Biz Strategy

Make Change Your Business Asset

The only thing permanent is change

We are constantly reminded that the world is changing. It is now a global economy and what worked before under a system of international trade may not work today. Free trade is lowering barriers between countries. The internet is allowing both big and small businesses in countries across the globe to compete for your local market.

The solution is to embrace change. No point resisting the reality of technology and ideas influencing taste and expectations. With a mobile phone you now have a computer in your hand allowing you to access information on the best ideas and tips to improve your business.

Embracing change requires a learning mindset that is excited with new ideas and avenues to greater opportunities. Imagine a flower shop in Winnipeg connecting with an orchid grower in tropical Malaysia through a web link. This link could mean a business opportunity for the Malaysian to export and for the Winnipeg flower shop to be a distributor reaching out to shops across Canada and the United States. Accepting change encourages you to seek information that allows you to calculate the risk and balance it with the rewards of taking such a risk.

Information removes uncertainty and fear. It is said that “F E A R” stands for “False Evidence Appearing Real”. Information understood leads to knowledge that guides us towards making wise decisions.

Be alert to change by getting updates on developments worldwide. Todays’ innovative idea will be overtaken by new innovation. The question is whether you remain the innovator that leads the market and maintains market share or will some other business replace your business in the market.

We have seen how a cell phone innovator in Canada could lose market share to innovation from a United States competitor. Unless fresh ideas are injected a onetime leader in innovation may find it forgotten by the market.

The advice from leaders of successful companies is to never stop learning. Never stop trying to understand new ideas and innovations in the market place. In today’s world all businesses are global. As we know, the local diner down the road has to compete with a multinational corporate food chain possibly very nearby. Fortunately the internet now allows the local diner to operate with the same advantages as a multinational. The local diner can incorporate new management ideas normally available only to big corporations by accessing information available through the internet and utilizing the advice of a business consultant to work out an effective marketing strategy.     

Just hoping that things will get better is no substitute for developing an effective business plan based on market knowledge and facts.

Adapting to change may not be easy. We all tend to get comfortable with things we are familiar with. However, while it is important to conserve what is good we do also need to keep pace with change and keep moving forward with fresh ideas and new knowledge. The law of nature demands that we understand the changes in our environment and to adapt in order to survive and to thrive.

So embrace change and enjoy the learning process.

Siddha Param

International Business Consultant

www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com  

Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America

The geographical centre of the world’s largest market!

Biz Strategy

Effective Leadership Requires A Team
Stimulating success with knowledge

The old adage, “many hands make light work” remains true. While we may all have knowledge and skills in multiple fields we can only be real experts within a core area of specialization. Hence, to be effective in performing well in your area of specialization you need a team. Equally important is leadership skill to organize and get the best performance from your team.

No matter how talented you are it remains critical that you attract the right people into your team who complement your skills.

Once assembled the team needs a leader who acts as the “first amongst equals” which in Sanskrit is called the “Pradhan Mantri” or in the English cabinet system of governance the Prime Minister who leads a team of Ministers.

Mantri  in Sanskrit means Sage a person who understands knowledge or the mantra. The world mantri traveled via South East Asia to China where it evolved into the word Mandarin describing the system of administrators selected through a public examination system.  Therefore, to be a good leader you must first assemble a team of individuals who are qualified and competent. This is a universal principal that has been well established over the centuries in Asia and Europe.

Once you have assembled your team the next challenge of leadership kicks in. This is the ability to get the team working on your agenda for action and to deliver results. To achieve this you have to be able to hold the attention of your team members as you explain your agenda. You will then have to motivate, inspire and excite your team so that they are all fired up to act on your agenda.

Capturing the attention of your team requires self-confidence, a clear vision and deep knowledge of the subject matter of your agenda. Understand the matters that are related to your agenda making sure you have deep knowledge of the core issues relating to the subject matter before the team.

The more you motivate your team members with your knowledge of the subject matter of your agenda the greater will be the enthusiasm of your team members.

We should always remember that T-E-A-M stands for “Together Each Achieves Magic”.

The members of your team must feel a sense of ownership of the agenda and be allowed to celebrate the achievements in contributing to the success of the agenda.

To motivate, inspire and excite your team into action do the following:

1. Challenge limitations – Define the most difficult factors that need to be overcome to succeed. Explain to your team why others may have failed to overcome these factors. Tell them there are no easy answers but simultaneously stimulate their natural human curiosity and excite them into taking the challenge to succeed. Remember that the more difficult the challenge the sweeter will be the victory.  

2. Focus analysis – Instead of suggesting possible answers, define interesting questions. After all, life is a puzzle waiting to be solved. Encourage your team to come up with scenarios that could lead to the solution or goal of the agenda by posing questions that stimulate questions from the team members. This process encourages a sense of ownership of your agenda by your team members who will get increasingly excited and stimulated to work on solutions.

3. Stimulate the mind – Turn on the creative juices with brain storming where everyone is encouraged to give their view from their specialist perspective. Hence, a person with an operations background may give insight as to the logistics involved in production. A legally trained person may point out the legal and ethical issues while a financial consultant may look at the economics of the venture. Putting all these together the public relations specialist could suggest the best way to sell the results of the agenda to the public.

Look at how Bill Gates identified the fact that there is more money in software development as opposed to hardware creation in the Information Technology industry. He focused on assembling a team of creative engineers led by an equally savvy business team that created a brand which opened windows to the information age.

Yes! We now live in a knowledge society. The next challenge is for a leader to emerge who can create a wisdom team of technology sages to move society into an even higher level of success, prosperity and happiness.

May your mind be stimulated to lead your team to greater success.

SiddhaParam

International Business Consultant

www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com

Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America

The geographical centre of the world’s largest market!

Biz Strategy

The Importance of Market Research

Information shaping intuition

There are business leaders who rely very heavily on intuition and past experience over the years in making decisions when it comes to planning the marketing for the business.

However, experience is just one of the many factors that go into a successful marketing plan.

The key to success in marketing is knowledge. Understanding the facts about a target market is essential to creating a successful marketing plan.

The target market can be very dynamic. Many factors influence the buyers who have to decide on whether to buy from you.

Economic conditions, demographics, government regulations and technological innovations can affect the buying decision. This is especially true in Canada.

Market research helps you:

•Identify who your customers are

•Determine your customers’ preferences

•Create the profile of your customers

•Plan effective marketing strategies

•Establish optimal geographic business locations

In today's global economy all businesses are global. Even the local diner has to compete with global fast food chains operating just down the road. Market knowledge allows businesses of all sizes to compete effectively.

With the assistance of a consultant advising on the information available through the Internet small businesses can transform into micro-multinational corporations operating with deep knowledge of niche markets worldwide.  

A business consultant can assist you in obtaining and interpreting information to drive your business decisions.

Siddha Param

International Business Consultant

www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com

Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America