

For example, as recently as the 1990s, marketers had a finite list of advertising and promotional tactics at their disposal.  The tactics to increase sales, improve brand awareness, and grow market share were low tech too.

  • Television (local, spot and cable)
  • Radio (Local & national)
  • Print (Direct mail, FSI’s, newspaper -remember those?)
  • Out of Home (Billboards, transit benches, and shelters, taxi’s, etc.)
  • Promotion (sports teams, schools, etc.)
  • Yellow pages if a local or multi-location business

Today, with the addition of  OTT (Over the Top) TV, banner ads, advertising on social media, and other digital options, the choices on where to place advertising dollars are staggering.

MARTech = Marketing Technology

The modern CMO is faced with options in Martech and Adtech.  Yes, those are real terms used within the marketing world. In 2011, we had about 150 MarTech choices.  By 2019, there were over 7,000 choices.

Marketing Technology growth since 2011
In 2011, there were about 150+ Martech vendors. By 2019, there were over 7000!

 

To put in perspective, RedHat published the following tech stack that is aligned with the customer journey. One brand using this technique would interact with over 30 Martech vendors.

Who can keep up with that, let alone stay ahead of it?

Marketing Technology used for customer journey
Illustrates 30 MarTech companies have to work with to manage the customer journey.

Source: 4

Technology has disrupted business in many ways.  According to Forrester, the primary reason technology has disrupted business is based on three issues:

  • Empowered consumers
  • Blurred lines between digital and physical
  • Disruptive business models powered by data and tech

In their reports titled “Winning In The Age Of The Customer,” and “The Customer-Obsessed Enterprise” Forrester suggests that companies that are not just customer-focused, but customer-obsessed, achieve higher revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.

Enter the COVID-19 pandemic

To put into perspective how important technology to business is, consider how different brands in food service were impacted by the pandemic.

 

As reported in QSR magazine for Domino’s “What’s happened in the first four weeks of Q2 (March 23 to April 19) has been more enlightening. Domino’s witnessed U.S. company comps jump 10.6 percent. Franchises are up 6.9 percent. Blended, it’s a 7.1 percent year-over-year same-store number.”

Chipotle’s digital sales grew 80.8% and accounted for 26.3% of sales for the quarter leading into the pandemic. Source:   https://ir.chipotle.com/2020-04-21-Chipotle-Announces-First-Quarter-2020-Results

The first 3 examples are from brands that were already focusing on their digital capabilities.  Wing Stop was one of the first restaurant brands to offer chatbot ordering on social media platforms. And Domino’s has become the de facto leader in the pizza segment when it comes to technology.

The key takeaway for restaurants is that the pandemic created a new set of consumer desires and demands and the brands (often chain with marketing teams) already knowledgeable and leading in technology won. This plays out in retail too.  If you’re a retailer and you didn’t have an eCommerce platform prior to March 13, you’re probably hurting bad, or closed.

The pandemic forced many brands to accelerate their use and adoption of technology to meet the new consumer needs.

Conclusion

The bottom line when it comes to brick & mortar businesses is that marketing technology is part of the customer experience and great technology can create a great frictionless user experience. Bad technology can do the opposite. The pandemic forced business owners to embrace eCommerce, digital ordering, and contactless payments and transactions faster than ever before. Consequently, brick & mortar brands must:

  1. Own all the consumer touchpoints
  2. Own customer data
  3. Connect offline to online for a true omnidirectional view of your customers

It’s not easy to keep up with technology. The effects of social distancing and working from home simply made every business pivot or adapt to less touch and more connection via technology.

If Forrester is right, the technology we marketers use to reach intended customers needs to pivot and more companies need to become customer-obsessed to succeed.

Staying ahead of that trend will be very difficult, very difficult indeed.

