Archive for July, 2005
The Theory of Ant-ology…
By Christine Regan Lake
So, what in God’s name is Antology and what could it possibly have to do with business? Well, Antology is the name of my new business theory. Having become recently obsessed with the who/what/when/where/why and how of ants due to a recent infestation that we had in our home, I was shocked at what I began to understand of these amazing insects.
What I have come to learn and respect about these unique creatures is their tremendous adaptability. No matter what the scenario ants will do whatever is necessary to ensure survival of the colony. Some ants during an attack from an enemy will actually implode, spraying a toxic substance upon the enemy and thereby sacrificing its life in protection of the colony.
Just to give you some interesting factoids:
• Ants can carry 20-50 times their own body weight depending upon the type of ant
• Ants are the most socially complex animals know to exist and operate on a caste system that has a precise division of duties amongst the colony
• Army Ant raids are highly organized and executed in a systematic order rotating 123 degrees after every raid to ensure that they are invading a territory that will be full of prey
• Army ants are experts in the art of war with the ability to traverse great distances with thousands of ants and attack prey many times larger than themselves
• Successful colonies can live up to 100 years
As I commonly do with anything that I learn, I immediately began trying to draw parallels to business. I kept asking myself, how could this be useful in business? I could not stop thinking about how strong, agile and competitive, a company could be, if it could somehow learn how to embrace what I have termed Antology.
How large could you grow your business if you could align every single person to a single vision and have your work force screaming along making productivity and profitability gains from 20 to 50%?
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Reaping Retirement Rewards
Learn how to stash $44k in your 401(k) this year!
By Christine Regan Lake
Yes, you read that correctly, $44k in your 401(k) plan in one year. Sounds great doesn’t it; well it gets even better, for husband and wife business partners this means you could save a combined $88,000 per year in total!
Many people assume that the maximum they can save in a 401(k) retirement plan is $15,000. It is true that this is the 2006 maximum for employee deferrals (plus an extra $5,000 for those age 50 or older.) As many of you may know, 401(k) plans are most often used by owners to attract and retain talent, since it allows employees a way to save their own money through a 401(k) deferral. Some employers decide to add a match in order to be more attractive to employees.
However, in most plan designs, owners are treated as just another employee with respect to what they can save for themselves. Owners need to know that that there are ways to give themselves the maximum savings amount allowed, without having to also give it to every employee.
How is this possible? What about those discrimination tests that must be passed in order to maintain the tax qualified status of the plan? What about those laws that say you can’t favor the highly paid employees?
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Master Artisan & Expert Technician
By Christine Regan Lake
The key to business success in the current marketplace is to embrace the concept of being both a Master Artisan, as well as an Expert Technician.
If you think back to the gilded age of this country’s growth you can see many examples of Master Artisan’s work. Take a walk through any historical home and see lots of examples; a hand carved mahogany fireplace, hand painted murals or hand blown glass collectibles. In the gilded age, a sophisticated buyer might wait months for a finished piece from a well known craftsmen.
Today, however, being an artist is not enough. That is because today, there is nothing like the power of NOW. In today’s market, you must be both a creative genius and master technician – meaning that you can deliver exceptional work in a fast turnaround time.
Given that time and convenience are major factors that directly influence a buyer in their purchasing decisions, it is important that whatever your chosen field of endeavor may be – that you truly are both a master artisan and expert technician.
For example, you can have an incredibly creative web designer that people are dying to have build their website, but if that designer is working from a Gilded Age mentality: “It’s a work of art and it will be done when it is done” they won’t have many customers. Both B2B and B2C customers have lofty ambitions when hiring a vendor for any reason. In general, they want a work of art, at a discount price and delivered within a few hours or days.
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Business…The West Point Way
By Christine Regan Lake
For any of you military buffs out there, you may find this interesting. I have been told that many business people find it difficult to understand how to translate military training to ‘the real world of business.’ And yet, it is so fundamental it is hard to imagine how one could not see the direct correlation. Discipline, detailed planning, execution, training, training and more training, but more important than any specific drill or exercise – one of the greatest assets that the military and
most specifically, West Point can provide an individual is a guiding philosophy about accountability.
As a cadet at West Point one of the earliest lessons taught is that at a certain point in their training, there are only 4 possible answers that they may give to a superior:
Yes, Sir/Maam
No, Sir/Maam
I don’t understand, Sir/Maam
No Excuse, Sir/Maam
What is so important about this exercise and experience is that it engrains in the cadet/soldier that there is no time to waste coming up with a lengthy back story as to why you could not accomplish something. The philosophy is that you focus 100% of you time and effort figuring out a way to successfully achieve the task at hand, period.
To many, it may seem overly rigid or unrealistic, but the idea is that the “Long Gray Line’ has and will continue to train its cadets and future soldiers with a no holds bar – no excuse mentality and philosophy.
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Building Brand Equity
By Christine Regan Lake
The power and importance of a strong brand should never be underestimated. A common misconception about branding is that it refers solely to ones logo design; colors, fonts, tag line and etc. This misunderstanding is one of the reasons that many businesses fail to achieve the brand recognition that they so earnestly desire.
Branding reaches far beyond the limits of one’s collateral materials. A company’s branding is reflected in every single action that the company takes, from the way the receptionist answers the phone, to the way in which the employees carry themselves in public, to the customer service that your firm provides. A company’s branding is revealed and evaluated at every single interaction that it has with its consumers.
Given the importance of branding, business owners need to realize that it should be considered in every business decision that the company makes. Who and what your brand is about should guide your business investments. If the essence of your brand is about speed, such as Domino’s Pizza – you need to invest in technologies or equipment that is going to allow your company to be faster than your competition. If your brand is about luxury – you better have the finest quality paper for your
brochures and best food at your restaurants or products in your spa.