By the time leaders have completed the strategy and had it printed, circulated and converted into a multimedia presentation, they have probably missed the ideal launch window for the strategy. Many leaders work on the strategy until they think it is finished. This is a mistake.

A strategy is never finished. It only becomes obsolete.

For a strategy to be successful it must be executed. The draft of a strategy is like the architect’s plans for a new building, not real until it is built. An effective strategy is created twice, like most things in life—the mental then the physical, the blueprint then the construction, the writing of the music and then the playing of it, the crafting of the strategy and then the implementation.

When leaders implement strategy it never goes according to plan. What the team discussed is never what happens in reality. By the time leaders start rolling out the strategy, markets have changed, customer expectations have shifted, competing products are available, prices have adjusted, and internal conditions have changed. As a result, during the implementation stage, strategy must be adapted and amended. Again, all things are created twice.

The implications of waiting until the strategy is finished and having to take the time to go back upstream means that leaders lose momentum. This can be the death knell of the implementation.

In crafting the strategy, comprehensive market research concerning the market, customers, competition, and financial and internal situation will have been completed. Once the fundamental principles and the outline of the strategy are in place, it is time to start implementing—typically this is about 80 percent of the total strategy crafting. Do not wait to complete the final details and beautify them. Implementation is tough and along the way details change. As soon as you have the core strategy in place, get going.

For more evidence that strategy is perpetually unfinished, consider what happened to British Airways when it opened Heathrow Airport.

Board Approval

Terminal Five in April 2008. After 12 months of testing, the baggage system failed. Up to 18,000 bags were lost. Or consider what happened when McDonald’s opened its first drive-through in China. Not only was it a first for McDonald’s, it was also China’s first drive-though. Customers would drive up to the counter and order their meal. They would take it, park their car, and take the meal into the restaurant to sit down at a table!

To successfully implement a strategy, leaders need to review it in parts every two weeks, and the whole strategy every quarter. During the reviews they become aware of what is working and what is not. This is the time to aggressively drive forward and make the strategy come alive. Leaders drive the organization forward on both the plan and the execution. They do not base decisions on just theory, but on theory, actions, and reactions. This provides a strong springboard to successfully move the implementation forward.

Don’t hesitate, start going. Don’t analyze too long. If there is a mistake in the thinking, it will be identified in the regular reviews to ensure everything is going to plan. If not, then you correct what is not working.

No one starts out with a strategy known to be bad. It is only when you start implementing that its quality (or lack of quality) becomes apparent. It is only if you’re constantly reviewing the strategy implementation that you will know what is working and what is not.

Robin Speculand is a speaker of Speakers Connect. Contact us at info@speakersconnect.com for more information or to book Robin for your next event.

Blog post originally published at Robin’s Strategy Implementation Blog.

One point where Apple hasn’t lost it…

“So, let me get this right,” the CEO asked me during a Q&A session with more than a bit of skepticism in his voice, “to get more sales, you are suggesting I shouldn’t focus upon sales?”

“Absolutely correct,” I replied, to his astonishment. “Here’s the problem,” I continued, “you aren’t really focusing on sales when you say you are. I’d suggest when you say you’re focused upon sales, what you are really attempting to do is increase the number and size of transactions.”

“What’s wrong with that?” he continued.

“NOTHING!” I exclaimed. “It’s just that a focus on sales won’t lead to an increase in transactions.”

Sound completely counterintuitive, doesn’t it? But, it’s the truth.

After yesterday’s critique about Apple, here’s one place they get it exactly right. Focus upon the customer EXPERIENCE and huge SALES will follow.

According to Apple’s senior vice-president of retail, Ron Johnson, “Our primary objective is to create a place that people will love.”

(Which begs the question: What’s the primary objective at YOUR sales department?)

In a recent interview in “Retail Week,” Johnson continues, “We’ve not only created a store, we’ve created a place for people to be.”

Could YOU create a bank, a store, a restaurant, or something else where people what to be? How about an office, a R&D department, a clinic, or something else where people want to work…or receive service?

I submit you absolutely could!

Just think of the results for a moment: Apple Store revenue rose 72.8% year over year to $2.58 billion last quarter. Visitors per store increased 38.7% while same-store revenues rose 52.9%. (In this supposedly down economy!)

Needham’s Charlie Wolf wrote, “Annualized average store revenues of $35.9 million translated into sales of $5,980 per square foot, assuming an average 6,000-square-foot store,” he writes, “undoubtedly the highest among retail chains in the country.”

