9 (old) + Three (new) Early Warning Sings of a Troubled Company

Gems stated in 1 to 9 below I read about a decade ago.

1. The One Man Show - Does the company allow key person to grow in their jobs and make key decisions?
2. No Succession - Is someone being groomed to replace the president?
3. High Profile / Low Tech - How does company's hardware compare with that of its chief competition?
4. The Giant Customer Trap - Would the company survive if it lost biggest customer?
5. Operating on Old News - Does the company have an accurate financial snapshot of its operations on a monthly or fortnightly basis?
6. Touring Without Road Map - Does the company have a written business plan & its still valid?
7. Banking Blues - Does the company communicate with lenders regularly?
8. Hazardous Growth -Expanding too quickly on a non sustainable basis ?
9. The Change Factor - Whether company and how much company has changed during last 12 months?

This was the fact about a decade back. However MOST of these may still hold true, rapid change in economies , technology and entrepreneurial landscape,  we can safely add a few more.   

x) No focus on CUSTOMER. - Business Plan/Strategy defines everything else but  Customer Experience company propose to offer.

y) Not engaging customers on social media (SM) platforms by providing great insights on the products and services being offered.  Using SM to address customer concerns and complaints {quickly}.

z) Inability to attract Great Talent. Yes war is of TALENT. People run the business. Rest all can be improved upon if people are right. This also applies to having diversified & some what weird board members.

As we advance in the TIME we need lesser reasons to fail { even survive and succeed }. Test Check TODAY. Its all early warning signs. Be alarmed NOW or be surprised and shocked, later. 

Only Sales , no after Sales , forget RETURN or Refund

Zappos.com return policy is exciting - 365 days return & free both ways shipping. Neither shipping charges within the US nor shipping charges on goods u return. 

Customer HAPPINESS is the FINAL agenda not getting money from customer any how & then let the customer go to hell, we will not listen.

Justdial.com , brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. Their sales people sales the plan for 1 year and indicate that in case intermittent termination just write to us and we will do the needful. (Mis-sell to fulfill their targets)

However actual picture is quite different. They will hardly respond to your complaints, neither they cancel or stop EMIs if the customer is not happy. They want to complete the contract period any how irrespective of customer happiness or satisfaction. 

Wording they use: "However, as per the contract signed by you, we will not be able to hamper the tenure of the contract before the stated contract period; however we will always provide services to you for enhancing your business profoundly. Hence we will be unable to discontinue the ECS."

 

{ I visited the net to find customer stories with Just Dial and found the link http://www.consumercomplaints.in/bycompany/just-dial-a30775.html }

They are ready to whatever but not refund of money of discontinue of ECS. Pity. Hope Mr. Amitabh Bachchan or rather some customer champions could have been used to change the company culture instead of promoting uncultured (i.e. no customer centric) brand.

I fail to understand why companies want to earn at the cost of customer unhappiness?? When a person  becomes a customer , there are certain expectations. No one will waste his or companies' time to buy and then return or discontinue without a reason. Unfortunately most companies became less interested in customer once the goods and services are sold and even least interested when customer have a complaint or want refund on return of goods.

Companies invest huge amount on brand ambassadors but hardly any time or investments on actual brand experience creation or culture change.   

However SOCIAL MEDIA will change this mindset of the companies. Companies MUST learn this  proactively or else brand value is at stake (Huge and Quick).

Awaken to the Realities of your Balance Sheet

Earlier I wrote about Importance of Profit Vis a Vis Cash-flow. Yes Cash-flow is necessary but not sufficient. However Cash-flow is infact NECESSARY. 

I recently came in touch with a company with an EPS of Rs.100 plus. Yes they have earned huge profit on their equity but they have defaulted on loan repayment consistently for last 6 months. 

Reason: Profit Earned but not en-cashed. Investors usually goes by EPS and PE etc ratios for deciding about investments. How erroneous it cud be???

