It's not all doom and gloom in SA

With all the challenges that have come our way recently such as load-shedding, interest rate hikes, petrol and food price increase, soaring inflation data and muted growth expectations, it has admittedly left many of us wondering what will happen next.

Despite all this, I am still fundamentally positive about SA's future, but it's good to hear that certain economic experts share that outlook, particularly when the economic indicators would generally be used as ammunition to state otherwise. Here's a Fin24 article noting some of the less-often mentioned positive aspects, quoting Econometrix chief economist Dr Azar Jammine.

We should not focus on the negative [although we must learn from our current situation and mistakes]. But let's rather focus on the opportunities and positive effects - they do exist!

Also, have a look at this from one of Thought Leader's newer bloggers, Miriam Mannak - a positive view of SA from a foreigner living here [who, may I add, is writing the way that Thought Leader's ought to write]. It's actually rather refreshing.

Love bites [?]

Def Leppard’s song of this title quite unequivocally disagreed with common sentiments of the day that is upon us. Voicing even stronger disagreement was The J. Geils Band [didn’t know that one – thanks Google] with their cool song “Love stinks”, sung so brilliantly by Adam Sandler in “The Wedding Singer”.

However, for today [14th Feb] I couldn’t leave this topic alone as it allows me to quickly slip this one in and still remain in the spirit of the day, so to speak [and please excuse the Google-inspired amateur doodle above, included here just to prove that even a boring business blog can be a little bit creative]. [edit: for those who missed it, you can see the doodle here]

Observation: people who excel at what they do really LOVE what they do. Haven’t you seen that too?

And please note - I’m not talking about what they do. I’m talking about what they DO...

I’m not talking about dentists that love drilling teeth or filling holes... I am talking about dentists that love making people feel good about their teeth. I’m not talking about accountants that love counting beans and preparing pages filled with numbers... I am talking about accountants that love providing useful relevant information so that businesses can grow beyond their wildest dreams. I am not talking about developers that love coding things to death... I am talking about developers that love creating apps that revolutionise the way people work and think forever.

It’s not about what you’re doing but why you’re doing it. And why do I say that? Just look at this:

“Vision is about… wild, passionate, intemperate… LOVE.” – Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland [as referenced by Tom Peters]

Now read it backwards too… it comes back to the vision. I believe if we have a real vision of why we’re doing something, we’ll really love it [not the task itself necessarily, but everything about it] and therefore we will excel at it [even if just by accident].

So let me ask you… do you love what you’re doing? Not what you’re doing. What you’re DOING!

Why customers really are the only thing that matters

We’ve all heard the phrase “The customer is always right”. I’ve seen many business people getting very upset at the mention of this, and in some cases where customers totally abuse their relationship with a company, it is justified. After all, how can the customer always be right when it’s our business. Our product. Our vision!

Admittedly, I like the idea of “firing bad customers” [and there are definitely instances where this is called for], but all I’m saying is that, before you go ahead and do this, ask yourself whether that really is the best or only solution to the problem.

The bottom line is this – customers are the only thing that matters.

[The rest of the business merely consists of details required in fulfilling the company’s services to its customers.]

Without customers, there is no revenue. Without revenue, there is no business. Simple.


But if we’re talking about innovation, perhaps then it’s an entirely different story…

Every single business presentation in the world should start with these wise words

...because everyone in business needs to hear it!

[The original post here]

... and we need to hear it
over and over and over,
because it is easily forgotten.

So business leaders - take this to heart. And then teach it to your people. If you need clarification or someone with purpose to drive it in - please contact Beverley.

The search for strategies and tools to stimulate economic and social revival in South Africa

That's the best way I can describe where I'm going with this.

With all the talk of why we do things and where we're going, I realised that I haven't made that very clear here. So to give a little more direction at home, so to speak, I've adopted this as the OutThink tagline. Hence the new line under the logo above [inspired by the humble tag cloud].

Each word is significant:

• SEARCH - its a journey, not a destination, and there isn't one right answer [never will be]
• STRATEGIES - the big picture is what really matters [sometimes it is easily lost sight of]
• TOOLS - we still need to action them, it can't happen on its own
• STIMULATE - stir, generate, revitalise, make-happen
• ECONOMIC - finances are not the most important thing in life, but do facilitate many things
• SOCIAL - nothing matters more than people
• REVIVAL - a new thing, complete change required, for such a time as this
• SOUTH AFRICA - there's no place like home [we were put here for a reason]

This is something that's worth getting worked up about! I sure am.

