Rachel von Hahn

With the Comm group projects in full swing, it seemed like a good time to write about business plans. In Steve Blank’s blog, he has one entry entitled “9 Deadly Start Up Sins”, and it just so happens that business plans made the list.

“5. Writing a business plan that doesn’t allow for trial and error”

After spending a good amount of time looking over my groups assigned business plan, this comes as no surprise to me. As much as one would want their company to be properly represented in the best way possible, there is still a lot of hypothesizing that goes into business plans.  There needs to be room for trial and error because, as learned in class, business plans are constantly being upgraded and changed with time. Also, there is no way of knowing 100% what the outcome is going to be, it is all just projected guesses on what customers are going to demand and there is no certainty until a company is in full swing and exact figures can be looked at. This isn’t meant to take away from the importance of a business plan, but rather to reinforce the fact that they really are “plans” and room for trial and error isn’t a bad idea. As Steve Blank puts it, “No business plan survives first contact with customers… It’s not a crisis, it’s part of the road to success.”

Image source: http://www.softsystemscanada.com/Uploads/MenuPhoto/ThumbNail/634845025426450705.jpg

When you think of sustainable businesses, fast food doesn’t really come to mind. However, family-owned chain Burgerville is working on changing this. CEO of Burgerville, Tom Mears, realized his company would not be able to compete with rival mega burger joints such as McDonalds and Burger King and that something needed to be changed. In order to set his business apart, he decided to focus on quality and began making Burgerville a more eco-friendly chain. As learned in class, sometimes companies take steps towards becoming more green simply because it’s the best move for them. So how did Burgerville go about this? They focused in on using local ingredients, such as buns from a near-by family-owned bakery.  “Sourcing locally eliminates need for preservatives and transportation.” The items on the menu aren’t the only eco-friendly changes Burgerville has made however. In 2006 they joined up with a local biodiesel outfit to recycle waste fryer oil and now approximately 6,400 gallons of biodiesel a month are supplied by Burgerville to local gas pumps. Also, “electricity used in the restaurants is generated by wind power, thanks to a special program from local utility Portland General Electric.” Not only has Burgerville proven that fast-food can be sustainable, they have found a spot for themselves in the competitive burger joint industry. I’d say that’s a win-win situation.

Image source: http://www.nwbargains.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Burgerville-Fresh.-Local-Sustainable.-Oregon-Ducks-at-Rose-Bowl-January-2-2012.png

After hearing stories of multiple entrepreneurs’ rises to success, it’s hard not to get inspired. I’m sure I’m not the only one who leaves class thinking “Hey, that could be me one day!” But is that motivation enough, or are ther
–          They enjoy what they do. If entrepreneurs are passionate and gain satisfaction from what they are doing, they are more likely to put in the effort to achieve it.e some people out there who are just born to become entrepreneurs? According to www.entrepreneur.com, there are 25 common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Here’s just a few of the ones that stood out:

–          They plan EVERYTHING. Not only is it important to plan ahead through analyzing, researching and making conclusions, but also to make goals and have specifics to continue working towards.

–          They self-promote (shamelessly, but without being obnoxious). Self-promoting is an important marketing tool for entrepreneurs because they can’t just wait and hope for the masses to discover their products or services.

–          They take time off. Although it may be tempting to jump in 100% and work around the clock. A break, no matter how small, can keep entrepreneurs from burning out.

There’s a lot more to an entrepreneur than just a great idea. They need the passion and drive to follow

through with their endeavor to the end, even through the rough times. Do you think you have what it takes?

Image source: http://entrepreneurshipforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/entrepreneurialsuccess.jpg

When it comes to class readings, I have to say that the articles for class 18, Performance Management, were definitely my favourite. They were both interesting and thought provoking. One section that stood out was the issue of “fouled up systems”, specifically the university example, as discussed in On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. A quick summary: professors are rewarded almost entirely for their research and publications, therefore making the hope that they will not neglect their teaching in the process a dying cause. The punishments for failure to obtain rewards for research and publications far outweigh the rare punishment for poor teaching. As a result, it should come as no surprise if a professor chooses to focus on their research even at the expense of their students learning. This is just one of many examples where there is almost a ‘reward’ for choosing one option over the other, even though neither is ideal. It really gets one to thinking about the effect these skewed reward systems have and if there is a way to fix them once already implemented.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3e27cc3b-179f-44cb-9491-629d71de7215%40sessionmgr104&vid=2&hid=119

Organizational culture (which I will refer to as OC), as learned in class, is the value and behaviors that contribute to the environment of an organization. The more positive the OC of a business, the happier the employees. This can lead to less absenteeism and less employee turnover, not to mention more motivation of employees to do their job to the best of their ability. But what happens when a company has a negative OC? Do they have to just accept the consequences and possibility of lesser quality work? Thankfully the answer is no. Although not always the easiest task, altering a failing OC for the better can be very beneficial to businesses in the long run. An article on www.Forbes.com lays down the groundwork for a successful shift in OC. It suggests beginning the change with use of leadership tools and then securing those changes with management tools. Power tools are also mentioned if all else fails as a last resort. Of course, this recommendation is not fool proof, as proven by the following common mistakes with culture change:

• Overuse of the power tools of coercion and underuse of leadership tools.
• Beginning with a vision or story, but failing to put in place the management tools that will cement the behavioral changes in place.
• Beginning with power tools even before a clear vision or story of the future is in place.

All in all, companies want to have a positive OC and if they aren’t quite there yet, there is still hope if the right steps are taken.