Strategy – Probably The Most Overused And Misunderstood Word In Business
How many times have you heard someone talk about successful business strategies or ‘taking a strategic approach’? What do you think they actually mean by the use of the word strategy? Most often the people using it are trying to convey the fact that they have given the subject a bit more thought than usual, that they have looked a little further ahead than normal. If a consultant uses it be very wary. Strategy costs more than mere ideas or tactics. How much would you pay for consultants who have’ kicked around a few ideas’ or ‘come up with some tactics they think might work’. Depends how good they are. But if they come back with ‘strategic business advice’ you expect it to be very good and of course very expensive.
Why expensive? Because you would hope that a consultant or colleague would have used some kind of intellectually robust framework, that they would have tested their assumptions and developed more than one solution which they evaluate rigorously before making their strategic recommendation. This takes time and expertise and both are expensive. Let’s assume they have done all of this – does that make it strategic business advice rather than tactical advice?
Not according the dictionary. The dictionary definition of strategy is very clear and military. It defines strategy as “the art of war – disposing troops etc in such a way as to impose upon the enemy the conditions for fighting (time and place) preferred by oneself”. If we accept business is in effect a war – you develop successful business strategies because you define success as beating the competition – there is no reason why this definition of the overused word, strategy, is not appropriate for business strategy. It requires all that planning and testing of assumptions discussed already. Some kind of robust intellectual and very honest framework will certainly help to develop and evaluate options. Even the lazy use of the word strategy – giving it a bit more thought and thinking ahead – would be implied by the military, dictionary definition. But there is an extra dimension to real strategy. It requires you to do all this and come up with something that changes the rules in your favour – in other words it requires creativity.
And there is one other aspect to this more demanding kind of strategic thinking. It is about people and their behaviour. In order to ‘deploy the troops’ and change the rules you have to understand how people tick. If being creative involves changing behaviours then you have understand how those behaviours were formed in the first place and how they might be changed if you want a successful business strategy.
Before putting the dictionary away (the definition of strategy above was taken from the Oxford English Dictionary) just go forward to tactics. You will discover that the definition is exactly the same as for strategy with one addition. Tactics involves the all-important stage of implementation, putting the strategy into practice. So it turns out that far from tactics being less weighty and valuable than strategy they are actually the most valuable thing of all. A sound strategic plan that is successfully implemented includes, indeed demands, tactics.
The use, and overuse, of strategy in business is more often than not pretentious over-claim by people who do not really understand what they are talking about. It certainly does not mean giving something a bit more thought or thinking a bit more long term. It absolutely demands a thorough and honest assessment of your assumptions and your options. At the risk of being melodramatic, sloppy thinking in military strategy costs people their lives. In business it just wastes time and money. Strategic thinkers will of course use frameworks based on their experience. They will break a problem down so they can think about each component of it but they will look to change the rules not just apply them. And the true strategist understands that strategies are aimed at people and changing their behaviour. Their strategic business advice will be based on an understanding of human behaviour. Just as in war, a strategy does not just get the job done, it enables you to beat the competition, to deliver higher returns than ever before, to win and win big for the least expenditure of resources.
So whether you are undertaking a brand planning strategy, a new business launch strategy or any other kind of strategy remember what this really means and remember to include the tactics which are just if not more important. Then you can charge accordingly.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs
In relation to entrepreneurs & business top 10 business celebrity entrepreneurs the recent rise of entrepreneurs & business has undoubtedly been fuelled by the popularity of TV business programmes like the Dragons Den & Alan Sugar The Apprentice.
These popular programmes have launched the media careers of their programme panel members, fast tracking many of them into the list of top 10 business celebrity entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs outlines well known global entrepreneurs.
Business enterprises promoted by celebrities have been a topic for discussion for quite some time.
Celebrities have shown their enterprising instincts in many in different ways and many of them have gone beyond endorsing products which had at best previously been a trend.
This discussion about entrepreneurs & business should act as an inspiration not only to aspiring celebrity entrepreneurs, but also to other prospects who intend to use their entrepreneurial skills to become successful entrepreneurs.
The list of top 10 business celebrity entrepreneurs includes the who’s who of celebrities. Many of these celebrities have created thriving enterprises without any formal training in business management and have launched successful and innovative products and services.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #1 Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg who co-founded Dreamworks tops the list. His movie business has generated millions and millions of dollars at worldwide box offices.
Although he has not graced our TV screens in programmes like the Dragons Den or Alan Sugar The Apprentice Steven Spielberg is recognised globally as a celebrity entrepreneur known to push the boundaries in film production.
He is known to have provided business help, business management, consultancy and business development to other aspiring business entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #2 Hugh Heffner
Hugh Heffner was born into a family of farmers. Heffner launched a magazine which was later named Playboy which has since sold millions of copies.