 

Head shot of Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider

Doug Reifschneider is a 30+ year marketing veteran in the foodservice industry.  He currently works with Chief Outsiders as a fractional CMO.

https://www.itbpartners.com/doug-reifschneider/

Sources:

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/technology-killing-off-corporations-average-lifespan-of-company-under-20-years.html
  2. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mooreslaw.asp#nearly-60-years-old-still-strong
  3. https://hackernoon.com/moores-law-is-alive-and-well-adc010ea7a63?source=rss——-1
  4. https://cdn.chiefmartec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/red-hat-martech-stackie.jpg
  5. Source: Winning In The Age Of The Customer Forrester report
  6. Source: The Customer-Obsessed Enterprise Forrester report

 

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UNITE: “WEE WILL…” EXPERIDIGM Enable “E”cosystems; by Mark Grace

Overview

We humans and “E”cosystems (Es) must unite as WeE to preserve and foster the ability to joyfully experience a natural and healthy life. “Es” sustain We with natural air, water, soil, and healthy food, but “Es” are dying from human poisons/pollution and intentional “T”yrant taking. WeE must unite and build meaningful WeE experidigm group rights to ensure WeE ability to survive and pursue healthy experiences. Learn how to create lasting WeE experidigm group rights. Unite and joyfully WeE experidigm together. Live healthy and experience Amness joy. Use Part 4 as a Field Guide to help WeE and “E” successfully survive and experidigm together.

Description

The future of humanity depends on the human ability to better live together and do activities together – I call this experidigming. Our future does not depend on how well we work together in business. We are pretty good at that now. We are poor at living together with and supporting all living entities in ecosystems (“Es”). Over 7.8 billion people are consuming “Es” at an unprecedented rate. Left unmanaged and unchecked, people may consume all “E.” Our future depends on how well We humans respect, steward, and support all living entities in “E.” This book describes how to have We humans and “E” living entities experidigm together as WeE, building a sustaining and thriving relationship for all within the WeE experidigms. One fact is certain – humans cannot survive without the life giving power of “E” to deliver clean air, water, alive soil, and trillions of living entities that share healthy food with humans. WeE experidigm groups can protect, sustain, and foster “E” while defending WeE using experidigm group rights. We and “E” must unite as WeE to sustain life and create the necessary balance of life to sustain daily living. Join a local WeE experidigm group to do activities and receive joy. This book describes how to UNITE and participate in the joyful experience of We and “E” combined WeE.

About The Author

Mark Grace

Described as a rainmaker and innovation leader, Mark Grace lives by the adage, “Aim higher, achieve more!” For Grace, “There will be setbacks, but the good side just points upward and you go upward to better. You might not see better right away, but better is there if you keep looking and seeking. You can avoid, deflect, and ignore the bad people who try and stop your growth.” As an inventor, Grace has received over 18 patents, many trademarks and has been honored with international technology awards. He is the author of a series of personal and corporate “how to grow” opportunity books: 1) Elements of Visual Talking, 2) Soaring to Awesome-Turd Throwers Beware, 3) Choosing Up, 4) Avoid Takers, 5) NEXT: “I Am…” Experidigmer 6) MORE: “We Am…” Experidigmers, 7) GO: “We Will…” Experidigm, and 8) UNITE: “WeE Will…” Experidigm. Grace earned his MBA from Washington University and Chemistry degree from St. Louis University. He is the founder of the growth advisory firm, Beyondvia Technologies. Beyondvia.com offers practical better ways to liberate individuals and organizations to grow and evolve their visions and value. Grace regularly advises global organizations and contributes to leading journals across a myriad of industries. Experidigm.com is the signup gateway to participating in Applied Experidigm Zones (AEZ) and building personal experidigms.

Contact:

Posted on

Things Will Change – New Habits Will Be Created

Early in my career, I learned that it is unwise to rebuild a retail outlet on site when there is an option to build on another site better positioned to serve the trade area.  Taking an outlet off-line for reconstruction, forced our customers to seek alternatives.  They began shopping with other brands, creating new habits.  And, the rebuilt outlet seldom regained their full sales volume.  It was a bad investment.  Building a new outlet in a better location avoided the lost revenue while creating excitement for the new store.  It was usually a better investment.