Perhaps this will put my crazy questioning and psychotic ranting into a bit of perspective. I really hope you will enjoy reading [most] of it, and would love to hear from anyone with any comments or thoughts on this.

The question that changes everything

How often have you said something or been asked something, and all of a sudden.. a light goes on?

They say that words can change lives. We all know the power of the tongue... one of mankind's greatest assets [and weapons].

As I've been going on about in this blog for a while now, I believe change is an absolute, unequivocal necessity for our country to flourish to its true potential. And with that... I'm interested to see whether the power of words can truly challenge and change realities.

Open your mind. Consider - the question that changes everything...

...one question, asked with sincerity, that digs to the heart of an issue and challenges the reality that we accept on a daily basis - and then turns it upside down!!

On that note, can we unlock the right questions for us to move forward and innovate? Any contributions are welcome, and I'll be looking at the best forum to make this more accessible and collaborative in the near future, but for now it starts here.

So I'll get the ball rolling with one of the better questions I've heard recently, one which many companies should be asking themselves [particularly as SA plays catch up in the global technology game]:

What would you do to survive if your competitors' products were free?

Yes, there are certainly follow up questions to this, and no - I don't expect you to answer the question here. Just think about it.

Please. Business leaders. Young entrepreneurs. Experienced innovators. Just think about it.

Are directors just pawns in the game of business?

I like marcashton's analogy between a sales team and chess moves. I found the concept interesting, and I yhought I'd try something a little different - to metaphorically disect a company's building blocks in chess'ese:

Pawns
To me, the pawns represent management [not employees, as most would probably say]. The pawns stand in the front line, lead the way forward and have to make moves and sacrifices in the team's best interests.

Rook [aka Castle]
These more closely resemble employees. Their movement is far more limited as they play a role but not the lead role. They are there to get the job done [often in chess these get the job done in going for check-mate].

Knight
Their flexible movement is reminiscent of a company's products and services. They need to be constantly moving and changing to stay ahead of the competition. And with the unusual 'L' movement, its easy to be caught off guard, or to catch your competition off guard.

Bishop
Difficult one, but by a process of elimination, can be seen to be the suppliers. They are there to add to the business [by providing products and services]. The more predictable and consistent their movement, the easier they are to handle.

Queen
This is probably the brand [not a living member of the cast, but still an integral player]. This gives life to the company and plays an integral part in the strategy of many companies. When the queen is lost, strategy often changes direction significantly.

King
It is the most important piece to be protected, and probably best approximates the customer. Without customers, no business will survive.

The board
Not 'the Board'. This is the company itself and forms the playing field where all interactions take place. In the end, it is just an inanimate structure, but you can't play the game without it.

The player
I would take this to represent the directors - needing a good 'big picture' view of the board and everything going on. The player has the ability to direct the game in its entirety and to make decisions affecting all its participants.

The chess set's owners
Last and certainly not least - representing the shareholders. It doesn't matter how the player plays the game, in the end he better look after the chess set and return it to its rightful owners. In many cases, the players and the owners are one and the same... but isn't that the way it is in business too?


One specific note to the two above - the directors are the stewards of the business, and unlike returning a chess set to its owners slightly worse for wear, a business should eventually be 'returned' to its owners in better condition than when control was originally given to the directors - the hallmark of an excellent director/board.

Okay, so this isn't an exact science, but I hope you see what I'm getting at. Any differing viewpoints would be interesting to hear.

Right said Fred, or rather Well said Fred

Excellent post on Ideate about South Africa needing leaders to step up to the plate -> South Africa needs us to become leaders

Very well said! I trust you are leading by example in your sphere of influence, as we all should be!

Retail rules - what is face value?

Just one little observation... for a retail business [whether selling goods, like a clothing boutique, or selling services, like a restaurant], client-facing staff are absolutely integral to the purchase experience.

And if there's one thing that will make the experience positive for the customer, its this...

... make sure that the staff that the client sees [tellers / assistants / waiters / whoever] greet the customer and smile

Retail owners take note - this is BIG. Do not take it for granted.

I can't count the number of stores that I've been into lately where this does not happen - I can't remember them either. However, I can remember the ones where it does happen.

So, do you want your store to be memorable, or don't you?


[Note - just came across this... seems someone here is intent on South Africa taking this whole customer service thing seriously -> The Institute of Extreme Customer Service. I can't vouch for whether its working or not as there seem to have been two updates since February this year - hopefully they haven't gone MIA.]

Let's turn the world upside down!