Made in Canada

Would I pay a premium for something because it is made in Canada?

Well, that depends.

The question is easy, but the answer may not be so straightforward.  Of course, the underlying assumption is that I either want or need this particular item.

I would first want to know if it is a quality product.  I happen to use Phil Crosby’s definition of quality.  And that is, if the product has been manufactured to its specifications, then it is a quality product.  Quality is an absolute, it isn’t a relative concept.

Does the person selling this product seem knowledgeable?  More importantly, does this person demonstrate that they have any interest in the transaction?  Does he listen well?  Is she courteous?  Do I believe that I will experience the appropriate level of satisfaction if any after sales service is required?

I fear that we often diminish our expectations associated with the purchase of a product or service because of past purchasing experience.  I would like to think that my expectations will actually be exceeded.  Most of my requirements for any given transaction are not directly related to the specific product but to how I am treated.  I think of this as the intangibles that surround the product being purchased.  If these can be met, then I’m delighted to buy a made in Canada product.   And yes, if the overall experience is going to be wonderful, then I will gladly pay a premium!

Would you willingly pay a premium?

Aim Higher. Be Different.

We are now into week two of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

If you are Canadian, you are likely one of many holding our collective breath to see how we do in such events as ice hockey, curling and skating.  Naturally, the team or individual that wins a given event will have to be the best on the day of that particular competition.

In my mind, competition is not only about being better, but also about being different.

Those athletes who are measured both quantitatively and qualitatively, such as figure skaters, are judged better when they are different.  The chosen degree of difficulty, the music selected and the energy brought to the routine all contribute to the skaters being different.  Like all Olympians, the skaters’ goal is to be stronger, faster, more agile and more focused.  They push themselves to be more daring; to use every reserve of energy.  They push themselves to be better; to be DIFFERENT.

And they train relentlessly.

What are we ‘business athletes’ doing to be DIFFERENT from our competitors?  Do we spend time thinking about and then implementing the steps that we might take to wow our customers?  Are we focusing our efforts on providing a customer experience that far exceeds ‘meeting expectations’?

Like the Olympians, our business efforts are being judged.  Our performance standard is set by our competitors.  But, the judge in our case is every single customer and every single prospect.

If we are not being DIFFERENT in our businesses, how do we stand apart from our competitors?  How do we get chosen?

Fundamentally, it is a choice that we make.

What choice are you making?

Olympic Lessons

We are in the thick of week one of the 2014 Olympics.  There have been numerous highs, lots of thrilling competition, some moments of despair and lots of smiling faces.  In spite of the controversy that led up to the beginning of these games, the general impression seems to be overwhelmingly positive.

It strikes me that these games are the source of a tremendous amount of inspiration.  While you might think that I’m suggesting that you immediately get off the couch and start your knee bends and toe touching, I actually have something else in mind.

Here is what I’m thinking.  The athletes exhibit a number of common characteristics or habits that contribute to their ultimate success in qualifying to compete in the Olympic Games.  These characteristics are worth emulating if we want to maximize the likelihood of succeeding in our businesses.  Specifically, I would identify the following attributes as noteworthy:

1.  The commitment to excellence

2. Passion

3. Goal attainment

4. Consistency

5. Perseverance

I also think that some other worthy characteristics get displayed during the games and we’ve seen some of these already.  My list would include:

a) Empathy

b) Humility

c) Compassion

d) Team before individual

During the next ten days, we’ll continue to witness events and happenings that will make us proud of our athletes and their accomplishments.  We’ll see the ‘other guy’ win when he or she deserves the victory.  We’ll know that preparation and fortitude contributed to the outcomes and we’ll be amazed.

But, before the last flake of snow or chip of ice has settled, I’d suggest that we should all reflect upon the above characteristics and decide how we would feel if they were part of our daily businesses.  What kind of outcomes would be possible for us in our respective businesses if we prepared the way an Olympic athlete prepares?  If we displayed a similar passion?  If perseverance was one of our watchwords?

Is a gold medal performance something that we hope for in our businesses or is it something that we are actively striving towards?  The choice is ours.

BIZBUZZ: R. Whiteley, The Customer Driven Company

This is episode 7 of BIZBUZZ.

I stimulate conversations that challenge business owners to consider new possibilities and to Act Boldly.  The following video highlights some of the content from Richard Whiteley’s book The Customer Driven Company that made sense to me.

