The things that should be said about running a business

color black white business

 

Having managed a business as well as being involved in new business development I have probably seen and heard, the worst of the worst and have absolutely heard the most bull of the bullshit.

 

I will admit. One of the toughest things to communicate is a no bullshit message.

Yeah.

Being honest is actually difficult. And not because you don’t want to say the honest truth but because the listener cannot accept the truth as truth.

 

It is difficult because not only are people fairly cynical of what you say but they are cynical with good reason. In new business most businesses will say anything to win. Even worse …they will ignore their own flaws and realities while attempting to address well known ‘objections.’

 

 

Basically … they lie.

 

And, because they lie, it makes the jobs of the ones who don’t lie difficult.

 

I ran a company as I would like to be judged personally. Honest <almost to a fault>. State the truth <no matter how painful it may be>. Personal responsibility for actions and outcomes.

 

I ran my career as I would like to be judged personally <with the same aspects as above>.

 

I say all that because I found a new business letter I had written to a potential new client and, well, I imagine my approach wasn’t the same as everyone else.

But it was reflective of the company I worked at and the philosophy which I believe makes for running a successful and … well … happy employee organization.

 

In reviewing what I wrote years ago I have to chuckle a little. It is parts ‘me’ and parts what is demanded within a larger organization.

 

It is a reflection of a business truth in that it is very very difficult to maintain true individualism within an organization. A good organization gives you some latitude and autonomy but there are some institutional boundaries. This can be good and bad.

 

Good in that the boundaries can dictate some insurance that ‘your truth’ exists with a larger truth of who and what the organization is and does. This is good in a variety of ways but suffice it to say it insures that someone other than me, or an individual, can say and do what needs to be said and done.

 

Bad in that some institutional aspects just sound … well … forced. Maybe not inauthentic but trademarking or registering some process <which businesses love to do> that it is not truly unique just an organizational ‘thing’ can come off trite. Labeling shit is a heuristic trick <tactic> and can be helpful but more often than not the receiver recognizes the tactic.

It is a balancing act.

 

 

Well.

 

I imagine that is the true bigger thought. Any great organization is a collection of individuals. And the individual within the organization has to sacrifice some individualism for the greater good of the organization and the great organization has to accommodate some aspects of the individual.

This is not easy.

Hence the reason there are not many truly great organizations.

 

 

==== <I took out the name of the company and any other specifics which seemed appropriate to omit> ====

 

letter to me

Dear <some business>:

 

I thought I might take the opportunity to elaborate some intangibles that we offer which will help with your upcoming decision.  Stuff that may not be in our fancy company brochure and company pitch.

 

Company Politics

 

Something clients very rarely ever see.  However, politics exists in spades at most.  Why should it matter to you?  Simple.  Because it impedes progress and eventually affects your business.  From personal experience, working and rising to a very senior rank at a blue chip company, I can tell you firsthand internal turf wars eventually affect an company’s performance and is not in the best interest of clients.

 

We have structured our company to purposefully avoid internal politics. We have a strong company philosophy called BusinessCentricä.  Everything begins and ends with your business.  That’s why we walk in the door every morning.

The BusinessCentricä philosophy is fostered, if not controlled, by the company Account Director of your business.  He or she is the CEO of your business and will be advised by department heads and experts of certain disciplines.  However, the Account Director is the closest and most influential business manager on your account and is the quarterback calling the plays.

 

The Right People

 

We don’t have to tell you that people are the success to any company.

We’re not a factory where microprocessors or machines do the thinking, people do.

This is where you come in.  When we acquire any piece of business, we refrain from willy-nilly hiring people or just shifting a current employee on some non-relevant piece of business to fill in an organizational chart.  We first start with our new client and identify needs and expectations on the type of people they would like to see work on their business.  Many clients opt not to participate in the process which is fine.  However, other clients take ownership of helping us to hire the best and brightest to work on their account.

 

Our largest piece of business is a great example of hiring the right people.  The client considers us an extension of their marketing department and field sales force.  This client was very involved in helping us identify the right people for their business.  Our belief is that the professionals who work on this automotive account have “motor oil running through their veins” – and must have this to be successful. In my opinion, this mantra has resulted in one of the best automotive company teams in the business.

 

New Ideas

 

Every company throws this phrase around very loosely.  However, we live it every day here.  It’s something our people are held highly accountable to.  A good idea can come from anywhere and in this day and age, continuous improvement is mandatory.  Companies who continue to gloat and rely on their last award will quickly find themselves out of business.  Our people are trained to ask themselves every day, “what can I do today above and beyond the call of duty to move my clients business forward?” and “what’s next?”

 

Performance

 

To us, great performance isn’t based on what’s in a trophy case.  It’s based

Hand drawing Results and Expectations concept with white chalk on a blackboard.

on helping you reach your business objectives.  We think this is so important, that we actively put our money where our mouth is.  Many of our financial arrangements with current clients are performance-based agreements.  Performance criteria are typically based on subjective company measures and more importantly business results.  For instance with one client they assess us against four company functions; Account Management, Field Account Management, Media and Creative.  However, a sizeable amount of our compensation is derived from the level of retail sales which the client achieves against a stated yearly objective.  Needless to say, the people at our company strive daily to sell our clients’ product.

 

I hope this letter gives you additional information from a different perspective.

 

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Written by Bruce