Learning the Hard Way

Over the years I've watched various clients experience hard drive failure complicated by lack of data backup. Its an ugly thing to watch as a business owner discovers that his most valuable assett, his client records, are gone.

To make sure that doesn't happen to me, I backup everything to an external drive that can plug into any USB port on any other computer. Unfortunately, I've also given in to the temptation to "do it tomorrow."

This afternoon, while reaching for the phone, I spilled half a cup of coffee into the keyboard of my laptop, which promptly stopped working. I'm embarrassed to admit that my most recent backup was two weeks ago.

I spent the afternoon learning about data recovery, and thanks to my new friends at a local computer repair facility I have all of the files I've been working on this week restored to my external drive and accessible from older computer I keep for emergencies.

I was lucky. This could have been ugly. I'm implementing a daily backup regimen.

How about you? Are you backing up daily? Weekly? Whenever you think what you're working on is important? Whenever you have the time?

Got any hard drive failure horror stories to share?

---

Share This Article With A Friend.

Read more!

That Will Never Work Here

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"

H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

"Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances."

Dr. Lee De Forest, inventor of the vacuum tube and father of television.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."

A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.

"People in this community just won't support local business."

The anonymous president of a local service business, explaining why his P&L failed to match his projections.

"That won't work here."

For a number of years I was involved in local radio sales training in markets as large as Orlando, Florida, and as small as Mineral Wells, Texas. In nearly every case at least one of the local sales people (and never one of the top billers) would speak up to explain why the training wouldn't work.

"My customers won't make appointments. They want me to just drop by when I'm in the neighborhood."

"My customers won't plan for several months at a time. They just want to know if I have any good deals today."

"My customers will never pay that much."

Without fail, those same customers did prefer the next sales rep to stop dropping in unannounced, and preferred to work from appointments. They appreciated multiple month plans. And, when presented with the advantages, they frequently opted for the more expensive advertising programs.


Expectations determine outcomes.

In Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson's 1968 Pygmalion Study, elementary school teachers were told that some of their students were academically gifted and could be expected to perform well, even though they had not previously shown any signs. The teachers were given the names of the "academic spurters," who in truth had been selected completely at random.

At the end of the school year the "academic spurters" showed an average increase of twelve IQ points. Some showed an IQ increase of as much as 20 points. And the teachers also reported these students were better behaved, more intellectually curious, were friendlier, and had greater chances for success.

Rosenthal and Jacobson concluded the teachers had subtly encouraged the performance they expected to see. They spent more time with the special students, were more enthusiastic teaching them and showed more warmth to them than to the other students.

This was unconscious on the part of the teachers, but was acknowledged by Rosenthal and Jacobson as a "self-fulfilling prophecy" - a false definition of a situation evoking a new behavior which in turn makes the originally false conception come true.


Expectations determine outcomes.

The negative version of a self-fulfilling prophecy is sometimes called the "Not Invented Here," syndrome – a pejorative that usually indicates someone would rather fail than to admit someone else has found a workable solution.

We see it evidenced by the "People in this community just won't support local business" company president or the "My customers won't make appointments" salespeople. They have a vested interest in proving their conclusions to be correct. If someone from outside came in and demonstrated a better way of operating, they'll be forced to admit their own failures.

Consultants know to expect a certain number of these people in any organization, and to expect them to push back when presented with new solutions to the existing problems.

Sometimes a few will see the advantage in the new solution. More often they are so committed to proving their own view to be valid that the organization can't grow until they're replaced.

Replacing a salesperson is fairly straightforward. Replacing the company president is not.


Expectations determine outcomes.

So, here's the challenge, especially if you're the company president. Assume from this point forward that every problem has a solution, and you just haven't found it, yet.

Stop insisting “This won't work.”

Stop asking “Will this work?”

Instead, ask “How can we make this work?” Then keep asking until you find a solution that does.

---

Share This Article With A Friend.

Read more!

The Golden Rule, as You Know, is Flawed.

The Golden Rule instructs us to treat other people in the ways we'd like to be treated.

But that assumes everyone else would have to want exactly what we want, doesn't it?

Personally, I love a good discussion. I enjoy the differences in perception that bring people to different conclusions. I have a friend who considers this arguing, and finds it offensive. She prefers for everyone to “get along” and say only positive, reaffirming statements, or to say nothing.

So, if I treat her as I'd like to be treated, challenging her conclusions, she would likely consider that to be a most unfriendly thing to do.


The Golden Rule has a variant in business called Exceed Customer Expectations.