It’s interesting to know that Heffner started with only $8000 which he raised from investors. Hefner is recognised globally through his Playboy brand which expanded upon the initial magazine through shrewd business management, consultancy and business development to include multiple other revenue generations streams the most famous of which is the Playboy TV channel.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #3 Sean Combs
Sean Combs launched the clothing brand Sean John clothing which generates a business turnover of over $400 million globally. Sean is recognised as an entrepreneur who founded his empire on a solid foundation of top quality business management and business development.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #4 Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks became famous after hosting the famous television show America’s Next Top Model and Tyra Banks Show. She is known to provide business help and support to other aspiring entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #5 Kathy Irelan
Kathy Irelan is recognised globally as a famous model. Her business development initiative of finding solutions for families and busy moms was received well by the market.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #6 Bill Gates
Irrespective of your geographical location, you are probably aware of the rise of Bill Gates whose business development idea revolutionised the personal computer market.
Gates has become a true global celebrity entrepreneur. It has been widely reported that Gates has provided business help, business management, consultancy and business development to aspiring entrepreneurs and charitable organisations.
Many people believe he should have been the person of choice to front the American version of Alan Sugar the apprentice hosted by Donald Trump.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #7 Richard Branson
Richard Branson’s Virgin Empire is one of the world’s most recognised brands which hosts approximately 300 business companies under its business development umbrella.
Branson is also well documented for his desire to give something back and as such many aspiring business entrepreneurs have benefitted from his business help, business management, consultancy and business development.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #8 Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs created a business information technology revolution by launching Apple computers with the first graphical user interface of its kind.
Although the Apple brand struggled and lost its way at times, through laser focussed business management, consultancy and business development it has resurfaced as one of the world’s most trusted business brands.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #9 Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is well known for her television shows and her net worth is estimated to be around $2 billion.
Entrepreneurs & Business Top 10 Business Celebrity Entrepreneurs #10 Donald Trump
Donald Trump is admired the world over by aspiring business entrepreneurs. His glorious rise to fame as the world’s best known real estate owner was brought to the forefront of the global media after the crash of International real estate.
Trump owed the banks so much money they felt they couldn’t close him down. Deserted by the business fraternity many of whom he had helped and provided financial and business support to he resurfaced even stronger.
To audiences worldwide he is recognised as the main focus of the USA version of Alan Sugar the apprentice TV programme.
Many business people will hold a different opinion on which order the above top 10 business celebrity entrepreneurs should feature. My aim was not to list them in any order, rather just to list them together as the driving force of the top 10 business celebrity entrepreneurs.
What’s interesting is that although most of the above entrepreneurs started with next to nothing, not many of these celebrities availed business consultancy services from a family business consultant. They focussed on their vision and had a detailed action plan which was followed with the right business development strategies.
However as their business empires have grown every one of the above celebrity business entrepreneurs are known to employ the very best business development consultants in the marketplace.
The International Business Guru provides business help to every budding entrepreneur and says entrepreneurs should strive hard to create value for their customers and stake holders.
It might further surprise UK readers that none of the Dragons Den judges appeared in this list.
[Top]Rosy Business 5 Top Secrets To A Successful Business
Much has been written about the attainment of rosy status for businesses, however many business related personnel have never heard the business management consultants phrase of rosy business.
In its basic format, this phrase is consultancy jargon for a newly developed business, or one which has been trading for typically less than 3 years. A business which has obviously survived the very high percentage of failed businesses rate, and has attained some level of business growth.
Typically in relation to business development, business consultancy firms and many an individual business consultant suggest that a rosy business generally finds itself positioned very firmly at the financial tipping point.
Most businesses blocked at the tipping point generally seek outsourced consultancy expertise to drive their business into exponential business growth.
Historically most businesses strive for rapid growth in sales and profitability and therefore continuously looks for business development and growth opportunities. With the availability of resources such as the Internet, the world has literally shrunk into a global village and businesses have a tremendous potential to market their products to the entire world.
However, in order to succeed, every business organization needs to ensure that business performance parameters which reflect the overall condition of the business are healthy or rosy in other words. Rosy business top 5 secrets to a successful business outlines this concept.
Many small and medium business enterprises today have an opportunity of working with large global business corporations which select their suppliers and business partners based on various business parameters which reflect the true picture of the business.
Being a rosy business is all about maintaining healthy business parameters like financials, employee satisfaction, quality certifications and quality performance, commitment to protection of environment, safety etc.
It is necessary that the business organization is capable of demonstrating its commitments and efforts on all these fronts to its client organizations. Only those businesses that demonstrate their ability and commitment to maintaining healthy business parameters and continuous improvements in all business areas will succeed in growing their businesses.
A large number of business organizations engage the services of business management consultants for strategic business consultancy improvement initiatives and also get their management teams to go through different business training courses to ensure their teams remain well updated.
Business consultancy firms provide vital inputs to business organizations in many different areas such as product and process quality improvement plans, lean manufacturing, lean supply chains and other important business functions. Many business consultancy firms place increased emphasis on continuous improvements and process reengineering which has helped many small and large business corporations improve their business parameters to the levels comparable with those of the top world class corporations.
Rosy Business Top 5 Secrets To A Successful Business #1 Business Vision
Most business consultancy firms and business management consultants suggest that without a business vision it is unlikely that the business would have achieved rosy status in the first place.
