Milliken, the Anti-Kodak

Kevin Meyer writes about Milliken, a company in the textile business in the US, and how its management was able to keep the company growing even when faced with cheap imports.

I particularly like his point about management not joining the "whining crowd", and instead, focusing on challenging the way things are done now.   Milliken also is a great example of how to "segment your markets and not your resources", or how to serve other markets using current capabilities, to grow sales and mitigate risks.

Why do we pay sales commissions?

Dan Ostund exposes his ideas around the elimination of commissions for salespeople.

No matter who explores this subject, the conclusion is always along the same lines:  they are detrimental and counter productive.

About Asking Questions and Answers

One of the basic principles of continuous improvement is understanding the "why" of things.   How often do you look for it?

Seth reminds us, as usual, to never forget to ask why, even if that means the status quo needs to be challenged.

How often do you ask why?

Becoming Trustworthy "On the Spot"

The Freakonomics guys recently highlighted a different way to recruit, using the hiring of cryptographers in the UK as an example.

This process reminds me of Charles Green's principles of trustworthiness, and how a quick way to become trustworthy is to show your abilities on the spot.   For example, a consulting company giving a sales presentation to a client could focus on giving some practical advice for the client, instead of focusing on showing his company's credentials.

Now how many firms have you met before, that are trustworthy on the spot?

Why It Pays to Panic Early (and How to Do it Effectively)

Mark McGuinness of Lateral Action has a point about how panicking can be a productive strategy to get more done.

It's interesting, when looking at the long term, how little time we have to achieve the things we want to do.

The Purple Musician

Seth Godin coined the term Purple Cow many years ago, to refer to something so extraordinary, that you just have to tell everybody about it.

Benjamin Zander is definitely a Purple Musician, and the TED Talk he gave some years ago is simply remarkable.

Cash is King - The Real Bottom Line

David Ottenstein reminds us of what is the real bottom line for any company:  it's cash flow position.   

In his book, "Manufacturing for the Real Bottom Line", he describes a three phased approach to focus improvement efforts and improve the bottom line of a company, consisting of:

• Phase 1 - Make Profit Equal Profit, or measure where your company stands right now and where it should be
• Phase 2 - Make Cash Flow Equal Profit, or ensure that you improve significantly your cash flow, through operational improvements, with the objective of cash flow being equal to your net profit
• Phase 3 - Optimize Gross Margin, or look at your current cost structure to see how costs can be improved.

After all, remember that cash is king.