Mike Huber

The following is from a post I read this morning by Robert Ivan at:  http://www.metaprinter.com

“Marshall McLuhan was concerned with the observation that we tend to focus on the obvious. In doing so, we largely miss the structural changes in our affairs that are introduced subtly, or over long periods of time. Whenever we create a new innovation – be it an invention or a new idea – many of its properties are fairly obvious to us. We generally know what it will nominally do, or at least what it is intended to do, and what it might replace. We often know what its advantages and disadvantages might be. But it is also often the case that, after a long period of time and experience with the new innovation, we look backward and realize that there were some effects of which we were entirely unaware at the outset. We sometimes call these effects “unintended consequences,” although “unanticipated consequences” might be a more accurate description.” Read The Whole Thing

I was in the newspaper business for 16 years and for the most part, we focused on the obvious.  So much so that we did not see what was happening on the technology horizon and did not realize the impact it would have on our core business.  Newspapers looked at every innovation and new technology through their 30% margin prism and totally missed where their readers were going.  When newspapers finally woke up and saw what was happening, it was too late.

The quote makes me very uncomfortable.  It makes me think about what I’m missing in my current company.  Am I missing something that is very obvious?  Will it be too late for this company too? How about your company? Is it too late for you?

It’s time to test the new technologies, to vet them and to see how they might apply to your business.  If you aren’t investing the time in looking into social media, social networking and other Internet innovations, you’re falling behind.  Where are your customers now?  Where are they heading and what are you doing about their current and future direction.

Disruptive technologies and innovation have a tendency to turn many industries upside down.  Make sure you go along for the ride instead of going down for the count like the newspaper industry.

Most companies when they sit down to do revenue projections for next year focus on one area of their business.  That’s fine if you only want incremental growth.  What if you looked at three interrelated areas and were able to realize exponential growth.  It’s all in the way you look at your business and the potential opportunities.  Frame your initiatives around all three to see massive growth.

The initiatives don’t have to be fundamental shifts in your core business.  They don’t have to be a huge stretch goal that you know you’ll never achieve. If you just grew your business 2% in each category below…that’s an 8% increase…3% growth in each category would get you a 27% increase…sounds like bonus time.

Follow this formula to grow your business exponentially.  Add a percent increase number to each of the blocks and multiply the three together.  You’ll come up with a potential number for growth.  Make sure you have a solid plan for each category of growth.

I’ve been thinking about developing new business and through conversations and a number of books and articles I’ve read, I’ve come up with a model to grow business. I’ll be adding content to this diagram over time. For now, take a look at the diagram with this in mind:

Companies can grow selling the same product to the same people.
Companies can grow selling new products to new people.
Then there is the combination of the two above.

Companies can grow through partnerships and through “co-opetition” with other business competitors.

Companies can grow by integrating new products, partnerships and co-opetition through established processes and systems and procedures.

Companies can grow by creating new processes, systems and procedures with new partners, new products and new collaborations.

Companies can also grow by acquiring new businesses that compliment their current mix.

Same Product – Same Customer
Sell more of the same to your existing customer base. Some of the ways to do this are creating volume discounts, ugrading contracts, etc. This is one of the easiest ways to produce more revenue because you already have relationships with your current customer base and giving them more for a lesser unit cost based on volume is one of the most basic ways to grow their commitment.

Same Product – New Customer
Find customers that “look like” your current customer base and market to them. Benchmark against your current marketplace to determine the levels of sales to pitch. This is an easy way to add more revenue because you know the current customer base is using your products and look alike companies should be able to use your products as well. The scope and size of the “pitch” is easily determined by what your current customers are doing.

New Product – New Customer
Can you develop products that are similiar to what you already sell? They can be add-ons to current products, complimentary products or any kind of product that enhances your current product line. You are selling these new products to your current customer base so it’s easy to get the appointment, you already know their business so you know it something they would want/need to buy.

New Product – New Customer
This is where it gets more difficult depending on how much this new product diverges from your current product selection. You have to create new relationships, develop new marketing, maybe even develop new sales approaches. This is one of the more risky approaches but if you have the right product for the marketplace, it will pay big dividends.

Forward Integration
Can you get into the business of your current customers? Can you create new channels to do what your customers do? Can you use the Internet to go directly to the consumer? How would this effect your current relationship with your customer base?

Rearward Integration
Can you get into the business of your suppliers?

So this all seems straight forward and simple, right? But how do you look at this holistically to get the highest return on your time investment? How do you look at all of this with the existing processes and systems that you have in place? Do you need to add resources, change processes to grow your business? How do you do this effectively and efficiently?

Lateral Integration
Is it time to change your organizational structure to include self-directed work teams? Is it time to close non-profitable operations? Is it time to expand?