Scott Cook – Founder of the Executive Committee, Intuit

This video is an extract from Khan Academy Scott Cook Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit.

Scott Cook was born and raised in a suburb of L.A. after his parents emigrated from Wisconsin. He attended the University of Southern California, then Harvard Business School. Scott started his career at P&G in Cincinnati in brand management, where he met his future wife Signe Ostby when seeking advice from other brand groups. Though Intuit struggled in its early years, with VCs refusing to invest, the business eventually improved. Scott is still at Intuit today and has learned to love tax season. He funds social entrepreneurs catalyzing global leaps in education and medical research. He resides in Woodside, California.

By |2017-10-10T11:27:46+02:00October 10th, 2017|Techno Tuesday|0 Comments

Performance Measurement: Let’s Measure Performance!

Last week we looked at the history of performance measurement and how it has improved over the years. This week we will look at how business owners and managers can measure non-financial performance indicators (NFPI) and give practical examples.

When you call the call-centre of most companies these days, they ask you to rate the service at the end of the call. When you enter a bank, they have a machine on which you can rate the quality of the service. A good example most of us are familiar with is when you call SARS; and after you are done with the call centre agent, you are asked to rate the service from 1-5. You are requested to rate it on the friendliness of the agent, their knowledge of tax issues, their attention to detail, the time it took to be serviced and the number of times you had to call until the issue in question was resolved. This is very much a non-financial performance measurement strategy.

A restaurant can measure the % of meals delivered in say 30 minutes. Quality of meals rated by an independent reviewer, average customer rating of their experience there. This customer rating is now available on Google maps for any company or Hello Peter and other review websites; where your clients can rate you or air their complaints. It would help visiting these sights and see what the customer thinks of your business and how you can improve. Through search engines, you can now rate the number of searches your business has had and the number of website visits. You can then ask the question: through which platform have you gotten potential client enquiries? You can rate the number of complaints the business has received and what the company has done to address these. All these NFPIs can then be compared to industry averages to see how the company fairs in comparison to the competition. These can be compared year to year to measure trends and see where the business has improved and where it has faltered; and how this can be remedied.

Another important NFPI is employee satisfaction and turnover. Staff surveys on happiness on the job, one on one personal development and welfare meetings, and staff turnover and exit interviews can help create a culture of valuing people. Business owners should always remember that a happy employee will always equal a satisfied customer and return sales. Yes, the customer is king, but the staff are in the business of king-making. Companies can also have competence surveys to review training needs. You can also measure absentee rates/sick days to review how satisfied the staff is. The higher the rate, the less satisfied the employees are.

We will continue discussing practical issues regarding performance measurement next week.

By |2017-10-25T13:51:49+02:00October 4th, 2017|Financial Management|1 Comment

Reid Hoffman- Founder of Linkedin

Reid Hoffman is known for saying that an Entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on his way down.

You should never be too determined about what you’re going to be, your life plans change as you go. Reid Hoffman also went on to say he worked better off in a smaller environment.

This video is an extract from Khan Academy keynote speech about how in late 2002, Reid recruits a team of old colleagues from SocialNet and PayPal to work on a new idea. Six months later, LinkedIn launches. Growth is slow at first—as few as 20 signups on some days—but, by the fall, it shows enough promise to attract an investment from Sequoia Capital.

By |2017-10-03T10:50:31+02:00October 3rd, 2017|Techno Tuesday|0 Comments

Finding Balance in Performance Measurement

Last week we started a series on Performance Measurement. This week we take a peek under the hood and ask about the balance required within a business regarding performance and how to measure non-financial indicators.

Since the dawn of business science, financial performance was the exclusive yardstick of business performance. The 1980s saw companies realising the pitfalls of focusing exclusively on financial performance indicators. They realised that Financial Performance Indicators were leading to an intensive emphasis on cost reduction.

These excessive cost reductions were being achieved at the expense of long-term growth; because they resulted in low staff morale, low quality and customer dissatisfaction. Managers ignored quality, delivery, customer care & after sales service. Owners discovered, during audits that accountants were practising “window dressing”; that is making the accounts look good on the last date of the period.

Some of this myopic behaviour is still being practised today, to the detriment of business growth. Failure to invest in projects with long-term profitability; as managers aim to achieve profit now than later. Failure to invest in activities that build long-term value such as employee training, advertising & marketing; research & development etc. Cutting production costs that ensure better production quality; resulting in poor quality products and reduced market share. Reducing head-count, which may result in one employee serving several customers and thus loss of morale and poor service. Salary freezes resulting in high staff turnover, and a loss of corporate knowledge and high recruitment costs.