On the other side entrepreneurs mostly do not feel the realities of the business performance as long as cash flow is flowing in. Test Check - Just remove potential bad debts , dead stock & dead investments from the Net-worth and see the result. Is the Net-worth is  still positive , thank GOD. I mean it. Most entrepreneurs ignore these facts or even do not know this realities as long as they have cash to take care of their own needs. 

Therefore Profit & Cash-flow both MUST go hand in hand and must be closely watched by the entrepreneurs to remain in business for longer. Any one missing or ignored will KILL the business sooner than expected. 


Weak Cashflow will KILL quicker , weak Profit in the long run. 

Awaken to the realities of your Balance Sheet { Today }.

How to Guide for Real Estate Companies

This week I am releasing my first WHITE PAPER on How to Create WOW !!!!! Customer Experience in Real Estate Industry. 

Its about :

 

1)   What is Customer Experience?

2)   Why Real Estate?

3)   Deterrents to WOW !!!

4)   Compulsions to WOW !!!

5)   Advantage of the Initiatives

6)   How to Action these initiatives  

The same can be found at How to Guide for Real Estate Companies to Create WOW!!!! Customer Experience.

Njoy and share your feedback.

Vacancy for Anna Hajare for Corporate Cleansing. Any One?

Based on the principles of Swami Vivekanand "Yuva" Programme on CNN IBN last Sunday was highly inspiring. It shows how people from different walks of life { educated & can get high paying corporate jobs } devote their life for the betterment of the needy. Be it poor, women or children. Scope for doing good is immense & these people r actually doing it.  

Movement by Mr. Anna Hajare and its team Dr Kiran Bedi and Mr Arvind Kejriwal is another chapter of people involved in mass movement of general public good. Selfless is the key word. Dr Bedi's dynamic public life is known to everyone. Mr. Kejriwal is IIT Grad and did his IRS also. He could have enjoyed like most our corrupt bureaucrats life of power and money. However he refused to be part of rotten system and choose to become change agent. Many may not be aware that he was awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, for activating India's Right to Information movement at grassroots and social activities to empower the poorest citizens to fight corruption by holding the government answerable to the people. 

All of us are in some or many points in life encounter a situation where we need to indulge in corrupt practice either for getting things done or getting out of the turn favour. As a professional we also get tempted to fudge our company accounts, evade taxes, declare wrong statements with authorities, claim wrong tax benefits, sign audit report which are not true and fair and on top of this claim to be a smart breeds of all.  Ability and capacity to do wrong has become our key strength.

We have lost capacity to think that someone without any selfish motive can do some good work for others. Our business models even in social space have become questionable.No mission and vision statement talks abt way of doing business. I have verified Vision Statements of some of the top Indian corporates. Ethics and values find place in hardly few of these statements.    

Corruption at high places are two way game.  One demanding and one offering. Indian money at Swiss Bank are of these people. Anna's team is taking care of the first one. We need someone to take care of 2nd side. {corporates shy away in publicly supporting anti corruption movement courtesy: they are either part of it or afraid to become victim of govt's witch hunt like Kejriwal ,Dr Bedi and Bhushans. No courage left as personal stakes are high. }


Next movement should be about Ethical Corporate and business behaviors. Annual report MUST have statement by none other than CMD that company has not indulged in corrupt and unethical practices in achieving these results. It must be applicable to all companies across the board at one go unlike IFRS and XRBL where implementation  is stage wise.  

Who will take up the role of Mr. Anna Hajare for corporate and business cleansing? { Even ICAI has failed miserably in controlling ethical behaviors of their members. However its about personal values and integrity towards the self conscious and institute can not manage the same beyond a point. }

Michhami Dukkadam

As human beings, we know that we are not perfect therefore we do from time to time say things that hurt people's feelings.

