Last month’s article described the Lean StartUp Movement. But what happens next after launching your venture using Lean StartUp principles and gaining some initial traction with early adopter customers? Last month I discussed the customer or the demand side of the Lean StartUp, where it all begins. However growing or “scaling” the Lean StartUp is mostly about the supply side of the equation.
Author Archive for Adam Newdow
The Lean Startup Movement
Entrepreneurship is a very hot topic globally. And it is growing in importance in Northwest Louisiana. Witness Gregory Kallenberg’s first StartUp Prize in June and July 2014 at John Grindley’s Cohab here in Shreveport. Seventy-five would-be entrepreneurs will go through one or two qualifying events to possibly earn $50,000 in prize money and/or have their ideas funded.
The Exceptional Organization – Reality or Myth?
What do you think are the attributes of an Exceptional Organization? Do exceptional firms stay that way for long? My opinion is no – periods of sustained performance will be followed by times of trial and tribulation. This sets the seed for improvement or even turnaround before growing again.
The Leadership of People
Leadership is a topic like the Hydra’s Head from Greek mythology – cut off one head and two grow back. There are more theories of and approaches to leadership than you can possibly count. John Donahoe, then president of eBay, said “Leadership is a journey, not a destination. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a process, not an outcome”. So why tackle such a diverse and hard to pin down topic?
Growing the Value of Your Firm: 2012 A Year in Review
On September 19th Apple’s stock was trading at $702. On November 8th it had fallen to $538 a share. This was $154 billion in lost shareholder value in eight weeks. The culprit was expected rising costs to land their products on shelves from their factories. Now most investors and analysts thought Apple executives and managers would rebuild the lost value, and they indeed are. But a permanent destruction of shareholder value or firm valuation in the case of the private firm is something to be avoided if at all possible. Why?
Competitive Advantage Through People?
If you have followed this series of articles on the strategy and leadership drivers of firm valuation, I bet many of you are saying to yourselves, “Oh oh … here comes the soft and squishy one”. But I want to demonstrate to you that people can be a source of enduring, hard-for-a-competitor to copy competitive advantage for your firm or organization.
What Do Private Equity Investors Want From Their CEOs?
The role of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is crucial in any company for its success and ability to create wealth for its shareholders/owners or other measures of performance if the organization is not a publically traded corporation.
Futuring: The Exploration of the Future – Part 2
Recall last month we defined futuring as a subset of strategic planning and it is the field of using a systematic process for thinking about and picturing possible futures and then setting the probability for each occurring. We also gave examples from 52 Trends Shaping Tomorrow’s World by Marvin Cetron and Owen Davies. If you were able to read Part 1, were you able to consider the implications of those thirteen trends for your organization?
Futuring: The Exploration of the Future – Part 1
Is it possible to know the future with certainty? The answer is no most of the time. But futurists think much more can be done than to just let “the future sneak up on you”.
Strategy, Firm Valuation, and Boards of Directors
Boards of directors should play a more direct role in helping to grow the value of their firms. This is a relatively new mandate as many boards historically have served only a high level review role during quarterly board meetings. But firms like Newell/Rubbermaid, SABMiller Beer and Whole Foods Markets are charting a new course for transparency of operations and board involvement.
Strategy and Key Manager Compensation – A Means to Grow Firm Value
I first started consulting in 1985 in the strategy subsidiary of the Hay Group, one of the leading compensation consulting firms in the world. When they performed their annual Employee Satisfaction Survey for clients, the best score any company could muster for positive satisfaction with base compensation was 50%. The global average score for positive satisfaction with base compensation was only 25%!!! What do these data suggest? Most people are not satisfied with their pay and want more money.
Globalization of Business and Northwest Louisiana
Global business initiatives can substantially help increase the value of a firm if they are done well. But evidently businesses in Northwest Louisiana are not embracing the revolution going on in global business yet.