Golf Anyone?
June 24, 2008
Golf and business. Business and golf. There are definitely two schools of thought on this topic. There are the avid golfers that SWEAR more business gets done on a golf course than in the office and then there are the non golfers who absolutely scoff at that idea.
I was part of the 2nd group for most of my sales career and I have done pretty ok without golf. I think Mark Twain said “golf is a terrible way to ruin a good walk.” For most of my life I was in total agreement with Mark on this one.
But I guess if I am brutally honest with myself I have always been curious about the “golfer.” I was probably even a bit jealous and here is why.
I have been on sales calls with coworkers or former bosses and I have witnessed with my own eyes a conversation between a potential prospect and the sales person go from lackluster to love when one asked the other “do you golf?” and the other said “yes!”
From that point forward, whatever these two individuals were discussing before this question was broached was just completely forgotten and the next hour would be spent talking about this golf course or that one, this new driver they just bought, or the “hole in one” they almost had on Tuesday and on and on and on…..I would just roll my eyes and wonder how in the world this happens? What is the allure of this sport?
Well, recently I had the chance to give this sport a chance. I was involved in a scramble with a bunch of girls who really didn’t keep score just wanted to socialize and get out in the sun and enjoy the day. It was very non threatening way to try it so I did.
Well folks, it has been a month since that first round and I will have to tell you that I have played almost every week and I cannot wait to do it again!
I guess there is something to be said for being on a beautiful course – no cars, no noise just trees and gorgeous grass for miles. It truly does have a way of taking your mind off the daily grind.
It is pretty tough too! I am amazed how on one hole on the course I can look like Tiger Woods (okay maybe not that good but not bad) and the next hole I am trying to figure a way to put 15 strokes on my score card without anyone noticing (yep – 15 strokes – did that!) I guess the unpredictability keeps you honest and it keeps the game interesting that is for sure.
But mostly I am excited that I can now answer yes when the golf question is inevitably going to be asked by one of my prospects over lunch.
Believe it or not, it is working – business and golf. I have a prospect that I have been working really hard to find common ground with and guess what – I have it – GOLF! He is spending more time with me now than he has in the past. I can talk the talk with him and it is fun!
So I guess as I move into the 2nd part of my life I am going to have to disagree with Mark Twain on this one. Golf is actually making my good walk a lot less boring!
LUCRUM RADIO: Episode 1, Doug Ross
June 12, 2008
Lucrum Radio is our new podcasting series. It will feature interviews and discussions with thought leaders in business and technology, providing a forum for sharing knowledge with the world.
Episode 1 of LUCRUM Radio got us off to a great start. It features an interview with Doug Ross, CTO of Western Southern Insurance. In the podcast, moderated by fellow LUCRUM employee Andy Erickson, Doug and I discuss topics such as collaboration technology, crowd-sourcing, organizational dynamics, the integration of IT and Marketing, and the role technology can play in differentiating an organization from the competition.
Give the podcast a listen, and let us know what you think…
Special Thanks to Doug Ross for his willingness to participate in the project, and for doing such an amazing job of delivering insightful, innovative thinking.
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Recipes for Success
June 11, 2008
Using unique experiences to reach out to customers…. is the theme of a recent WSJ article that featured John Bostick, executive chairman of LUCRUM, and also President and CEO of dbaDirect. The article talks about how different small companies create unique opportunities to meet with their customers. The article was published on Friday, May 30, the very day after I attended one of John’s classes up at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield, Ohio (another exercise in unique customer experiences – they have every imported food you never knew you needed ‘ 6 acres of food under one roof’ http://www.junglejims.com )_
The class I attended was called ‘Hot Thai Summer Sizzlers”. John prepared some wonderful Thai dishes, and Jim Hennessy showcased several unusual beers that enhanced the flavors of the food (except for the Paulaner Heffe – beer and clove are not good flavors in beer, in my opinion!). In the class, John prepared and discussed the origins of many of the exotic dishes he was preparing, but in an easy to understand and appreciate manner – demystifying many otherwise exotic dishes and convincing me that just maybe I should try this at home sometime. Everything was delicious, and while, a few offerings were too spicy for some of the attendees – don’t say he didn’t warn you about the peppers! – the different beer offerings were a great way to ‘cool the palate’. Several LÛCRUM customers and their family members attended, and as the WSJ article discussed, it was a great way to get to know people outside the normal business environment. John and I both share the common experience of having worked for IBM, and are rooted in the belief that ‘people buy from people they like’. So, having the opportunity to get to know our customers in a more relaxed environment is something ingrained in us, starting with our days at ‘Big Blue’. The best testimony to the value they received from the class is the number of folks that were signing up for the next class! – Obviously, it was an enjoyable, informative session.