Once a new shopping pattern is established (read – a new habit), it is difficult to revert.  This experience gives me confidence that the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak will create new habits and accelerate other trends.

Trends to Watch

  • Improved/Greater Focus on Personal Hygiene
  • Remote Working
  • Internet Shopping/Home Delivery
  • Tele-Medicine
  • Virtual Meetings

The first change I expect is an increased vigilance toward sanitation.  It is obvious that people are likely to become accustomed to washing their hands more often, hopefully using anti-bacterial soap.  It’s reasonable to expect retailers and other employers to adopt measures to better protect their customers and employees.  Who knows, this might lead to a reduction in overall flu cases, reducing absenteeism.  Even now, I have a client in the Janitorial Services Sector who is generating significant add-on sales from an innovative sanitizer product.

My friend Faith says that this pandemic will be the catalyst to make telemedicine a more widely accepted modality of care. “Telemedicine has been operational for 40 years.  It has had a tremendous resurgence since 2016 and continues to increase in utilization.  Telemedicine, including telehealth, is viewed as a viable option to access needed care.  Copays and other fees are being waived both for commercial and Medicare patients.   The virtual platform that is steering patients will become more widely accepted and utilized. There was already a push for digital applications to handle chronic conditions, urgent care, follow up visits, and medical consultations.  It will be difficult to resume pre-pandemic modes of care.”

As I begin my third day of voluntary quarantine, I have changed the plans for our monthly meeting in favor of a ZOOM meeting.   Based on government guidance, I decided to conduct a virtual meeting instead.  It isn’t as useful from a networking perspective, but the content of the meeting will be presented well, and I will record the meeting for future reference.  I am hearing that many of my colleagues have been engaged in virtual meetings this week.   I imagine that many will become more accustomed to virtual meetings during this quarantine.

As people work from home for the next two weeks, many managers who are uncomfortable with remote working will have an opportunity to change their thinking.  Imagine the overall benefit of working from home. Less commuting time via automobile will benefit employee mental health and productivity while lowering the cost of owning an automobile.  The benefit to the environment and maintenance of infrastructure will be enormous.   Mass commuting to and from work by automobile is no longer practical or sustainable.

Yesterday, I heard that Amazon.com is hiring another 100,000 workers.  It’s safe to say that the home shopping trend, including restaurant delivery, will experience a surge of growth.  One can imagine how restaurants will change their business models to accommodate more home delivery.  I expect the creation of outlets providing delivery and carry-out only, without any accommodations for dine-in customers.  This is a huge opportunity for grocery stores as well.

For the next two or more weeks we will be living outside our normal patterns.  Disruption of our typical routine will certainly result in the creation of new habits.  Working from home, making greater use of technology and new applications will reveal better ways to accomplish our work.  I expect that our quarantine will be a catalyst for accelerating change.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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

 

 

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David Shavzin, CMC, Exit Strategist, interviewed on RadioX North Fulton.

David Shavzin Interviewed by N. Fulton RadioX

David Shavzin created The Value Track to help business owners build value and create a path toward a successful exit. Too often, they have not built the value they need and are unprepared when the time comes to put their transition into action. In this RadioX interview, “Maximizing Exit Strategy, Understanding Value”, interviewed by John Ray on Business RadioX®:  Listen to the Interview

David discusses critical issues that business owners need to understand in order to maximize the sale of their business. Exit planning is a process – not something to decide one day, and try to implement the next.

David helps business owners think through their long-term goals and plans, educates them on business value and brings the right – collaborative – advisory team around the table. He then assists in the implementation of value-growth initiatives, guiding them to a successful transition (sale, family transfer, etc.). His 7-step process improves their quality of life and allows them to exit on their own terms.