Unfortunately too many small businesses try to exceed expectations in ways that are easy for the business. Just because its convenient for the business owner, (or better yet, cheap) doesn't mean your customer will think kindly of your effort.

Exceeding Customer Expectations doesn't count if its not something your customers want.

When your customer picks up his order, will he really appreciate the laminated wallet sized 2007 calendar with your business name on it? Yes, you got a great price. Yes, people need calendars. No, this doesn't count as Exceeding Customer Expectations.

How could you treat customers in ways that are easy, meaningful, and convenient for them?


Ask. Then listen to their answers.

That's why Enterprise Rent A Car brings the car to you. They understand that when you need a car you probably also need a ride to get to the rental place. Avis, Alamo, or Hertz could have just as easily come up with this benefit if they had been talking to their customers.

Why do you suppose Washington Mutual doesn't charge for WaMu checking accounts? Trust me, they're more than making up for the loss of those small fees by using the float on all of the cash deposited in all of the new accounts opened by people who like no fee checking.

So here's my recommendation: ask one simple question to your customers. “What do you hate about (my business category)?” Not “What do you hate about ABC Printing,” but “What do you hate about printers?”

When people tell you they hate that print shops are notoriously late delivering printing, you know exactly how to Exceed Customer Expectations in a way that's easy, meaningful, and convenient for your customers.

Imagine the reputation you'd create by always delivering your customers' printing a day or two early.


Listen to your customers.

Anticipate their desires. Provide personal, added value service. And watch them move more business to you as they grow to trust you with all of it.

---

Share This Article With A Friend.

Read more!

Drive Ins, Car Dealerships, and Forces Beyond Our Control

Two miles north of Willison, North Dakota is the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and U.S. Highway 52. Like many communities over the years the downtown area with its small buildings and limited parking has stagnated as business has moved to that intersection north of town.

But, at the time in question, circa 1968, the only business at that intersection was Keenan's Restaurant. Keenan's was an old fashioned drive in, with car hops who brought your order to your car on a tray that suspended from the driver's window. The menu ranged from basic burgers and fries to “21 shrimp in a basket.”

Remember, to get to Keenan's it was necessary to drive two miles away from the city center and every other restaurant in town. People didn't just drive by and pull in on a whim.

At that time the hottest chain restaurant in the midwest was the Country Kitchen. One of their stores went in next door to Keenan's. Comparatively it was huge, with seating for 90, which made it even bigger than the truck stop restaurant on the other side of town.

People flocked to the new place. During peak periods the long line of waiting folks spilled from the lobby, through the front door, and wrapped partially around the building.

The conventional wisdom spelled “doom” for Keenan's. Who would want to stay in their own cars instead of being served as welcome guests in a brand new comfortable, restaurant with much broader menu choices?


Still, there was that long line of people.

As much as people are willing to stand in line for an unusual experience (think Disney), each repetition of that experience makes standing in line less appealing for most of us.

It didn't take long for hungry diners, having driven that far out of town, to see the line, look at Keenan's half empty parking lot, and say "You know, Keenan's food always was pretty good."

Instead of losing business, Keenan's thrived with the new competitor next door.


So, a new competitor doesn't mean loss of business?

It certainly can. Much of that possibility depends on the way the legacy business responds to the newcomer.

Its too easy to blame forces outside our control for any decline in business. And, to the extent that we, as business owners, assume we're helpless against circumstances, we will be.

Suppose you operate an office supply store, and another office supply store opens across the street. If you do nothing, it is likely that your revenues (and profits) will decline.

But suppose you welcomed the new competition as an additional traffic source for your store? Would that change the way you operate?

This is why car dealerships tend to locate next to one another. In the mind of the shopper, isn't it easier to compete with two or three other dealerships next door and across the street, than with a dozen scattered all over town? And aren't people more likely to comparison shop when you make it easy.

Does any dealership actually sell a car to even half of the prospective buyers who visit their lot? Humm. So, just by being convenient, another dealership will benefit from all of the non-sales next door.


How do your customers see you reacting?

Knowing you're being compared to a direct competitor should help you to focus on providing a better shopping experience for your existing customers. That will make your company more attractive to prospective customers as well.

But a business owner who places the blame for changing conditions as outside his control is surrendering power. The very act of assuming he has no control reduces his ability to compete.

He has total control over conditions inside his business. He has control over his staff and their efficiency. He has control over the level of care and attention his customers feel. He has control over his inventory. He even has control over his own marketing messages.

Are you facing new competition? Your time and focus must be occupied by those things you can control. Do it well, and watch your business (and your bottom line) improve over the way things were when you "owned" your location.

---

Share This Article With A Friend.

Read more!