Just like trying new foods and beers can provide an enjoyable experience, trying new business offerings and concepts can also lead to a positive experience. For example, one of the offerings that is unique to Lucrum is our ‘Strategic Alignment Session’. Using a guided methodology, our consultants facilitate sessions for customers – taking them on a journey – starting at the beginning, and discussing their history (which quite frequently, everyone has a slightly different recollection of!), and using that shared history to guide the participants on the journey, resulting in a shared experience, mutual goals and ways to achieve those goals. These sessions are one of those things that you just don’t fully appreciate until you’ve actually observed, participated in, or spoken to someone about. I sat in on one session during my first weeks with Lucrum, and was impressed by the way our consultant (Eric Duell, in this case) led a diverse customer group at a local chemical firm through this process as they attempted to design a new customer pricing system. In the past few months, Eric has conducted sessions for 2 of my customers – both in very different businesses – one, a large financial institution, where we helped an off-shore firm develop a new sale and marketing plan. And then most recently, we drove a few hours north and used this same process with another custom in the non-profit sector, bringing together a very diverse group including marketing, IT, creative, and education departments, resulting in a new vision for a major website re-design for their institution.
In both instances, there were participants who walked into the session, thinking “this better be good, they convinced me to give up 2 days (or 2 – ½ days) of my time”. By the end of the first session, or even sooner, you could see that their impressions had changed, and they were eager participants in the process – and walked away from the sessions with a new vision and ideas on how to lead their organization through the next phase of their business plan. And, some were even ready to ‘sign up again’ for more sessions – to utilize this process in other aspects of their business.
A Link Between Business Analysts and Business Developers?
June 2, 2008
While I was preparing to write this post, I initially wanted to talk about the great business related events I went to last week. But, I just couldn’t put it together correctly… the prose just seemed too cheesy.
Then inspiration hit me. I thought about the Cincinnati International Institute for Business Analysts (Cincy-IIBA) chapter meeting. The last chapter event was held on Tuesday, 5/20 @ 6:30, the topic was “Information Visualization Techniques for the Business Analyst” presented by Keith Burtoft. His presentation talked about how to convey complex ideas with pictures, text, and spoken word to appeal to people who are psychologically positioned to understand information faster through visual, auditory, or kinetic inputs.
A quick synopsis…
Business analysts should not only be liaisons for IT and representatives for business, but also the missing link. As a BA you should be able to learn the business, build fantastic relationships with IT and the business unit(s), create fabulous and accurate requirements, and properly describe those requirements in terms that every stakeholder and developer can understand. To accomplish most of this, the BA usually drafts use cases, sequence diagrams, action diagrams, data flows, etc. However, the translation back to the business may be the thing that a lot of business analysts do not well but already know how to do well… draw a picture! Simply put, drawing the picture takes the “tech speak” and simplifies it into an easily digestible context that gets ideas across quickly and accurately.
Great topic… but could this also apply to business development?
Lynn Mcinturf Associates, certified trainers for Sandler’s Professional Development Program, teach a system of training that encourages business developers to understand the customer. So understanding the customer, is paramount in business development because you cannot sell YOUR solutions to a customer, you can, however, provide them with answers to their problems. In order to get to their problems, you need to listen, build rapport, and listen – all the qualities of a business analyst focused into development. Not development for coding or engineering, but development of relationships, of understanding, of business.
Business. The link between analyst and developer is business.
Should a business developer draw pictures and diagrams to ensure they understand the point/problem their prospect is trying to make? Maybe… in some situations… yes. I say drawing conclusions is suicide for a business developer, yet drawing pictures is worth a thousand…
To answer the question of this topic, I think a business analyst would make a fantastic business developer if they have the drive, patience, and toughness needed to be in business development… because they already have all of the other ingredients they need.
Just my 2 Cents…
- Paul Stephens
PS… Shameless plugs:
- If you are interested in learning more about business analysts, check out http://Cincinnati.theiiba.org (this site will look a lot better soon!)
- If you are interested in advanced business development training, take a look at www.lynnmcinturf.com.
Still Standing
April 30, 2008
Before I became a LUCRUM employee I heard a lot of rumblings about LUCRUM . My friends in the business were concerned about the mistakes LUCRUM had made in the past and the challenges that we faced moving forward.
When confronted with that, I asked my peers and I will ask you – what technology firm isn’t facing these challenges? Who do you know that hasn’t lost money in one of the last 10 years? Is there a group out there that hasn’t had layoffs, turnover or tremendous organizational shifts and changes?
I sure can’t think of one right now, I am betting not many of you can either.
But all this change is ok. Change isn’t comfortable for a lot of people but it is OK. One thing LUCRUM can proudly say after 15 years in this crazy industry is that WE are still STANDING.
Go back through your old contacts. I bet you would be shocked to see how many places that were well known in the industry 10 even 5 years ago that don’t even exist any longer!
I know of several firms that bit the dust. I was actually employed by one of them. THAT firm was one of the great ones in Cincinnati during the mid to late 90’s.
THAT firm had a growth rate of 50% per month for a very long time. Anyone that worked there made a lot of money and we were very proud to tell others where we were employed.
Where is THAT firm now? Well the first iteration has LONG been gone. After a multitude of acquisitions and name changes and leadership turnover THAT firm declared bankruptcy.
Within a blink of an eye our stock plummeted from 80 dollars a share to just around 4 cents a share. Just last week the second coming of THAT firm failed again and abysmally at that.
So as an employee or a client or a potential client please remember that LUCRUM survived. We survived the .com implosion, the 9/11 catastrophe, the Iraqi war (God Bless our Troops), the downturn in the economy and the exponential increase in foreclosures. We survived.
As a LUCRUM employee, I have a great place to come to work every day. LUCRUM hasn’t been through a dozen name changes or had a multitude of mergers. LUCRUM still has clients that have been with the firm for 15 years. THESE ARE GOOD THINGS!
So, whenever you wonder how is LUCRUM? Remember this – LUCRUM is still standing strong – 15 years and counting!
What is Consulting?
April 29, 2008
“Good Morning”
“Do you have a need for Contract Programmers?”
Here at LUCRUM, Chuck has done a great job at filtering our email solicitations. However, I still get the one above from some guy named Patrick Harris….it reminds me of how LUCRUM is positioned in the market as a consulting firm providing business and technology solutions.
There’s a real difference between “contract programmer” and “consultant.” The industry often mingles the definitions together and customers tend to negotiate for consulting services using “contract programmer” pricing.
LUCRUM has had a rich history of hiring IT professionals that thrive on “consulting” using their technology skills. With that statement, let’s ask ourselves “what is a consultant?” Consulting is bringing expertise of one’s experiences into a firm on a project or fee basis. One of the ironies of consulting is that the goal of the consultant must be to make him or herself obsolete.” All of us have been in the position of being frustrated (either as an internal or external consultant or even as a perm-placement worker) by management’s careful efforts to defeat any and all attempts on our part to transfer the knowledge we had to at least one (other) person in the organization. This puzzles me because I learned early on in my career that it is far more probable that a company will retain “intuitive knowledge” about their system/applications/data/whatever if more than one person has that knowledge.
To provide our technology expertise is simply not enough in today’s global economy. The disparity between India (and other Asian-based services) and the US will continue to have companies use “contract programmers” that are truly just “coders” and not consultants.
Why do I bring this up? It’s our livelihood! I also know that our mantra has been “85% social and 15% technical.” My ratio is skewed purposely to emphasize the requirement to “over-communicate” on every part of our daily assignment. The technology works; it doesn’t work if people are not communicating. As consultants, it’s up to us to take the lead responsibility with the customer on communications. That’s our largest challenge. You’ll see LUCRUM’s focus to grow our capabilities in this area with Customer Alignment Sessions, leveraging Whole Brain Organizational Development processes internally and with our customers, and a new larger emphasis on the consultant, and in developing unique professional skills. Jodie Heflin, as our Delivery Leader, has the proven track record of Customer-oriented 85/15 skills. It’s her goal to get all of our firm up to a higher level of capability; to “think” as a part of our customer’s business in addition to our technology capabilities.
The Tuesday Model
April 29, 2008
Tuesday, not as bad as Monday, and not as good as Wednesday. Its a forgotten day to most people. If you have an average and dull life, then you could say that your life is a bunch of Tuesdays I guess. Is there any way that Tuesday could mean…a little more…here’s something that I use to get me through the Tuesdays of my life.
I have been at LÛCRUM now for about three weeks, and one of the first projects I have been asked to participate in is concerning customer loyalty. So I thought to myself, customer loyalty, how to get it, and obviously how to retain it, when it hit me….Tuesday!
What does Tuesday have to do with customer loyalty, and what is the Tuesday model, you ask? The Tuesday model is a little bit of advice that was given to me by my mentor in College. A successful venture capitalist, and entrepreneur, a man that I respect. Anyways, one day we were out at dinner and I was picking his brain about business, life, etc. when he told me this. “Andrew, all relationships, business or personal, are based on three criteria. Expectations, understanding and trust.” E.U.T or T.U.E the prefix of Tuesday as a way to remember it. “These are the building blocks of relationships” he explained. His logic was that, once expectations are not met, then understanding becomes clouded and thus, trust falls apart. Naturally he concluded “that trust is the backbone or all relationships.” I listened to my mentor and it made sense, moreover, this was a man that I respected and I could see he was great a forging strong ties in every aspect of his life and this was the secret ingredient behind his success.
Since that day I have implemented the Tuesday Model into everything relationship I in my life; family, friends, work and girlfriends. It helps you empathize, which fosters understanding and clarity. I have also amended the model itself. Trust, Understanding and Expectations is how it was originally conceived, but a sub note to expectations is communication. Only if communication is clear can expectations be derived and met. Of course this screws up the acronym but it’s worth it.
So now that I have acquainted you with my philosophy (something that I will do a lot if you let me), it is time to implement the Tuesday Model with my tasks here at LÛCRUM. Going along with the theme of Tuesday, you can find further “rants” if you so desire every Tuesday from here on out. If you agree with me great, if you have anything to add, I’m all ears, or perhaps you think I’m insane, either way, discourse is always welcome.
Eat our own dog food!
April 25, 2008
It’s great to see LÛCRUM eat our own dog food! That may sound negative but it’s really a very positive statement. I heard this phase regularly from a former manager. What this means is if a product or procedure is good enough to recommend to our customer’s, it’s good enough for us to use as well.
Yesterday I had my first opportunity to participate in an Alignment Session at LÛCRUM. In simple terms, an Alignment Sessions is one of LÛCRUM’s differentiating tools we offer to our clients to help organizations align on key business decisions.
Our LÛCRUM meeting was to look at a new internal system. Our senior management team and key system users followed the Alignment Session process to help drive to consensus and define next steps. The process helped us document the current system’s Strengths (ie, it’s free!), Problems (ie, too many manual processes), Threats (ie, might cost too much), and Opportunities (ie, interface with other business systems). From that point we were able to define our required Objectives and differentiate those from the ‘Nice to Haves’. Then we documented the Challenges (ie data conversion), Resources (ie PM, Sponsor), and finally our Game Plan (a high level project plan).
As the project manager of this internal project, I am thrilled to have at the end of the session all the information I need to complete a Project Charter and move forward on the project. In addition, I’m comfortable that the right people are aligned on the decision. I went home that day feeling like the day had been a big success.
We Win When We Talk About Them
April 17, 2008
I never thought I would pick up sales tips from James Carville, but sure enough it has happened. Over the past weekend I was watching one of the Sunday morning political shows, and Carville, joined by his wife Mary Matalin, was discussing the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Specifically he discussed one of the tenets of running a great campaign he learned from former President Clinton, who love him or hate him, was a great campaigner. The idea he put forth was so simple but so correct. “If we are talking about them, we are winning.” “If we are talking about us, we are losing.” Now, the idea behind his comment is perhaps a little different in the context of a political campaign as opposed to a sales call, but how incredibly insightful is that. The best sales calls often involve very little “selling.” If the person across the table from you is talking, and you are discussing them – not you – you are winning. I have experienced sales calls where you trot out every feature, function, advantage, benefit, company history, past clients, and on and on, only to walk away saying to myself, “I just don’t think we will win that one.” By the same token, many of the best calls I have ever made, involve asking questions, and then listening to someone else talk about themselves. Yes I can tell people LUCRUM is Cincinnati’s best provider of Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, (all of which I believe) until I am blue in the face, but if I don’t understand them first, I am losing.
I observed this first hand today while on a sales call with two of my colleagues. We had a great meeting that lasted well over an hour, very little of which was spent discussing LUCRUM. In doing so, we identified numerous business problems LUCRUM can solve through our understanding of technology. More importantly we took the first steps toward building a new relationship with them based on understanding of their unique business needs. No pushy sales pitch. No dog and pony show. Just having a real and meaningful conversation about them When we are talking about them… we win.
LUCRUM, Meatballs, and Marketing
April 10, 2008
Yesterday I, along with the LUCRUM business development team, got the opportunity to listen in on a live conference call with author Seth Godin, courtesy of SFEntrepreneur.com. It was excellent and extremely relevant to the future of business.
Seth discussed his latest book, Meatball Sundae, which is about the revolution that is taking place in business thanks in large part to the growth and expansion of the web and other associated technologies. Seth claims that the old model for business, and thus Marketing, is broken and dying.
The old way is: big media, big advertising budgets, limited communication channels, top down, interrupt people with average, sanitized messages about average stuff made for the masses. This is the Meatball part of the Meatball Sundae and represents the old way of doing things – classical marketing and advertising.
The new way is: infinite communication through infinite channels in all directions, constantly evolving conversations, consumer oriented, niche focused, web enabled, search driven, and completely at odds with what used to work. This involves employee development, R&D, a commitment to making something remarkable, listening, problem solving, blogs, wikis, social media, word of mouth, and other emerging forms of technology in marketing. It is the Sundae – the whipped cream with a cherry that everyone wants to put on top.
The problem many companies face is that they try to keep the old (Meatballs) and then combine the new (the sundae). What you get in the end is not something great, but rather something that just does not work. A Meatball Sundae – Gross. You can’t just take the old way of doing things, slap some “new marketing” on top and expect it to work. What is needed is a whole new mindset. One that is about empowerment, accountability, open communication, transparency, honesty, and creativity.
I believe that Seth is absolutely correct in his analysis of the current state of business, and that what he says can be applied to what we are doing here at LUCRUM. When I started here at LUCRUM a few months ago, I had just read this book for the first time. I am now re-reading it. We are trying to make the leap from yesterday into the future, and as a result we are making fundamental changes to who we are as a company. It is a new mindset. A mindset that is focused on how we can make our organization one that thrives in the world of new marketing, and not how to we use the new “cool tools” to support our old structure. Our cultural and structural changes have been a widely discussed topic as of late – even making the paper (meatball). Many of these challenges are not unique to LUCRUM, but rather represent the changing world around us. Further, our recent struggles merely validate the ineffectiveness of the old way of doing things and serve as an impetus for change.
We are striving to be the best in the world at using technology to solve the business problems of our Clients. I believe that our leadership team is committed to achieving this goal. Our blog represents this change on some level, but what I hope to ensure is that I am not the architect of a giant, disgusting meatball sundae of my own. I am very encourage by the fact that I see people here embracing a mindset centered on delivering incredible results for Clients. I see a company transforming into something amazing – something far bigger than “hey we have a blog now.” Yes, the blog is amazing. Yes I am very proud of it. Yes I am fascinated by the contributions of my colleagues to this experiment in marketing. But more importantly, I am fascinated and amazed by what it represents. Our people care – all of our people. Our people have a voice – all of our people. We are focusing on giving our clients and customers a voice too – all of our customer and clients. More importantly, we want to listen to that voice. No more of the highly sanitized corporate speak that plagues IT consulting firms. Just real, honest communication. We are on a journey. We have a long way to go. Still, look how far we have already come.
Back to the book… In it, Seth does a great job of identifying 14 of the trends that are shaping the future of business. They are as follows:
- Direct communication and commerce between producers and consumers
- Amplification of the voice of the consumer and independent authorities
- Need for an authentic story as the number of sources increases
- Extremely short attention spans due to clutter
- The Long Tail
- Outsourcing
- Google and the dicing of everything
- Infinite channels of communication
- Direct communication and commerce between consumers and consumers
- The shifts in scarcity and abundance
- The triumph of big ideas
- The shift from “how many” to “who”
- The wealthy are like us
- New Gatekeepers, No Gatekeeper
If you want to know what is driving the thought process of our Marketing, simply study these trends (or just read Seth’s blog). We will look to embrace these ideas wherever and whenever possible as we shape the future of LUCRUM. Everything we do is marketing, and thus everyone gets the opportunity to take part.
Thanks to Seth Godin and SFentrepreneur.com for putting the call together.