A frequent speaker on these topics, David is a CMC, former IMC Georgia chapter president and President and Co-Founder of Exit Planning Exchange Atlanta, formed to bring advisors together in a collaborative effort to serve their clients.

His early career was in banking and finance, then 12 years with life sciences company Sanofi/Aventis. He spent 4 years in corporate finance and Mergers & Acquisitions. Then, 8 years of leading teams responsible for Quality, Finance, Supply Chain, Customer Service and IT functions within a $175M subsidiary.

For More Information, Contact David Shavzin at:

(770) 329-224

david@getonthevaluetrack.com   

 

Posted on

Go! “I will…” Experidigm

Mark Grace 7th Book Launch

Ignore Tyrants

by Mark Grace View author’s profile page

“I Will…” Experidigm
Overview
Break free by ignoring “You will…” Tyrants. Break free by pointing up and going to your NEXT experidigm. Claim ‘I will…” Experidigm! Claim the right to experidigm. Read Go: “I will…Experidigm; Ignore Tyrants.
Description
Break free by ignoring “You will…” Tyrants. Break free by pointing up and going to your NEXT experidigm. Claim ‘I will…” Experidigm! Claim the right to experidigm. Read Go: “I will…Experidigm; Ignore Tyrants. Tyrants are using an established moral infrastructure to brainwash and control people. Social, religious, business, educational, and governmental Tyrants are so common that many people are unaware that they are being programmed to follow “You will…” (subtle instructions and, sometimes, outright commanding “You will…” orders). A Tyrant is anyone who wields “You will…” orders. The author’s stance is to not tolerate the “You will…” propaganda robbing individuals of freedom and destroying experidigm ecosystems. “You will…” manipulation dominates all facets of life, especially any form of communication or connection. Social media opinions, preposterous ads, and “fake” news control the “mass” consciousness. All this communication is created and paid for to manipulate the listener to buy, to vote, or to just do what the Tyrant “You will…” wants. If people spend all their waking hours working or doing what the messages say, they are being controlled by Tyrants. “You will…” Tyrants and their administrators do not allow free will, true choice, or NEXT experidigming.  Break free by ignoring “You will…” Tyrants. Break free by pointing up and going to NEXT experidigm. Claim ‘I will…” experidigm. Go! Claim the right to experidigm. Read Go: “I will…Experidigm; Ignore Tyrants.

About the author

Mark Grace

Described as a rainmaker and innovation leader, Mark Grace lives by the adage, “Aim higher, achieve more!” For Grace, “There will be setbacks, but the good side is to just point upward to go upward to better. You might not see better right away, but better is there if you keep looking and seeking. You can avoid, deflect, and ignore the bad people who try and to stunt your growth.” As an inventor, Grace has received over 18 patents, many trademarks and has been honored with international technology awards.

He is the author of a series of personal and corporate “how to grow” opportunity books: 1) Elements of Visual Talking, 2) Soaring to Awesome-Turd Throwers Beware, 3) Choosing Up, 4) Avoid Takers, 5) NEXT: “I Am…” Experidigmer 6) MORE: “We Am…” Experidigmers, and 7) GO: “We Will…” Experidigm. Grace earned his MBA from Washington University and Chemistry degree from St. Louis University. He is the founder of the growth advisory firm, Beyondvia Technologies. Beyondvia.com offers practical ways to liberate individuals and organizations to allow these entities to grow and evolve, to realize their visions and value.
Grace regularly advises global organizations and contributes to leading journals across a myriad of industries. Grace has coined the term “experidigm” to articulate to readers and followers his philosophy of achieving personal joy. Experidigm.com is the signup gateway to participating in Applied Experidigm Zones (AEZ) and building personal experidigms.

Mark Grace

https://store.bookbaby.com/profile/markgrace

amazon.com/author/markgracepath

experidigm.com

beyondvia.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markgracebeyondvia