Gravity is all around us.
It is part of everything we do every day. So what exactly is this thing called Gravity.
Let’s start with the definition. Gravity, according to the Collins Junior
Dictionary, is “the force that makes things fall when you drop them.” Now that’s pretty simple. It doesn’t take being Isaac Newton to realize
that apples will always be falling from trees.
So what does falling apples have to do with business? Glad you asked.
Think of your business as a very large apple. That apple is resting in your hand. Lift up that apple until your arm cannot go
any higher. OK. What are you now doing to that apple?
I imagine everyone is thinking “holding up the apple”. You are correct but what are you actually
doing to keep that apple up in the air?
Would you believe you are actively pushing the apple upwards?
Yes, that’s right. The
effort you are expending to hold the apple in the air, assuming the apple is motionless,
is just enough effort to counter the force gravity is applying to the apple to
make it fall to the ground. You are
literally pushing the apple up continuously in order to keep it from falling.
Your business operates according to the “Laws of
Gravity”. Regardless of whether your business
is large or small, it is subject to the same laws of gravity as the apple.
In business, there are only 2 directions allowed: up and
down. The apple is either lifted in an
upward direction or it falls to the ground.
Your business is either being “lifted” up by the efforts of the
employees or it is “falling” to the ground.
Nature does not allow for a business to operate at an equilibrium state
for any length of time. In other words,
you cannot have sales or production at a flat level for any length of
time. In business, there are no exceptions.
So what does it mean to “lift” your business? Active engagement in the growth of the
business “lifts” the business up and keeps it growing. Look at your sales figures. Are they going up or going down? How about your revenue numbers? In fact, if you look at all the various
statistics used to measure the success of your business, there are only 2
directions you will see in anything but a shuttered company: up and down.
The more active the employees are at “lifting” the company,
the higher the sales figures and more likely the company becomes successful. The importance of contributions from every
employee are not to be overlooked. All
of us have probably known of employees who loafed about on the job and really
did not put forth a great deal of effort in doing the best job they could. These types of employees effectively add to
the overall weight that the balance of the employees must overcome in order to
keep the company going up. Get too many
employees riding on the shoulders of others and soon the “shouldered” employees
start to get dropped; figuratively and literally. When a business suffers drops in its sales
numbers over a sufficiently long period, staff reductions are inevitable. Thus, the dropping of employees comes to pass
in the form of layoffs; there are not enough “lifters” to compensate for the
loafers.
As a business owner, if you drop a lifter from the company,
you have made the problem worse. It is
vital that every business recognize who are the lifters and who are not. Who are the really heavy lifters and who are
the lightweight lifters? Should it
become necessary to reduce the number of employees, it is critical to the
business to start with the loafers, then the lightweight lifters and then the
heavy lifters. Look at the statistics
for each employee to determine where each employee fits on the scale of
“lifters”.
So what in the business world constitutes gravity? What is it that all the lifters are lifting
against? In simple terms, competition
and noise.
Every business has competitors. These competitors are actively seeking
customers just like your business. How
much effort you must expend in order to counteract their sales efforts depends
upon the overall market size and your company’s size relative to your
competitors. The more competition you
face, the more gravity is present working against your lifting efforts. If the overall market is large and you face a
lot of similarly-sized competitors, your lifting efforts will not need to be as
large as that of a small business competing against very large
competitors. The key is to recognize
what market you can successfully play in given your lifting power and the
gravity imposed by your competition.
Look at what happens when a Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Barnes
& Noble moves into town? These
behemoths can present formidable competition yet the nimble businesses in town
- recognizing the “gravity” they present - looks for ways to shrink the target market
to a size where their lifting capacity is greater than that of their
competition. Specialty retailers are
often unfazed by the introduction of a “big box” retailer. The really clever retailer takes advantage of
the situation and promotes his unique products as “special” and “personalized”.
In other words, the smart business
reduces the size of the target market they are trying to “lift” to something of
a size that allows their current lifters to continue to overcome competitive
gravity.
Along with competition, the other component of gravity is noise.
Noise is the cumulative distractions that all of us encounter
in our daily lives. The deluge of
advertising, radios, televisions, ringing phones and the general status of the
economy all contribute to the overall noise level through which a company’s
messages must emerge. How does the right
message get to the right person at the right time in order to bring about a
realization that whatever you are selling is something needed? If your prospect is looking for a solution,
the task is easier. If the problem you
are trying to solve is not yet known, the task is much harder.
It used to be that what are considered noises today were once
considered sources of valuable information.
TV ads were informative. Now we
TiVo our way through them. Radio shows
were sponsored by a single vendor whom everyone knew. Now we have subscription radio so we can
avoid the ads. Newspapers were the
primary source of news about the world around us and now the Internet allows
for easy access to more news than any of us are prepared to digest.
So how do you combat the noise factor. Networks.
Social networks, referral networks and business networks. When ads are generally distrusted, consumers
turn to friends and colleagues for insights.
They look to someone they trust to give them guidance. The Internet provides instant access to
thousands of viewpoints about almost everything that is for sale. Consumer Reports has been replaced by social
network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and YouTube. Clever usage of these tools can result in
customers becoming advocates and helping in the lifting efforts. Does that mean traditional advertising does
not work? No. It means that you need to be asking your
customers how they found out about you (survey) and track any changes in behavior. You may be surprised to find out that a great
many of your customers included on-line research in their buying decision
process. If you are not building your
“network”, you may be missing a lot of opportunities to secure customers.
Thus we have the 2 sides in the battle for business success;
the lifters and gravity. The simple fact
is that as long as the capacity of the lifters is greater than the forces
combining to create gravity, the business will be successful. Allow gravity to get the better of your
company and without immediate action, the business will fold under the weight.
Do you know who are the lifters in your company?
As always, if you would like
help implementing these ideas in your business, please call me regarding
available consulting services:
602-492-1088
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