What happens when your competition focuses upon sales? Take a look at the Windows vs. Mac battle: According to Fortune magazine, last quarter, Microsoft Windows users purchased half of the 677,000 Macs sold in the stores. Wolf estimates that since 2004, over 18 million Windows users have switched to a Mac, equal to over 100% of the size of the Mac platform at the beginning of this period.

So, what’s the “secret” behind all of this? As my great friend, Nido Qubein says, “There are no secrets to success — there are only SYSTEMS to success.”

Here’s the system Apple executes: “Our team is taught to look in the heart, not the pocket book when dealing with their customers,” according to Johnson.

Perhaps you read in “ALL Business is Show Business” — “emotion precedes economics.” If you capture the heart, you won’t have to worry about the wallet.

Tell your sales team to go “sell, sell, sell” — and your sales will, in this marketplace, probably decline.

Create an Ultimate Customer Experience ®, and get ready to grow and enhance your profitability, and your business.

Scott Mckain is a speaker of Speakers Connect and he will be in Asia in Nov 2010. Contact us at info@speakersconnect.com for more information or to book Scott for your next event.

(Originally posted at Scott Mckain’s McakinViewpoint.com)

Are you planning an incentive trip for your top performers, and considering how can you inspire and motive them to achieve even better through the trip? On top of gala dinners, team building workshops and sight seeing, one very effective way is to arrange speaking sessions with professional speakers who can both motive, and entertain your top team.

For instance, Capstone Financial Planning, one of the fastest growing financial planning company from Australia had arranged an incentive trip for their top performer to Hong Kong / Macau in July.  Besides watching the infamous Cirque du Soleil, shopping in Hong Kong, and enjoying the seafood, we have helped Capstone arrange 4 speakers to inspire and enrich them from different perspectives:

Mike Walsh – Renowned futurist and author of fuuretainment.  Mike inspired the team by pointing out the bsuiness trends, the impact of technology and social media and most importantly, how these top performers can make use of the technology to boost their business.  Mike earned serveral rounds of appaulse from the audience.

Frank Furness – Renouned speakers on sales and author of “Walking with Tigers”.  Frank knows how to sell and in the event Frank shared with the team generously tips and secrets in how to connect and netwrok with the high networth indidivuals and building their financial planning services.  The audiences are delighted by the very practical and effective advices. 

John Shackleton – With a sports psychology background John knows the real secret of motivation and how to raise the game.  In his speech John shared with the audiences the 4 secrets of success and how can you motivate yourself to get results.   

Cameron Dueck – Cameron is an adventurer and his sharing about his months long sailing experience inspires the team how to endure adversity and be persevent to reach their goals.  

We at Speakers Connect are thrilled to have co-hosted the first Leadership Workshop by Dr Joseph Michelli in Hong Kong wth SCMP Classified Post on 30 Aug 2010.  The event was attended by 100+ C-level participants from presitigious corporations, including HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, LI & Fung, MTR, Smartone Vodafone and many more.  

The first word of love is listen.
~ Dr Joseph Michelli

In the event Dr Joseph quoted examples from Starbucks, Riz Calton and many more on how focusing on customer services and enhance business to the next level.

The feedback of the event was simply tremendous:

Dr Michelli brings into focus a much neglected part of any companies business. Take some time out and listen, the message is well worth hearing.
~ John Wood, Wallem

Dr. Michelli has prompted a rethink of how we define the role of our organisation and what it means to truly serve our clients.
~ Andrew Work, Executive Director, Canadian Chamber of Commerce

The workshop was the best 4 hours I have spent in a long time. It was incredibly insightful, Joseph’s style is extremely engaging and warm and I learnt so so much. Absolutely fantastic.
~ Emma Reynolds, Talent 2

Dr Michelli was compelling, believable and inspiring
~ Alice Kaushal, Refine Consulting

We go to events and swap business cards, we connect with friends and acquaintance on Facebook, we also have our Linkedin account…  With so many means to connect with people nowadays, what builds relationships and really make them count?

Seth Godin, marketing expert and author of best-sellers including “The Purple Cow”, “All Marketers are Liers”, “The Dip” and many more, said that the 500+ friends on Facebook do not always translate into real relationships.

Here is what he said, which is worth pondering:

People do business with people whom they trust and like.  How can we network effectively and make a more positive and lasting impression?  How can we become more likeable, gain more support and inspire people to achieve more?

Alice Kaushal, business social expert has a few tips to share:

Alice Kaushal | Networking & Business Social Etiquette @ Speakers Connect from Speakers Connect on Vimeo.

Trained by the “Emily Post Institute” the international authority on Business Etiquette, and being a truly global citizen, for she has, as she puts it, “lived and worked in every continent except Antarctica”, Alice has absorbed and enjoys diverse cultures, and is a true expert in business social etiquette.

