The views expressed in Guest Opinions represent only those of the author and are in no way endorsed by Richmond BizSense or any BizSense staff member.
We’ve been thinking a lot about business school lately. The professors promised us that, no matter how hard we worked in our careers, we would always be able to look back and say “at least it’s not as bad as B-School.”
We had three cases a day, five days a week. Each day, the next day’s cases showed up in your mail box at noon and, by 8 a.m. the next morning, you had to find the “Easter egg”: the key piece of information or the critical analysis that would tell you what the troubled company needed to do to survive or thrive.
Combined with your class schedule, tests and papers, it added up to a 65- to 70-hour workweek – every week.
For the most part, the professors were right about it being harder than real life – until recently.
Today’s business environment is beginning to look a lot more like business school, except it’s not just a grade you are competing for — it’s your livelihood. We all seem to be working harder and harder, sometimes for less pay.
Fast food and e-commerce were only the beginning. Now everything is provided faster, by more competitors and at less cost. This applies especially to service providers to businesses today (consultants, accountants, lawyers, investment bankers, trainers, graphic designers, etc.). Your environment today is more like that of the three-cases-per-day business school than the real world of the recent past.
Just a few years ago:
• The time it took for your clients’ businesses and the industries they competed in to mature was measured in decades — now the horizon is 18 months to three years, at best.
• Your clients looked on the web or used their networks to find a handful of local companies to help them — now they have their choice of thousands of sources from Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other sources. Their options include big companies, small businesses and even individuals from down the street or from anywhere in the world. And, no matter where those sources are located, they can usually respond immediately.
• Everyone had overhead and salaries to cover, and there were often customary hourly rates and fees. Today, your client might have access to low-cost overseas competition, freelance auction sites and even one or more eBay-like “crowd sourcing” sites. There seems to be an alternative at every price point.
To survive in this new environment, we are going to have to adjust how we provide services to businesses.
Here are three things that will really help.
Step boldly and quickly: Gone are the days when we could give our clients a yearlong rollout plan and expect them to commit all of their resources before the first milestone is accomplished. Break your efforts into shorter projects and establish shorter deadlines.
Phil Conein of TecHead, a local staffing company, has an internal “incubator” to develop and execute creative ideas. Recently he demonstrated an app his group had developed in a few man-weeks of work. Considering that Phil’s time is more valuable than the developer’s, it was more economical to develop the app than it was to conduct a study of whether it was a good idea or not.
Face time, personal conversations and collaborations move clients to “yes” much faster than studies, proposals and long reports. Get your recommendations to them before the circumstances have changed.
Fewer things, more focus: Force yourself to focus on areas where you have a true competitive advantage and/or the most efficient delivery system. Concentrate on those clients where your capabilities are truly valued. Saying no to the wrong opportunity gives you more time to concentrate where you can win.
Opportunities often look better or worse based on timing. We all know what happens if you grocery shop while you are hungry. The same can be true in business. Define the five most important criteria of the work you want to do and measure every opportunity against those criteria on a consistent basis. Then you are less likely to take a job just because you are hungry for a sale.
Stay with your highest and best use: Your highest and best use is understanding your customer’s needs and bringing them outstanding solutions. It’s not administrative work, basic research or picking fonts for a PowerPoint presentation. Focus your efforts on work that is measured by the value it provides rather than how cheaply it can be provided.
Think about law firms and the way they work. Depending on who is working on your case, you might be paying from $200 to $700 per hour for their time. Although the senior partner’s knowledge and experience might be more valuable than that of the junior associate, is it worth $500 more if 50 percent of the hour is spent opening and closing Word files, preparing a time sheet and typing an email?
Don’t be afraid to use other resources that better serve your clients needs. Outsource or “different-source” commodity work that others can do better and cheaper than you. If you have to do that kind of work, develop systems and processes that allow you to leverage your time and resources.
As you approach the new year, evaluate what might be your business’s Easter egg. Take the time to determine from all of today’s possibilities the two or three strategies that will make all the difference for the success of your business and the enjoyment of your career.
