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.

Leah Singer recently explored the question if nonprofits should fear social enterprises in her blog . As we discussed in class, there are distinct differences between the two. Nonprofits work solely through donations and aim to solve problems temporarily in the short run while social enterprises are still somewhat profit based therefore running more like a business with the intention of creating long lasting social change. A quote from The bop Project blog sums it up quite nicely, “Nonprofits usually focus on a NEED. A [social] business must focus on DEMAND”. While social enterprises may seem to be more beneficial to society because of the permanent changes they create, there are still issues that need to be dealt with in a different manner. For the people who cannot demand anything, due to lack of income, nonprofits are still important to help them meet their needs. So back to the question at hand: are social enterprises something nonprofits should fear? I personally don’t think so.  There needs to be a good mix of both nonprofit and social enterprises, not just one or the other.
Image from: http://victorsinclair.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/non-profit-social-enterprise.jpg

Case 2 has finally come to an end and I know I’m not the only one out there who was more than relieved to finally press that submit button. Now that I can breathe easy, I think it’s a good time to reflect on the project.

What I liked

– Having completed a case already, I had a better grasp on what was expected (feedback from Lululemon was helpful to know what changes needed to be made second time round)

– All the information I needed was in one place

– The case presented lots of opportunity for discussion and it was interesting to hear how other people viewed it

– I finally understand why a fishbone diagram can come in handy

What I didn’t like so much

– It wasn’t always easy to figure out which tool would be appropriate (if any) to back up a recommendation

– Some of the wording threw me off. (ie, the year that price increases applied to was sometimes a grey area)

– There were definitely more than three problems to be found within the company, but they all couldn’t be addressed so the thought that I chose the wrong areas to focus on was always in the back of my mind

All in all, I have to say I`m just happy to have it finished and handed in.
(Fingers crossed I’m still happy when the marks come back)

Is it possible to create a tool that can pinpoint a brands the most effective target audience? The company 33Across has been busy capitalizing on the ever growing trend of social networks to come up with groundbreaking marketing technology called SocialDNA™ Targeting. By compounding real-time data about how individuals respond to what is read, purchased, shared, and recommended online, 33Across can help brands better understand their social dimensions. All of this web analysis has proven to boost site traffic, improve SEO (search engine optimization) and enable content producers to get credit for their work. It sounds pretty promising, but one can’t help but wonder if there’s any privacy violations taking place in order to collect the data from individuals. Thankfully, the answer I found was no. The data is collected anonymously, compounded for results and then disposed of (they don’t keep data over 60 days). Right now 33Across is targeting the US market, but it will be interesting to see where they expand to in the future and how further advances in technology will aid not only their company, but the business world in general.

I went shopping the other day with a friend who tried on a shirt and asked, “Does this look like me?”  It was a simple yes or no question but it made me think about personal branding, a topic I’d read about in Jasmine Chan’s blog (which you should go check out). Basically, we’ve all been practicing the art of branding for years, sometimes without even knowing it. Every little thing from how we dress, act and even talk adds (hopefully in a positive way) to our personal brand. By being asked by my friend whether a certain piece of clothing seemed her style was like asking if I thought it agreed with the brand she had created for herself. Isn’t that the same sort of question companies have to ask themselves when trying out new things in the business world? Basically, whether you are part of a billion dollar industry or just a student looking for a new sweater, branding is everywhere. Makes me pretty thankful I get to learn from the best.

Forget about sororities and frats for a minute here and start thinking about yogurt. Greek yogurt to be exact. Chobani, a company specializing in the product, has found great success within the American market in a short period of time.  Great might even be a bit of an understatement, considering CEO (and now billionaire) Hamdi Ulukaya has seen his company’s sales quadruple since 2009. So where did all this success come from? The company has done a fine job of brand positioning, securing its spot at the top of the yogurt ladder in America. Chobani strategically tied itself to the Olympics this year by running commercials that highlight how the brand is both healthy and family friendly. Chobani launched a line of Greek yogurt specifically for children, which made them the first yogurt company  to do so. from a marketing standpoint, when it comes to points of difference, Chobani has it covered. Innovating in the dairy industry has done Chobani very well.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-31/chobani-takes-gold-in-the-yogurt-aisle
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-14/hidden-chobani-billionaire-emerges-as-greek-yogurt-soars.html