Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Andrew Miller on Speed

Volume 38, July 2011

The monthly electronic newsletter presented by Andrew Miller

My newsletter focuses on providing you ways to generate dramatic ideas and quickly improve the performance of your organization.



Five Ways to Find Hidden Profitability in Your Organization

When assessing any opportunity for your organization, there are both conventional and unconventional ways to find hidden profitability with minimal investment of time and money. Here are five of them:

• Raise your prices - It sounds obvious, but most businesses overestimate how customers will react. People are always willing to pay for value. So create the perception of value and raise your prices.
• Unbundle your offerings - Organizations often provide valuable goods or services for free. Identify which of these provide the most value and begin charging for them. If you are already doing it, why not get paid for it?
• Review key measures - Ensure that performance measures reflect the priorities of your organization and truly indicate whether or not the business is successful.
• Make faster decisions - A slow decision-making process costs the organization money. It means lost opportunities and increased frustration. Find ways to streamline the process by removing unimportant steps.
• Focus on outcomes - Ensure you understand the purpose of every activity being performed. If it doesn't help achieve the desired outcome, stop doing it and free your staff up for more value-added work such as sales growth and customer service.

How U2 Demonstrates Why Branding is Important

I went to see a U2 concert recently. It was an amazing show. What really struck me was how much influence the band had over the crowd. At one point, they stopped singing, lowered the volume of their instruments and let the audience take over. People were initially reluctant to sing, but they got louder and louder as they realized what was happening. The crowd sang more than half the song without any intervention from the band. It was a remarkable thing to be a part of.

It made me think about the power of brands and crowds. What are you doing to build your organization's brand? What are you doing to ensure that people talk about you or your product when you're not around? What are you doing to get people to sing your songs without your help?

Think seriously about these questions because they hold the key to continuing success and business growth, no matter what business you're in.

Andrew's Nugget

Each month, Andrew provides a little nugget of advice to help speed up your business.

Turning It Off

Many of us find it impossible to stop thinking about work. We can't just flip a switch and stop thinking about new initiatives or issues with employees. We just need to find ways to cope. All we can do is try to live in the moment and give ourselves opportunities to try different things and spend time with friends and family.

What's New With Andrew?

• Andrew is enjoying the summer and putting together some great new strategies for clients to improve profitability and performance. Stay tuned for more details coming out in the fall.

Please note that we grow our business through referrals and would never be too busy to speak with a friend, family member, acquaintance or colleague if you think we could be of assistance.

Please contact Andrew Miller at 416-480-1336 or visit our website at www.acmconsulting.ca

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone to whom it might be of value.

© Andrew Miller. All rights reserved. 2011.