To address this “myopia” or shot-termism; experts came up with Non-Financial performance Indicators. Non-Financial Performance Indicators are designed to balance between financial performance and other areas of the business that foster business growth and longevity. NFPIs focus on product quality, delivery, customer satisfaction and after-sales service.

Business owners can put in place performance measurement or measures of product/service quality that ensure that managers do not cut back on these factors that sustain the business. Measures can be implemented for staff satisfaction e.g. staff turnover; to reduce cutbacks in staff-related expenditure. Non-Financial Performance indicators aim to create that balanced focus on the key areas that drive a business’ long-term growth. What are some examples of NFPIs that companies can adopt?

We will explore some of this performance measurement options next week.

By |2017-09-26T17:21:41+02:00September 27th, 2017|Financial Management|1 Comment

Innovation is both expensive and frustrating

We get a lot of people knocking on our doors asking for help to take their ideas to market and make then a truck load of money. Mostly by this time they have already spent a fortune on their new idea and come with cap in hand begging for some advice to get them to the next stage.

Here is some advice we offer them:

Come sooner rather than later: we know where it is that you need to spend money and where you can save a whole bunch. It is what we do.

Know the problem you are trying to solve: you will need to have done a full research assessment into the problem you are trying to solve and into the product you are trying to develop. It is a waste of time just reinventing the wheel that someone else has done before. If we find a similar business or product we cannot help you with the development of yours unless it is unique or very different.

Keep your ideas secret: Once you have made your ideas public, it becomes very difficult to register any form of IP. Anyone you work with or share your ideas with needs to sign and adhere to a Non-Disclosure Agreement. We have an Engagement agreement we sign with all our clients, this covers the NDA, work for hire and IP transfer and our fees. Be very careful who you talk to.

Develop your networks: It is very difficult, if not impossible to develop an idea and get it to market on your own: you will need a good team that adds value to your business and product development cycle.

Be aware of scams: the web is full of getting rich with your invention scams. Never trust anyone who demands fees up front or offers riches in exchange for your idea. In reality, it is a long and often expensive road to your first payment. We will navigate this with you and tell you truthfully if it is not worth perusing or ready to market.

With all this in mind, we recommend that you engage with us as soon as you have that idea, we can advise you on the best way forward and who to talk to from 3D printers, mouldings, IP issues, Business development and saving money.

By |2017-08-21T16:14:00+02:00August 21st, 2017|Innovation|0 Comments

Entrepreneurship may not be sexy, but girls dig it

We have been dealing with new-starts, slow-starts, and non-starts in business for a number of years now and one thing we have seen amongst all our clients is that women love business more than men.

Now I am not sure why and have no scientific proof of my assumptions, but let me share what I have observed: Men mostly start a business out of necessity for money. This puts them in a stress mode from day zero. It often becomes the main thing and the main thing is the main focus. When coaching men we talk more about money, profits and cash flow than any other topic. Men do not enjoy marketing, logo design and the soft things of business. This often leads to lower sales and more stress over cash flow.

Women are generally looking to expand their horizons, add value to the world or just play when it comes to business. This makes it more fun focused from the start. Sessions with women are more focused on planning, campaign building and looking at ways to be more client-centric and add social impact measurements.

Men think like well men: one thing at a time. We focus, do, complete then move on to the next item on the list. Women are able to think multidimensionally with a number of ideas, thoughts, and outcomes simultaneously. This makes women better at problem-solving and creative thinking resulting in a better-balanced outcome.

Women are just better at being Entrepreneurs, but we still seem to have this gender identity issue of the men having to be the innovators in the world and the ones who come up with the solutions to problems to save the day. This is not true and should not be the case. I look forward to the day when we can celebrate not just women’s month but all things women and welcome a mixed approach to innovation and problem-solving in all sectors that involve women and men equally. Dig it?

Note: I have made some gender assumptions in this article, so if you feel hard done by from what I have written, then you are the exceptions to my general observations after over 13 years of business coaching, so my apologies and congratulations for being unique.

By |2017-08-18T09:18:13+02:00August 18th, 2017|Entrepreneurship|0 Comments

Problem + Impact = Opportunity

Understanding the problems we face each day allows us the chance to look at the impact these problems cause and in so doing, provides us with an opportunity for a business solution.
Frustrated people are a ripe market for solutions and solutions lead to business ventures that lead to profits. One of the great skills of a seasoned entrepreneur is to allow the world to provide us with business opportunities. We just need to retune ourselves into that mode and not wallow in the problem with others, but rise above the situation and identify ways to move forward towards a solution.
This week we have already given you some tools to analyse the problem using the 5 Whys to get to the root cause. The next stage is to identify all the people who are affected by the problem. This is normally more than one group, each with their own perspective and issues related to the problem. Now we are ready to begin to analyse each group and determine a way forward with solutions and eventually a product that can be taken to market.
This methodology of business development always ensures you have a customer base when you launch. These customers are the original people you identify as being frustrated or affected by the problem. How easy is it to just start a business and launch your product knowing that your initial sales are already secured through your upfront market research.
This is far better than trying to develop a product offering that you think or hope people need then try to launch through persuading and begging people to use your product.
Consider what your problem is that you are trying to solve and then realign your product around this and the affected people. Then re-launch with the focused effort of problem-solving rather than market manipulation.
We have some more tools and tips on problem-solving on our social media pages this week and next week we start looking at our customers in greater depth. #90DayBizSprint