The views expressed in Guest Opinions represent only those of the author and are in no way endorsed by Richmond BizSense or any BizSense staff member.
We’ve been thinking a lot about business school lately. The professors promised us that, no matter how hard we worked in our careers, we would always be able to look back and say “at least it’s not as bad as B-School.”
We had three cases a day, five days a week. Each day, the next day’s cases showed up in your mail box at noon and, by 8 a.m. the next morning, you had to find the “Easter egg”: the key piece of information or the critical analysis that would tell you what the troubled company needed to do to survive or thrive.
Combined with your class schedule, tests and papers, it added up to a 65- to 70-hour workweek – every week.
For the most part, the professors were right about it being harder than real life – until recently.
Today’s business environment is beginning to look a lot more like business school, except it’s not just a grade you are competing for — it’s your livelihood. We all seem to be working harder and harder, sometimes for less pay.
Fast food and e-commerce were only the beginning. Now everything is provided faster, by more competitors and at less cost. This applies especially to service providers to businesses today (consultants, accountants, lawyers, investment bankers, trainers, graphic designers, etc.). Your environment today is more like that of the three-cases-per-day business school than the real world of the recent past.
Just a few years ago:
• The time it took for your clients’ businesses and the industries they competed in to mature was measured in decades — now the horizon is 18 months to three years, at best.
• Your clients looked on the web or used their networks to find a handful of local companies to help them — now they have their choice of thousands of sources from Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other sources. Their options include big companies, small businesses and even individuals from down the street or from anywhere in the world. And, no matter where those sources are located, they can usually respond immediately.
• Everyone had overhead and salaries to cover, and there were often customary hourly rates and fees. Today, your client might have access to low-cost overseas competition, freelance auction sites and even one or more eBay-like “crowd sourcing” sites. There seems to be an alternative at every price point.
To survive in this new environment, we are going to have to adjust how we provide services to businesses.
Here are three things that will really help.
Step boldly and quickly: Gone are the days when we could give our clients a yearlong rollout plan and expect them to commit all of their resources before the first milestone is accomplished. Break your efforts into shorter projects and establish shorter deadlines.
Phil Conein of TecHead, a local staffing company, has an internal “incubator” to develop and execute creative ideas. Recently he demonstrated an app his group had developed in a few man-weeks of work. Considering that Phil’s time is more valuable than the developer’s, it was more economical to develop the app than it was to conduct a study of whether it was a good idea or not.
Face time, personal conversations and collaborations move clients to “yes” much faster than studies, proposals and long reports. Get your recommendations to them before the circumstances have changed.
Fewer things, more focus: Force yourself to focus on areas where you have a true competitive advantage and/or the most efficient delivery system. Concentrate on those clients where your capabilities are truly valued. Saying no to the wrong opportunity gives you more time to concentrate where you can win.
Opportunities often look better or worse based on timing. We all know what happens if you grocery shop while you are hungry. The same can be true in business. Define the five most important criteria of the work you want to do and measure every opportunity against those criteria on a consistent basis. Then you are less likely to take a job just because you are hungry for a sale.
Stay with your highest and best use: Your highest and best use is understanding your customer’s needs and bringing them outstanding solutions. It’s not administrative work, basic research or picking fonts for a PowerPoint presentation. Focus your efforts on work that is measured by the value it provides rather than how cheaply it can be provided.
Think about law firms and the way they work. Depending on who is working on your case, you might be paying from $200 to $700 per hour for their time. Although the senior partner’s knowledge and experience might be more valuable than that of the junior associate, is it worth $500 more if 50 percent of the hour is spent opening and closing Word files, preparing a time sheet and typing an email?
Don’t be afraid to use other resources that better serve your clients needs. Outsource or “different-source” commodity work that others can do better and cheaper than you. If you have to do that kind of work, develop systems and processes that allow you to leverage your time and resources.
As you approach the new year, evaluate what might be your business’s Easter egg. Take the time to determine from all of today’s possibilities the two or three strategies that will make all the difference for the success of your business and the enjoyment of your career.