It is sometimes hard in the circumstances to either seek reconciliation or ask for forgiveness, as we do not consider ourselves to be in the wrong.  It's our dreaded pride that gets in the way and can thus influence our judgment.

So the greatest essence of this auspicious occasion is to do some soul searching and show our greatness in asking gracefully for forgiveness for any hurt, however large or small, that we might have inflicted on others either consciously or unconsciously.

So on this auspicious occasion of Samvatsari, we beg your forgiveness for all the pain we might have inflicted on you by words, deeds or thoughts during the entire year.

Anna Movement & Lessons for All Institutions (incl Business Enterprises)

Governance is a MAJOR cause of CONCERN across the world and across the institutions. Be it Parliament, Political Parties, NGOs , Companies, Cooperative Societies, and even housing society s'.

Over the period of time all these institutions forget for whose benefits are they suppose to work. Management of this institutions becomes self focused and start working in their self interest. Leaving aside the real expected beneficiary of their existence as per their governing CHARTER. 

Therefore it is very essential to have ANNA in every such institutions to make them aware about their role (On a continues basis)  and keep them on track. 

We need truly Independent Directors not only on the board of listed companies but also on the board of all other Public Institutions and Govt Funded NGOs. Today the way SEBI guideline n Independent Directions are being practiced is nothing more than a FARCE. Hardly a handful of companies have implemented this in spirit. 

Like our political Class who have lost face with people they represent , business enterprises have lost face with their CUSTOMERs, for/because of whom they exist. URGENT and extreme steps are required to bring customers in focus.  

Anna have awakened not only people and politicians of the country , it also MUST awaken all across the institutions about their Governance Standards.  Its in the interest of these institutions as competition will drive U out of business when focus is lost and governance is at its nadir. 

Appoint one true ANNA on your board and listen to him also.  Yes its in the interest of every enterprise. Why do we have only 1 company known for their governance and hence for performance also? Its time for others to raise their bar on governance and customer focus.

Great Content is Greater Business Enabler

Great Content is Greater Business Enabler. 

Yes people are interested to great insights. They are interested in solving their problems. They deal with companies { be it product or service } to solve their life problems or get rid of their life problems. 

All of us who are on the other side of offering great products or services MUST know this. MUST know Why we are offering WHAT we are offering. All of US are solution provider, transaction of sale is JUST a means to the solution. Ultimate objective of the CONSUMERs of solving problem MUST fructify with our offerings.

If require we MUST go out of the way { its never out of the way if U have solution mindset } & enable solution by supporting CONSUMERs with extra efforts over and above selling and offering our MENU of a  services. 

- If you are a group buying site - Provide Content on Why U buy what u buy, various product variations and its implications , suitability of products for the buyers, what to take care if buying from retail store,how to use the products, how to maintain etc. (Groupon.com is hugely successful mainly due to powerful content creation)

- If you are a Real Estate company -  Provide content on home buying precaution, how to manage the asset, how to form various interest groups in the society, Hoe to celebrate public festivals ,  how to maintain the flat and society etc.

- If you are in restaurant business - Provide content on what to eat, when to eat , how to eat, ow even to cook at home, culinary science etc

- If you are a Dentist - Provide content on maintenance of healthy gum/teeth,  what to eat and what not, how to avoid dental decay, what to know before any treatment etc

- If you are into Hospital Business - Provide content on preventive health, fitness regime, diet and food, precaution before any treatments at {any} hospitals, regular maintenance and health check up tips, how to buy medical insurance etc etc.

- If you are a Bank - Money Management, investment avenues and risk associated, wealth planning, will and various loans and its nuances, how to get better ratings, how to avoid CIBIL reporting and remove names from CIBIL, financial discipline, your family and your finances etc etc. 

- If you are a Travel Tour Company -  Where to go, how to go, what to take care, when to go, what to carry, real life experiences of other travelers, How to enjoy the journey, how to plan for journey of your own, where to stay, what to see en-route etc etc.