By |2016-09-21T07:13:39+02:00September 21st, 2016|90 Day Sprint|0 Comments

Women are just much better

Women are different to men, trying to be equal is just not possible. Women have a different way of thinking, networking and collecting data. In many ways women are able to utilize their natural abilities to out-perform men at business.

We take a short journey in this video as we unpack some of the advantages Women have as entrepreneurs and business owners.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:06+02:00August 8th, 2016|Bruce on Business, Entrepreneurship|0 Comments

Ammaarah talks about her passions in the kitchen

One of our clients, Ammaarah aka Ammaarah-Licious gets a chance to chat to the Spice4Life team about her passions and life.

Ammaarah Petersen knew she wanted to be a chef from a very young age.

AmmaarahPetersenPhoto-copy-750x400

“At the age of four I knew I wanted to be a chef,” said Petersen, who currently owns Ammaarah-Licious, a company offering private chef services, corporate lunches, and the opportunity to book a private dinner on Clifton Beach. “I used to help my mom in the kitchen all the time, because my family, we celebrate with food. Every single thing is a feast.”

Unlike most people’s childhood ambitions, Petersen’s was realised: she’s done everything from supplying restaurants with staff to doing cooking demonstrations at food festivals to catering film productions to leading the kitchen at South Africa’s #1 hotel and spa.

“I always say: Good food gives you a good mood,” the chef said. “When you eat good food, I feel that it actually gives you a purpose. Most people don’t actually take note of what they’re eating, they just eat to eat. Whereas what I’ve found is if you actually plan what you’re eating, you get the best out of a person.” Read more….

By |2016-11-01T10:20:08+02:00April 14th, 2016|EI Clients|0 Comments

How to manage your time effectively as an entrepreneur.

Business Time. Management concept with clock

It’s a myth that entrepreneurs have a lot of time in their hands because they are their own bosses. Entrepreneurs never have enough time to do all that they need to do everyday, especially when they had just started their businesses. Juggling between raising funds and finding good employees can really be challenging, hence one needs to know how to effectively manage their time.

Time management is critical in everything in life, even in business. Your long-term success in entrepreneurship is determined by the way you manage your time. Business owners turn to have so many decisions to make and are expected to be innovative and stay in the game. All of that can really be overwhelming. Hence the need to learn the technique of managing your time.

Why is time management important? Firstly, it’s a determining factor for your overall productivity. The better you manage your time, the more productive you become. Secondly, it bears a massive impact on your psychological disposition. The worse you are at time management, the more stress you’ll experience, and the more easily exhausted you’ll be in your position.

So, business owner, here are 5 techniques you can use to better manage your time:

1. Draw the line.
Part of being an effective time manager is knowing what to do and when to do it. You must know when to “cool down” and have a firm “go home” time. This line will keep you refreshed, mitigating the risk of burnout, and will help you focus on the work that needs to be done. We know entrepreneurs are passionate about their work, so it’s tempting to take on as much work as possible. However, if you do this at the expense of your personal life, it could have dire consequences for your mental and physical health.

2. Take breaks.
A recent study suggests that working for 52 minutes and breaking for 17 is the optimal pattern for productivity. As ridiculous as it sounds, it is a fact that taking breaks will actually help you stay more productive.

3. Choose efficient modes of communication.

You don’t need to call an hour-long meeting every time you have an update.  Emails are instant, written and permanent, and can be executed much faster than a phone call. Try and communicate as concise as possible, and you could save yourself hours a day.

4. Delegate.

There is nothing wrong with delegating. Most new entrepreneurs see their businesses as their baby, and they’re intimidated to let anyone else take control. As a result, they take on a lot of tasks they otherwise wouldn’t and end up overloaded. Save yourself a lot of time and be an effective ‘delegator’.

5. Focus on one thing at a time.

Multitasking is good, but can be distracting. Do not attempt to multitask, and let yourself get distracted by items that have newly arisen. Instead, focus on one item at a time, and don’t stray from it until it’s complete.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:09+02:00March 10th, 2016|Entrepreneurship|0 Comments
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