Today, Alice is a sought-after speaker on Cross Cultural Communication, Business Etiquette, Customer Relations and Enhancing Image, addressing a growing need for confident, competent, culturally sensitive professionals who are effective in the global market place.

Alice Kaushal is a speaker of Speakers Connect. Contact us at info@speakersconnect.com for more information or to book Alice for your next event.

Blog post originally published at CTHR Blog on Networking.

We are Speakers Connect are proud to sponsor the upcoming Career Building Seminar:  Influence Your Way to the Top:  Understanding Power, Positive Politics and Networking, organised by SCMP Classified Post. 

Do you have a colleague who has that magical touch with people: they are popular among peers, have a loyal network of supporters at work, and is probably the one who gets the promotion over you though you may be working as hard.

Join us at this informative seminar to understand the importance of people influencing skill at work.

Learn more about:

• How to network effectively and make yourself memorable in a positive manner  
• Make yourself more likeable, gain more support, and get more done through people 
• Understand the power dynamics at work and make it work for you 
• Increase your visibility and gain recognition in the workplace

Speakers

Alice Kaushal

Trained by the internationally renowned Emily Post Institute, Alice is a respected authority on Business Etiquette, Cross Cultural Communications, Customer Relations and Enhancing Image. Her training programmes address the growing need for confident, competent and culturally sensitive professionals in today’s increasingly globalised markets.

Jane Horan

The founder of the Horan Group, a strategic consultancy focusing on Cross Cultural Leadership, Jane has published articles and given presentations on Innovation, Positive Politics and the Acceleration of Women Leaders. Before starting her firm, Jane had a successful career in Organizational Development at Kraft Foods Asia and Walt Disney (Asia Pacific).

Register now at:  http://promotions.scmp.com/scmpevent/edm_cp_career_building_seminar_sep2010.html

A man flying in a hot air balloon realises he’s lost.  He lowers the balloon closer to the ground and spots a man in a field, so he shouts out, "Excuse me, can you please help me? I promised to return this balloon to its owner, but I don’t know where I am."

The man on the ground replies:  "You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 350 feet above sea level and 30 feet above this field.  You are between 40 and 42 degrees north latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an engineer," says the balloonist.

"I am," replies the man on the ground.  "How did you know?"

"Well," says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost."

The man on the ground says to the balloonist, "Well, then, you must be a manager."

"I am," replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," says the man, "you don’t know where you are or where you are going.  You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem.  The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we met, but now it is somehow my fault."

That famous story highlights the best definition of communication.  Communication hasn’t occurred when you’ve spoken, and it hasn’t occurred when you’ve listened.  Communication hasn’t occurred when you’re provided information, and it hasn’t occurred when you’ve sent an email.  Communication has only occurred when there’s been an exchange of understanding.  This means that what you’ve said has been received in the way it was intended and that you’ve gotten something back to let you know that was the case.

Here are four ways to strengthen communication via the exchange of understanding.

Fill the void:  People will plug communication gaps with their own crazy ideas, or worse, they’ll rely on gossip spread by others.  Avoid lingering doubts by saying the unsaid.

Translate the facts:  Providing employees with data isn’t enough to make them comprehend your expectations.  Interpret the figures by using comparisons, symbols, and language.

Tell stories:  Sometimes, what you say has greater resonance if you share a tale.  Personal anecdotes and analogies are a welcome break from the predictable and dull corporate-speak.

Understand emotions:  Before communicating, consider the present emotion of the recipient in advance and then adapt your communication style to suit their mood.  Also, be conscious of your own emotions.  Are you showing any?  Don’t hold back.  If you’re excited, look excited.  If you’re happy, act happy.  It’s contagious.

To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, the biggest problem with communication is the illusion it has taken place.

Extract from James Adnois’s newsletter.

Contact us at info@speakersconnect.com if you are interested to engage James for your upcoming training / event.s.

Want to be inspired by the true experts on staff engagement and motivation?  Let me introduce our 3 spekaers whom are renowned in their contributions in these areas:

James Adonis
James Adonis is one of Australia’s best-known people-management thinkers and is passionate about employee engagement. He is the author of three books including his latest, Corporate Punishment: Smashing the management clichés for leaders in a new world.  He is the co-founder and managing director of Team Leaders, a company dedicated to developing the best front-line managers.

John Shackleton

With a background in Sports Coaching and Sports Psychology, John is a renowned expert on performance, showing international business audiences techniques to improve the most powerful muscle in the body – the brain. With more than 20 years experience as a professional speaker John was voted 2007 Speaker of the Year by the National Speakers Association of New Zealand.