Likewise any and every industry can create powerful supportive and holistic content for the customers. Helping them 100% should be the motive. It may mean less focus on marketing efforts and more focus on reaching out to help genuinely in solving customer problems.   

Going beyond the MENU into the shoes of COSTUMERs. Its easy if you sit other-side of the table & think and plan but difficult if you are obsessed with your products and offering.  

4 Lessons Entrepreneurs can learn from battle - Anna Hajare Vs Govt

Law , lawyers & professionals cannot handle emotional situations. Its great LEADERs who can handle such a situation.  

Congress has best of lawyers like P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibbal , new but more than aggressive Manish Tiwari , AM Singhvi and S Khushid and learned professional PM.  Though the way they are handling the situation , we can learn a thing or two from their blunders.  

- When U can peacefully agree & have your way, don't make it an EGO issue.  { What is the harm in presenting both drafts to the Parliament , when ultimately it will be decided by MPs only.}

- Don't remain so lethargic in solving burning problems so that wisdom is replaced by thoughtless immediate solution when water goes beyond the head. ( In Japanese there is a word KEIRETSU which means action when age of the problem is ZERO, but we act when problem is ripe and ready to become much bigger , They even could have invited opposition members in drafting committee which they did not do. }

- Tact can handle the situation better than legal way. { people management in the organization - some lessons!!! }

- Have wisdom to Foresee implications of present problems & actions to solve the same. { Anti Congress waves across the nation for their way of handling the situations }

Stakeholders' sentiments do matter ( Suppliers, customers, people (staff) and  shareholders ) and ignoring the same can prove fatal in the long run. 

1,2,3,4,5,6,7 & 8 Reasons to  { must } WOW !!!!! [  Delight  ] Internal Customers 

I was thinking about what to write on my 100th Blog today. ( in 10 months , First Blog on 11th Oct 2010 & this one was planned for Independence Day i.e. 15th Aug ).

I had to sent one project report to someone who wud depend on the same and would work on the same further.  Therefore today morning I started working on the same. While working I thought I shud do the work in such a fashion that the other guy need not have to do anything better and just take the process further. That will make me feel happy , make me dependable and saves his time (i.e project execution time)

This made me thinking of Customer Experience of Internal Customers. Most of my 99 blogs were on customer  { external } experience and how to WOW!!!! our customers. Most people in the organisation thinks that I am not in direct touch with the final customer how can I WOW !!! my customer??? They think I am sitting at the corner of the office in  of accounts or purchase department. I even don't see my customers. WOW !!! is not for me. 

As an accountant if I make a mistake on tallying accounts or adjusting customer payment to his account I am impacting customer experience. As a purchase manager if I am not buying right quality products , right time I am impacting customer experience. Everyone therefore can influence ( is influencing ) customer {external} experience. 

However my point here is about impacting internal customers. Internal customers i.e person who is dependent on our work to take it forward.

- Auditors are dependent on Accountants work

- Production Team is dependent on Purchase Team

- Sales Team is dependent on Marketing Team

- Project Team is dependent on Finance Team

- Sales Team is dependent on Logistics Team

- Everyone dependent on IT Team & even Security 

   Personnel

- & PM is dependent on PMO !!! 

     { One can add many more dependencies }

Even within the department person is dependent on other person's work. If we wish to WOW !!! our customer, WOW!! person dependent on your work by giving not only best of you but more than what is expected. { going out of the way to make his work easier , faster and even beautiful }

Advantage:

1 -  You r happy { doing something great plus you also will get dependable work from colleague on whose work u r dependent }

2 - Fellow Employee is Happy

3 - Every one in the org Happy

4 - Customer { External } Happy

5 - Time of rework or recheck saved

6 - Culture of WOW !!!! percolates

7 - Everyone work to WOW !!! daily , on every assignments

Bottomline : 

Blue Ocean creation for the company. 

{ unbeatable competitive advantage }