|
Author: Michael Knowles Article source: http://www.onestraightline.com/. Used with author's permission.
The key to organizational focus and helping those who need what you do is knowing, precisely, what you do well -- and what you don't do well.
Once there was a semiconductor company in financial trouble. Profits were dropping, and the company was losing money every quarter. The pressure was on to stop the bloodletting.
A key executive at the company became convinced that the wireless home audio market was a perfect opportunity because the company already made components that were used in wireless devices. Putting their own product together seemed a logical step. So they set out to take their piece of the market.
And failed.
Why? The executive let the desperation to solve a problem dissolve his focus on Step Zero. They had no expertise in the consumer electronics business, no distribution channels, no appropriate product development skill.
The company lost sight of what it did exceptionally well. It had caught the disease called "critical organizational forgetting," which was the reason it was underperforming in the first place.
It is all too easy to become stuck in the "sounds like a good idea" state that so often happens when we drink too much of own Kool-Aid, so to speak. In this case, company executives believed that because they could do one thing, they could do another thing that seemed nothing more than a simple, logical extension of the other. Their mistake cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Why Knowing What You do Well is So Important
Think of what your organization does well as the lens that focuses you on the value you bring to solving your customer's problems. The success of any organization or company is built on a persistent focus on what it does well.
When you focus on what you do well, you become focused on the types of problems you're best equipped to solve. And we're all in the problem-solving business when it comes to our customers' needs, whether we're running a department, organization, division, or entire company.
And that is the Step Zero™ effect. Michael Knowles, co-author of The Entrepreneur's Concept Assessment Toolbook (available at http://www.booklocker.com/books/1988.html or Amazon.com) helps businesses take what they do best and focus it on success. A Principal in One Straight Line LLC, Michael has over 25 years of experience helping companies create communication strategies help them engage customers, employees, investors, outsourcing partners, and the community.
Michael can be reached at mknowles@onestraightline.com.
Sign up for their newsletter by sending email to subscribe@onestraightline.com.
Killer Press Kits - Press Kits That Demand Attention
So, you've had your book published or you've gone the self-published route, but what do you do now? You contact a newspaper, radio or television station reques...
The Bingo Renaissance
Little old ladies in slippers, playing for pennies and cents in a converted community hall is no longer the reality of bingo. The game has in recent years and n...
Is Managing a PPC Campaign As Easy As You Think
You start PPC Advertising hoping to generate leads at a low cost and thereby generate a "super ROI". 80% of the cases you fail! Not because, you do anything wro...
Barbequing, a Fun and Convenient Way to Make Dinner
There's nothing more enjoyable than having friends and family gathered around amidst the wonderful smells of charcoal-grilled prawns, vegetables and selected fa...
Stress Managment and Mastery: 6 Stress Busting Tips
In a hectic world, it's all too easy to reach the point of feeling stressed out beyond our ability to cope. Yet it's our ability to cope that makes all the diff...
Barking Problems: Train Your Dog To Stop Barking!
All dogs bark, it's their way to communicate a message. Dog barks for various reasons: to greet, to alert, out of boredom, to attract attention or when they are...
The High Price of Oil
Rare opportunity to make huge gains on "oil puts" in second half of August.
Opportunity Knocks 1000 Times
Don't believe that oportunity only knocks once. Just invite it over more often, and be sure to answer the door...
Smart Day Trading Strategies to Help You Make Money in the Stock Market
Learn how to day trade stocks every day in a simple way...
Dog Travel - Taking a Vacation with Your Dog
When traveling with your dog, always keep in mind her safety and comfort. Whether you're traveling by car or by plane, there are ways to make dog travel easier ...
How to Use Textpad to Write Articles Faster
It's a good idea to use TextPad because all opt-in ezine publishers want your articles without any formatting. Also, for any email exchange, you need to put you...
Are You Sure That Heirloom Oriental Rug From Your Aunt Hilda Is Really Insured?
Because your home, and to a certain extent the items in that furnish it, will most likely be the best investment you're likely to make, it's important to protec...
How You Can Use Free Public Domain Content to Drive Hoards of Targeted Traffic to Your Websites
Learn How You Can Benefit from the Public Domain Gold Rush
You Are What You Do!
Too often, we say on thing and do another, and then we wonder why people see a disconnect in our lives. Do what you want to see you as, and you will be seen as ...
Releasing the Yoke
If you self-loathe, if you despise your ethnicity, if you find yourself in financial bondage because you are addicted to spending, you are wearing a yoke. All ...
Mid Life Crisis, Life Transitions, & Ontological Coaching
Performance improvement can be characterized by a simple process of observation. In the process one typically observes an action, the results are assessed, a de...
3 Tips For Getting Through The Voicemail Screen
Article discusses 3 unusual sales tips for getting past the voicemail barrier and getting through to decision-makers.
Premenstrual Syndrome: Plagued with Premenstrual Syndrome? Try Calcium!
At last, there's hope for millions of women suffering from Premenstrual Syndrome. Researchers have found that a regular intake of calcium may reduce premenstrua...
9 Secrets to Career Success
Are you miserable at your job (or what you are doing) but go anyway to earn a living? Do you feel you are unable to use your talents and are doing things that a...
Rapid Weight Loss Tips, Techniques and Strategies
It seems everyone is looking for that magic bullet - rapid weight loss secret that will instantly shed excess weight and turn you into a supermodel....
Searching For Your Calling – Quest or Curse?
Judging by the extraordinarily positive reader response to Po Bronson's What Should I Do With My Life?, people are aching for a sympathetic outlook on their st...
Selling Services
If you have a service business, you already know that it's not like selling a product.
Find out how to sell the professional service way.
Tap Employee Passion For Business Success
Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery's success before one single "employee" had been hired. From the outset Lewis and Clark engendered a co...
Sour Grapes Between: China, the US and EU
An article on China being in the WTO, and its effects on the US, EU relationship. Rosa
|
Print this page