Amy Lynch

Amy Lynch has studied Generation Y and the era that shaped them. Today, as these 20-somethings enter the workplace, she helps organizations attract, engage and retain young professionals. Amy is Generation Y columnist for Biz Journals, syndicated to business newspapers in more than 40 markets; and her columns on strategic diversity management appear online in HR Hero.

Contact us at +852 2165 4126 or by email to engage the above speakers for your next event, or visit our website for more speakers!

Why some people are more successful in what they do?  Where success come from?  What are the secrets of motivation?

Organisations spend a large percentage of training budgets teaching a variety of communication and sales skills but few people know how to instill the self confidence that helps them to get things done, achieve their goals and clinch deals.

Fancy motivational theories don’t help when we have just had five failures in a row. What does help is good levels of self esteem, disciplined thinking, goal clarity, mental focus and the ability to visualise the success we want.

With a background in Sports Psychology, speaker John Shackleton speaks on the subject of achieving more with our employees and within our organisations.

Sports coaches use a very different approach to helping their charges improve their performance and business can learn a great deal from this.

The 2-min trailer:

The full-length video of 30-min of John’s speech at the Speakers Connect Showcase Event

John Shackleton | Motivation @ Speakers Connect from Speakers Connect on Vimeo.

John Shackleton is a speaker of Speakers Connect.  Contact us at info@speakersconnect for more information.

Dr Joseph Michelli’s Interview in South China Morning Post, Hong Kong on 23 August

Consultant helps companies get personal

Consultant Joseph Michelli’s book about the rise and rise of the Starbucks coffee company could not have been more ominously timed.

Described by Publisher’s Weekly as a “paean to one of the truly exceptional American success stories”, Michelli’s authorised corporate profile, The Starbucks Experience, hit bookstores in the United States in November 2006 and began working its way up a number of bestseller lists.

But three months later, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz penned his now famous company-wide memo, “The Commoditisation of the Starbucks Experience”, which bemoaned the watering-down of the company’s ethos for the sake of unbridled growth.

Schultz’s memo marked the start of a painful, multi-year campaign to reverse the ill-effects of over-expansion that included closing US stores by the hundred, refocusing on Starbucks’ core coffee drinks and pushing more international expansion.

“I hit a sweet spot as far as Starbucks’ rise. Everything started to turn fairly quickly thereafter,” Michelli said last week.

“Starbucks made a lot of small decisions that cumulatively were focused on investors and not on customers and they paid the price,” he said.

“Today, a lot of the money they cut in their budgetary structure has gone right back into the customer experience … they did have a loss of soul for a while, but they are back on the right path again,” he said. He has a new book deal to write a follow up, due out in 2012, called Revitalising the Starbucks Experience.

Michelli’s work focuses on teaching companies and their staff about the importance of “making a personal or relevant emotional connection with every customer through the way you design the customer service delivery system”.

Currently on his third Asian trip since October last year, Colorado-based Michelli’s clients in the region include telecommunications companies, carmakers, hotels and businesses with staff who face customers.

“There are definite cultural differences here in Asia and what people expect in terms of service and what they’ll tolerate in terms of lack of service,” he said.

He spends most of his time “looking for ways to teach employees not to just execute based on the checklist but to improvise in the direction of a desired outcome”.

“That’s a big challenge in Asia because I think in some cases compliance has been a big part of the education system,” he said. “So when you’re talking about this model you’re actually trying to encourage people to do more active problem solving beyond the script, and that can be a bit of a challenge in Asia relative to other parts of the world.”

While many companies in Asia fail to make a sales environment that connects with customers, others are almost too successful. He cites the example of Ikea in China.

“It’s really come to the point where they’ve created such a rich experience that in some ways it’s a misapplied experience. Now it is almost a recreational experience instead of a sales experience in China. Lots of people come and spend the full day there with their families.”

Overall, he says, companies are starting to pay “more attention to the fact people in China want to feel important when they buy certain products”. And not just luxury products.

“You try to create a perception of luxury across any product if you can. If it doesn’t cut into your margin to create a luxuriated sense of service delivery then why not do it? Often it is inexpensive and just a matter of training employees.”

Starbucks, he said, is a case in point. “Really, at the end of the day, Starbucks is a lot about service justifying that price point.”

He said the atmosphere in the chain’s stores instils customers with “a sense of emotion, of being in the nurturing living room of a community. You have to have the right people doing that or else it’s awful. It’s just coffee.”

Classified Post and Speakers Connect are sponsoring a workshop by Joseph Michelli on August 30 at the Hong Kong Jockey Club in Happy Valley. E-mail info@speakersconnect.com for more information.