Hi, I’m Gary Brown a FocalPoint business coach.

Welcome to BIZ BUZZ.

I’ve chosen to comment on The Customer Driven Company, by Richard Whiteley.  Not surprisingly, this book deals with the relationship that we have with our customers.

I’d like to highlight four observations from the book that interest me.

The first deals with vision.  I know that this is a repeat from my most recent BIZBUZZ episode, but I believe it bears repeating.  Whiteley defines vision as a source of inspiration and a guide to decision making.  How often do we use our vision statement as a litmus test for decision making?

My next observation expands on vision statements.  Whiteley encourages the reader to communicate the vision constantly.  He stresses the need to establish challenging goals that are driven by the vision and to embody it in our everyday behaviour.  How many of us act on this advice?

Comment number three is specific to our customers.  The suggestion is that we should make it easy for our customers to complain to us about our products and services.  That might sound trite but do we even have a method for customer complaints?

Finally, I’d just like to mention that Whiteley identifies what he calls the seven essentials that are the game plan of winners.  Here they are:

1. Create a customer keeping vision

2. Saturate your company with the voice of the customer

3. Go to school on the winners

4. Liberate your customer champions

5. Smash the barriers to customer-winning performance

6. Measure, measure, measure

7. Walk the talk

That’s it for The Customer Driven Company.

Your comments are always welcome.

Stay tuned for more BIZ BUZZ.

FocalPoint International Named Preferred Continuing Education Partner

The following is a news release that was published by Convention Business Travel on Feb 5, 2014.

Convention Business Travel and its new division, Continuing Education, now deliver FocalPoint session material and approved continuing education courses using their Agenda Builder Tool.  Members receive front of the line access to FocalPoint business coaches to facilitate session material on and off-site via an online self-directed format, online instructed format, or in-person facilitated format for continuing education credits. “Embedding the session material for Continuing Education credits adds value to our members as they grow their business and support their teams on-site.   

Lisa Patrick and John Cutler

The Continuing Education division complements our offering of providing agenda discussion packages for customized corporate retreats and supports the opportunity for our members to engage in high-impact discussion packages off-site as well.” says Lisa Patrick, Co-Founder and CEO.  John Cutler, Managing Director of Convention Business Travel and franchisee owner of FocalPoint Business Coaching Alberta continues, “Having the FocalPoint material available for professionals to earn required CE credits in an ever increasing number of industries is a game changer for FocalPoint franchisees and the brand.  Over the years I’ve had dozens of clients and prospects ask specifically if our stellar curriculum was available for continuing education credits.  Now we can say YES! It’s a big win for business owners and professionals, FocalPoint, CBT, and ultimately, the North American economy.”

“Licensing our world-class coaching session material to optimize the Convention Business Travel platform allows us to enter the Continuing Education market, a market that will generate massive exposure for our brand.   More importantly, it will enable us to support and foster growth for considerably more professionals and businesses across the continent.”says Dominic Rubino, Vice-President of FocalPoint Coaching International powered by Brian Tracy International.

Read more at

http://blog.conventionbusinesstravel.com/

 

 

Goals 2014

During a recent webinar that I conducted for Small Business Solver, I presented some considerations that you might use when thinking about goals and goal setting.

Of course, my starting point was that our goals should follow the SMART acronym.  That is, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bounded.

However, perhaps we struggle with the process of actually identifying those goals that we think are worthy of pursuing.  If I asked you to produce a list of ten goals that you’d like to pursue this year, would it be a challenge to get past number four or five?   During the webinar, I offered a list of ideas that can be used to stimulate one’s thinking about goal setting.  One of the specific suggestions was to think about some negative consequence that you would like to avoid during the year.

During the Q&A session that followed the presentation, Carla Langhorst, the co-founder of Small Business Solver indicated that she had never thought to set a goal around something that she wanted to avoid.  She asked if I had an example that I could share.  I mentioned that in my former sales company I had a line of credit with a local bank.  Unexpectedly, the bank informed me that they were no longer going to work with companies in my particular industry segment and I lost my line of credit.  Consequently, I told Carla that my goal in this example would be written as “we maintained our covenants with the bank and successfully managed our line of credit”.

For more insight into goal setting, I invite you to: