A Business Stressing Win-Win with Employees

I love a good win-win story.  This one is about three brothers and the encouragement of entrepreneurship.  It starts with a company called Tasty Dawg. Founded in 1984, it is based in the Chicago area.  Like all successful businesses, it evolved. It became a catering operation and is now called Tasty Catering.  The three brothers continue to run the growing operation.  

However, what is interesting is the "spin offs." I do not mean it in the typical way. Rather, these owners encourage entrepreneurship with existing employees and family members.  It is a very unique culture that comes from the top. 

Take T. F. Processors.  One of the owners did not like the fact that the kitchen went unused for 16 hours. So one of the brothers sought new markets.  He found one, but it required a significant capital investment.  Hence T.F. Processors was born.  The result is a new business catering to schools and eventually for private labels. 

 It is win-win. Existing equipment gets used more for profit making purposes, employees take risks, sales are increasing and complimentary businesses are born.  Well, you get the idea.Examples are That's Caring, Touhy Capital, Rios Ventures, and nuphoriq.

For economic developers, I ask the following:

1. How do we find firms with this culture?
2. What resources can we bring to help existing firms with this culture succeed?
3. How can we encourage other companies to follow this path?

You will enjoy the article and the background. This article appeared in Forbes and was written by Darren Dahl. Link to article:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/darrendahl/2016/06/07/how-tasty-catering-is-serving-up-a-new-generation-of-entrepreneurs/2/#2f8f5664705e

Libertarian Party National Convention: Review of the Candidates and General Observations

Over the past couple of days I watched the delegates of the Libertarian Party nominate its president and vice president candidates. It was live on CSPAN and held in Florida. The national convention had 911 delegates, 76 alternates, and a total of 931 votes.  (Not sure, but I think they may have a few super delegates)

Observations of Nominating the Standard Bearers

On Saturday night (May 28th) the party sponsored a debate of all the presidential candidates.  It was a lively group and diverse group. One was a millionaire businessman, one was a former governor, one was a doctor, etc.  This was an informal, but informative event. The former governor was Gary Johnson, the party's 2012 nominee.  His answers reflected an individual with governing experience.  

I also watched part of the vice president debate on YouTube. It was on the Libertarian Channel. 

On Sunday the delegates voted for their presidential and vice presidential nominees.  Each candidate was given 10 minutes to use as he saw fit. Most had delegates introduce the candidate and/or ran an introductory video.  

Former governor Gary Johnson won the most votes on the first ballot.  A candidate had to get 50 percent plus one to win.  Gov. Johnson won 49.5 percent on the first ballot. The candidate with the lowest number of votes was eliminated.  On the second vote, Gov. Johnson won 55.8 percent of the delegates and was nominated.  

in his acceptance speech Gov. Johnson asked the delegates to vote for former governor William Weld as his running mate. He offered several good reasons to have Gov. Weld on the ticket.  However, in most party conventions the nominee selects his running mate and the convention concurs.  Not this one.  

Gov. Weld had a couple of obstacles to overcome. First, he has not been a member of the party until he was asked to run with Gov. Johnson.  Second, some of his actions as governor of Massachusetts caused concern to several delegates. 

Gov. Weld did well in the vice president debate.  He also showed his Libertarian Party lifetime membership card to demonstrate his commitment to the party.  Several of his actions as governor 20 years ago were libertarian oriented, which was pointed out several times. 

Next was voting for the vice presidential candidate.  Each candidate was given 10 minutes to use as he saw fit.  Gov. Weld went first. He had two delegates speak in favor of him. Then Gov. Weld took the stage, his comments were around 3 minutes.  

Governor Weld got 49.0 percent on the first vote. So this went to a second ballot. On the second ballot a couple of candidates for vice president dropped out.  One of the former vice president candidates pleaded for party unity and the best way to help Gov. Johnson was to vote for Gov. Weld.  On the second ballot Governor Weld won 50.6 percent of the vote.  It was a close vote. 

Throughout the day delegates would approach one of the four microphones and report some Twitter trend or network coverage.  That was always well received by the chair and convention attendees. 

So now the party has its nominees.  If they poll above 15 percent, the two candidates will likely be asked to participate in the presidential debates. 

Observations of the Convention

But this is only part of the story.  The 2016 Libertarian Party convention was, in some ways, a throwback to another era.  In fact, it was held in a hotel ballroom, not a convention center for thousands of people.  No fancy decorations. No shows, fancy podiums, flashing lights, or performances.  

This convention was not a scripted event. Background:  starting in 1972 the GOP scripted the entire convention. By that I mean speeches were pre-filed and timed.  The goal was to ensure that the most important parts and best speakers of each night are on prime time.  Now this does not sound like much, but it makes a big difference. Example, George McGovern's speech accepting the 1972 democratic nomination did not take place until after 2 am.  Since then both major parties attempt to script their conventions to showcase the best in prime time. 

This convention lacked the slickness of democratic and republican conventions. The last exciting convention was the GOP in 1976 when then Gov. Reagan almost beat President Ford and we watched the Mississippi delegation decide if it would vote separately or as a unit. Since then conventions of the two parties have been shiny, clean, tech oriented, and frankly, really dull.  

In addition, the Libertarian Party Convention: 

• was very low tech, 
• on the first vote for the presidential nominee, state chairs sold their state, their nominees or bashed the democratic and/or GOP, 
• the delegates voted for a gift for Ms. Clinton and Mr. Trump (unfortunately I cannot recall what it is),
• had excitement (and I do not mean the stripper),
• had suspense (especially the vice president votes), and 
• had a highly effective chair.

A couple of examples are in order. The votes were checked by each state chairman. This was done by projecting an Excel spreadsheet on a screen in increments of 10 so state chairs could check the votes and vote totals.  The convention chair or vice chair would ask the secretary to scroll to the next batch of votes to review.  

Just think, when is the last time you saw a major party convention go to a second ballot? How about never.  And the Libertarian Party had two!

During the vice president nomination process several delegates asked for non-germane requests which the convention chair swiftly dealt with.  

A word about the convention chair, Nicholas Sarwark.  He chaired the Libertarian Party since 2014 and this would be his first presidential convention.  He was outstanding. He kept the convention moving, dealt with every parliamentary inquiry or other similar matters swiftly and fairly.  He also displayed a sense of humor on both days.  He certainly knows Robert's Rules of Order and did not treat any delegate in a disrespectful manner. 

Mr. Sarwark ran for reelection as chairman of the Libertarian Party and was reelected.  That is good for the party. 

Finally, thanks to CSPAN for showing much of the convention.  One of CSPAN's strongest points is that is shows an event without any commentary or analysis. We, the viewer, can do our own analysis.  It is the best way to watch a convention. Just ask your self this, do we really need all those talking heads?

In summary, I learned a lot about the Libertarian Party. These are dedicated people and dedicated to a cause.  The convention was entertaining and at certain points gripping.  I am glad I watched it. 

Business Consulting - An Alternative

Over the past few months I wrote about Fiverr, Maker's Row and Freelancers.  Today in Bloomberg BusinessWeek I read about the Business Talent Group (BTG).  

According to the description on the website, BTG:

"Business Talent Group is a global consulting marketplace that lets firms quickly harness exceptional independent talent to get critical work done. Our mission is to bring together the world's top companies and independent professionals to enhance business performance and improve people's lives. Since 2007 we've provided leading companies, private equity firms and major non-profits with project-based solutions that are more effective and less expensive than traditional consulting. It's a new way to work, and BTG is leading the charge."

This is a concept very similar to Fiverr, Maker's Row and Freelancers.  BTG matches a company's requirements with the inventory of 5,000 free lance consultants signed up to participate.  It is a brilliant concept.

This is no small potato organization.  BTG does work all over the world. Clients include 20 percent of the Fortune 500 firms. Industries served include (but not limited to) automotive, finance, manufacturing, e-commerce, life science, software and non-profit.

As the BusinessWeek article pointed out, not every consulting gig requires a stable of consultants with the overhead that comes with hiring a top notch firm. Some company CEOs only need specific, short term consulting. 

For companies in rural areas, this is an excellent venue to get the right consultant to review a business challenge and/or help implement a new process or program.  Rural areas may lack the expertise, but no longer.  In addition, BTG should be able to help small and medium sized businesses connect to expertise in a cost efficient manner. 

Lately, I read more and more about this type of business structure. It appears to be a paradigm change.  A company executive can access talent, services, advice, or contract manufacturing when they need it and for as long as the executive team needs it.  Less overhead, more funds for essential and core functions.  

Link to the Bloomberg BusinessWeek article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/when-one-consultant-is-better-than-a-dozen

Link to the BTG website:  http://businesstalentgroup.com/

Economics of Baseball Farm Team Stadiums

Today I read Bloomberg BusinessWeek.  One article jumped out at me. It was "The Braves Play Taxpayers Better Than They Play Baseball." 

This is a fascinating article.  Note the enthusiasm of the local leadership to secure a stadium.  But more disturbing is the lack of transparency highlighted in several examples. The continued fiscal impact to a locality of negotiating a bad deal is apparent. Finally, a team can move the stadium if it wants, needs, is offered a better deal.  In short, a potentially big win for a sports team and the locality is held captive. 

 The financing is complicated and according to the author (backed up by research) stadiums can seldom make bond payments on revenue streams based solely on general operations.  Cities and counties wind up dipping into general revenue to make up short falls. 

For economic developers, you will see several lessons:

• Hiring expertise to determine financing is a wise move.
• Residents may not accept fees and other charges
• Seldom do stadiums live up to the hype
• All that is gold does not necessarily glitter. 

The article was written by Ira Boudway and Kate Smith.  Link:

http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-atlanta-braves-stadium/

Branding - A Real Success Story

This is a very short post.  I love a good story about branding.  This is one. If you like high end raincoats and have a sense of style, you likely know about Stutterheim rain coats.

Note the history of the firm. In fact, of most interest is how the company started.  It is atypical of most business stories I have run across.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-05/stutterheim-s-high-end-raincoats-show-swedish-gloom-sells

Experimentation

We all know the story of Walmart, the success it achieved, and how the team did it.  This article that appeared in Fortune magazine by Phil Wahba.

The story is about the decline of the value of Walmart stock and steps the company is taking.  Walmart will close 152 stories. It could impact up to 16,000 associates.

Buried deep in the article is a remarkable section on Walmart Express. This is an excellent example of a company executive team monitoring the market and making adjustments and launching new initiatives. In this case the creation of Walmart Express failed.  Most of the store closures are Walmart Expresses.

It is easy to suggest failed leadership. However, I give credit to the executive office for reading/analyzing the market and responding.  It did not work, but that did not stop them from continuing to innovate.

In fact, Walmart will focus on other venues like Neighborhood Markets and supercenters.  Also note the increased emphasis on integrating the internet with stores. By doing this you can pick up your list from a nearby Walmart store.

I am not smart enough to suggest that this will work. However, the Fortune 500 list is littered with companies that chose to ignore changing realities and customer preferences.

Link to the article:

http://fortune.com/2016/01/15/walmart-stores-closings/

Knowledge is a Key

Bloomberg Business Week ran an article about a challenge industry is facing.  It is across all sectors.  In a nutshell, boomers are retiring and exiting the workforce. These retirees are taking institutional knowledge and leadership experience with them.

Several companies are concerned about this substantial loss that cannot be easily replaced. Several companies are taking numerous measures to lessen the blow. Pay particular attention to the GE and BAE examples.  Mentoring is one vehicle.

I realize this is not directly on point, but I do see a parallel.  For economic development professionals in larger organizations, what mechanisms are in place when key staff retires or moves on to a new position?  I think we sometimes forget that long time staff does some work almost mechanically. By that I mean they almost cannot explain what they do on a step by step basis because so much of the knowledge to do particular tasks without giving it any thought.

As someone who has experienced the learning curve, it can consume time. Even issues as minor as where to get expense report forms, etc can all be a challenge.  If you know little about what was done, you may continually reinvent the wheel for the first few months.

Questions:

• Do you have mechanisms in place to transfer this institutional knowledge?
• Does your organization invest in training oriented toward managing staff for those who will likely be managers?
• Does your organization have a mentoring program?
• Do you have a vigorous on-boarding program?
• Do you have something as simple as key forms all new employees will need (not typical human resource forms)?

Link to article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-21/as-boomers-retire-companies-prepare-millennials-for-leadership-roles

Freelancer

Lately I keep running across interesting sites and services. The latest one is Freelancers.  Freelancers is an Australian company.  A description of the firm:

Freelancer.com is the world's largest freelancing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and projects. We connect over 18,045,481 employers and freelancers globally from over 247 countries, regions and territories. Through our marketplace, employers can hire freelancers to do work in areas such as software development, writing, data entry and design right through to engineering, the sciences, sales and marketing, accounting and legal services.

Registration is simple and required.  You have the option to register as a buyer or freelancer.  If you register as a freelancer you can choose among numerous categories of expertise. Examples include IT and apps, writing and copy editing, manufacturing, telemarketing, and professional services.  As a freelancer you have the option to register for free or a sliding scale of fees appropriate to the services offered.

Freelancers can post examples of their work and describe projects in detail.  The service offers an app to track the progress of a project.

The process is fairly straightforward.  Buyers post projects.  Freelancers receive notifications and then decide if they want to bid on the project.  The buyer then decides which freelancer to retain. The freelancer submits the project. If the buyer is satisfied, Freelancer.com releases the payment to the freelancer.

For companies in remote areas, this could be an excellent service. For freelancers in remote areas, this could be an excellent vehicle to get new business.

Link to website:  https://www.freelancer.com

Minor Changes Make a Big Difference

Usually I see two common traits in leaders.  This article that appeared in INC encompasses both.  The article is by Jeff Haden.

The crux of the article is about how leaders ask staff questions.  As I suspect you have, I too have experienced both. And I am sure you have too.

The first set of three questions should not be asked.  The author does a great job explaining each one and the consequences.  I would only add these are the type of questions an insecure leader or a "I am too busy to hear your thoughts, so let's get to the end" or as I like to call them - get to the end, because the means are irrelevant.  You see these leaders giving signs (either intentionally or not) that this session is over.   A more common example is the leader looking at his watch. 

What makes this sad is generally the leader actually thinks he is doing a great job, completely oblivious to other thoughts and analysis.  Or the leader is so insecure, he trembles at the thought of someone having a better option.

Now for the second part of the article.  These five questions are asked by leaders who think more of the staff and good of the organization than himself.

The leader who asks these type of questions is supremely self confident and demonstrates a clear respect for his team.  He knows good questions can lead to a robust discussion, which in turn may lead to the best possible solution.

So questions for you:

1. Which leader would you prefer to work for?
2. What type of leader are you or aspire to be?
3. What type of questions do you ask (be honest)?

Link to article:

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/3-kinds-of-questions-smart-people-never-ask-and-5-they-do.html

Services Galor

About three months ago I wrote about a virtual service for certain type of manufacturers called Maker's Row. In essence, Maker's Row is database of 7,000 manufacturers that can help an entrepreneur build a prototype and/or produce a product.

Now the same database exists for marketing and promotion.  It is called Fiverr.  According to the FAQ page:

Fiverr® is the world's largest marketplace for services starting at $5. A service offered on Fiverr is called a Gig®. Gigs on Fiverr are offered for a fixed, base price of $5 (also referred to as one Fiverr). Whenever you see 'I will _for $5", it means the seller is offering a Gig for the fixed price of $5.

Fiverr is an inventory of service providers including graphic artists, online marketing specialists, any type of writers, translators, video/animation experts, and advertisers.

In fact, on the directory page, you will find eight broad categories and over 80 specific services available for hire.  Every category has the service provider, an example of the product, cost options, buyer reviews and customer comments.  As a customer, you can even determine the time you need your work done.

Think of it like Angie's List, only for a comprehensive marketing and media service providers. You must be a member and nothing is free.

However, I offer a couple of words of caution. As pointed out to me, you get what you pay for.  Second, business owner/marketing contractors generally have to develop a relationship.

Link to the website:

https://www.fiverr.com/

Professional Recruiters and Economic Development

For the economic developer, job recruiters may be a part of your career.  I have been very fortunate, I have worked with a couple of real professionals.  Over the holiday break I ran across this article in Forbes.

For economic developers looking for a new challenge and who may work with a professional recruiter, this is worth a read.  The author is Liz Ryan.  A few key points from her article:

• Take care when asked for private information
• Watch for unreasonable demands
• Communication is a key factor
• Trust your instincts

Ms. Ryan offers very good advice.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/01/02/five-signs-your-recruiter-is-not-on-your-side/

Death of R&D

I think I read this before.

Fortune writer Chris Matthews penned this article on the decline and death of U.S. R&D in corporate America. He is very persuasive. His article is is well researched and documented. His example of DuPont is actually quite telling.

Frankly, I have a few disagreements.  First, one of his measurements is the number of papers published in scientific journals.  While he sees this a potential indicator, I think it can be argued that as a corporate manager, I am not necessarily interested in publishing papers that do not add value and why potentially give my competition any insights as to what the company focus is.

I realize that the last one might seem odd or even unrealistic, but as a practicing economic developer, I continually see executives in firms reluctant to provide specific capital investment data, number of projected employees, and, average wages or total payroll when asked. They would rather provide ranges.  Generally the reason given to me is that they do not want their competitors to know potential trade secrets or gain competitive intelligence.  I actually understand this line of reasoning.  In fact, I have no reason to doubt their intentions.

Second, I think corporate R&D will continue and likely flourish for the simple reason that it is a differential when facing increased competition.  What will change and continue to do so is the type of research. I suspect we may see less basic research and more applied research (how do we enhance an existing product).

However, I think Mr. Matthew's warning is certainly worth monitoring.  If this trend continues, then perhaps the next question should be what steps should the U.S. government and states take to encourage more R&D?

http://fortune.com/2015/12/21/death-american-research-and-development/

Warriors

Recently I read a Fortune article about the Golden State Warriors.  Now I am not much of a basketball fan, but I am now of Steve Kerr.

Coach Kerr instills a sense of values into his team and I suspect he recruits with those values in mind.  As you read this article you will find several aspects that can cut across numerous segments that has more than one employee and stresses team work.  Examples are business,  education, non-profit work, volunteerism, etc.  His rules are simple:

1. Have fun
2. Care for each other
3. Cooperation is the key

Simple rules, yes.  A challenge to practice on a continued basis?  Likely.  Of course I know someone will ask which is the most important. I cannot speak for Coach Kerr, but my answer would be all three.  In fact, I doubt any two could survive on its own.

As you read the article, give some thought to your work environment.  Perhaps ask the following questions:

1. First and most importantly, could you subscribe to this culture?
2. If so, would you commit to follow it every day?
3. Does this culture start with the leader?
4. Are my co-workers on the same path?
5. When hiring new staff, should we be mindful of our culture and is this person a good fit?
6. If so, what questions can we ask that will help us identify a person who shares these values?

This is a link to the article. Enjoy.

http://fortune.com/2015/12/22/nba-golden-state-warriors/

And GO WARRIORS!!!

So Much More Getting You Far Less

Generally I do not post political statements or opinions, but this is one I could not pass up. 

According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the Federal Register (daily publication of the federal government’s rules, regulations, proposed rules and notices), totaled 81,611 pages as of Wednesday (December 30, 2015), higher than last year's 77,687 pages and higher than the record of 81,405 pages in 2010. This, according to the CEI, makes 2015 a record year for federal regulations.  

It occurred to me that I should put this mass of paper in perspective.  A ream of paper is 500 pages, is 2 inches high and weighs 20 pounds.  Each carton or box of paper contains 10 reams of paper. The 81,611 pages of regulations translates into this:

• 163 reams of paper
• 16.3 cartons or boxes of paper
• 4,080.6 pounds or 2.04 tons
• If stacked, it would go 326.4 inches or 27.2 ft. high.

And this is only for one year.

After running these calculations, I asked a few questions:

1. Is the level of services provided by the federal government better or worse?
2. Are you satisfied with the customer service you received from federal employees?
3. Are federal government laws more or less clear with all these regulations?

In defense of the regulatory agencies, I suspect it is a challenge to take a law and write the regulations that apply. But this is a side issue. 

Of course reading and understanding these rules and regulations is a skill in it self.  This is not the easiest reading.  In fact, we must rely on professionals to help guide us through the two tons of regulations issued each year. Consider the professional assistance required by a company, it can include accountants, lawyers, engineers, health care specialists, etc. The list goes on. This is what it takes to navigate the maze of living in the U.S. and doing business in the U.S. 

Article from The Hill

• http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/264456-2015-was-record-year-for-federal-regulation-group-says

Competitive Enterprise Institute Press Release

• https://cei.org/blog/bureaucracy-unbound-2015-another-record-year-federal-register