Irrespective of the prior business vision, it is wise to understand that if you have contracted an outsourced business consultant because you find your business is blocked at the financial tipping point, then you need proven business development and successful business management skills.
One of the first things a proven growth consultancy specialist will outline is that the original thinking which got your business to where it is today is unlikely to be the same thinking to grow your business beyond the financial tipping point. One aspect to be considered for your senior staff is the provision of business training courses.
Rosy Business Top 5 Secrets To A Successful Business #2 Business Growth
Any aspect of business development and business growth is a major undertaking and one which should only be implemented after serious research and consultancy advice from one of the proven business consultancy firms.
Not every business consultant is skilled in achieving business growth and the successful business management skills required to manage that growth.
Many professional business management consultants advocate that every member of the business team attend business training courses directly related to the business growth strategies planned for the business.
Rosy Business Top 5 Secrets To A Successful Business #3 Business Development
The provision of business training courses and the participation of every employee in the business, grants a bottom up, top down insight into the businesses new growth vision.
Business consultancy firms and business management consultants understand the difficulties of business development and the subsequent issues involved in successful business management.
Every business consultant providing business development consultancy knows that one of the most difficult aspects of taking a rosy business into a truly successful business is the change factor.
Many directors and employees find change very difficult to cope with. This is widely accepted in Business consultancy firms as taking people out of their comfort zone is always problematic.
Rosy Business Top 5 Secrets To A Successful Business #4 Business Training Courses
Many business owners wince when business consultancy firms or business management consultants recommend business training courses. A number of small to medium business managing directors feel there is no need for business training courses, because they have personally never attended any business related training programmes themselves.
This is often a huge barrier to business development and company growth for a business consultant who likely knows that approximately 97% of all small to medium size business managing directors have received no business, or no academic business management training.
Many of these MD’s feel threatened by the fact that their workforce may become more qualified than them. Consultancy may map out your strategic business growth plan, but without providing professional industry specific business training courses they may be unable to provide ongoing successful business management.
Rosy Business Top 5 Secrets To A Successful Business #5 Successful Business Management
It’s a fact that it is no use outsourcing the best business consultancy firms or contracting the finest business management consultants who deliver the most professional business training courses to kick start your business development if your business does not retain a proven business consultant to implement successful business management strategies to ensure long term sustainable business growth.
Although consultancy is a great help in achieving business growth beyond the financial tipping point it is no substitute for having a proven expert nurturing your successful business management.
Think of building the world’s greatest ever cruise liner, investing millions of pounds in the research, planning construction, fitting out and staffing the liner. Then stocking up on food and drink required for high fee paying customers, and then sourcing these customers.
And finally after years of hard work and millions and millions of pounds the harbour master pilots the ship out of the harbour and then hands over control to a captain who has never sailed a ship before. It’s clearly a plan that is pre-programmed for failure; in fact it’s almost one of Titanic proportions.
[Top]How To Select The Best Residual Income Business Opportunity
A lot of people are actively looking for a lucrative residual income business opportunity, but they make critical mistakes. Heres how you can avoid those costly errors. The 3 key main factors to consider are:
1) the amount of monthly income generated
2) the amount of resources required to create that stream of residual income
3) the duration of the income, including whether or not the amount of income increases or decreases over time.
Most people make the error of, first, being introduced to a company and then, second, trying to see if it is a good residual income business opportunity. They fall into the proverbial trap of not being able to see the forest for the trees. They find the tree first, without knowing what kind of forest it is in. A better approach is to identify the ideal forest first, and then look for the best tree in that forest, second. Giant Sequoias are much much taller than pine trees, but you wouldnt see that if you only look in pine forests.
The kind of forest to look in for the absolute best residual income business opportunity is NOT that of the employee or the self employed. This includes traditional work-from-home businesses. In addition, some people think that network marketing is a good forest to look in, but there is so much competition in network marketing, both in selling products and in recruiting a downline, that the return on your efforts is almost guaranteed to be low. That is how micro-economics works: high competition = low margins of return. If you are looking for the absolute best residual income business opportunity, the proper forest to look in is that of the investor.
As an investor, you are able to leverage other peoples time and other peoples money, while retaining control. You dont have to sell any products or services in the midst of fierce competition. The amount of income created is directly related to the rate of return you are able to generate. You can even hire high-performing professional traders to do the active investing for you, on a pay for performance basis, so that you dont have learn how to become a full-time trader yourself. The amount of personal resources involved can be minimal, especially if you are using other peoples money. The most valuable resource is specialized knowledge, which can be learned, from the right source. And the duration of income can be multi-generational, recession proof, and increasing every year, due to the power of compounding returns.
One excellent, yet relatively unknown source for gaining the specialized knowledge, and careful guidance on how to apply it correctly, is The Financial Freedom Foundation. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to showing people how to become financially independent. With the resources they provide, you can grow your own personal forest of Giant Sequoia sized money trees with $100 dollar bills coming off of each branch, for you to use at your convenience. Theyll show you how to create up to $100K residual income within 12 months, and give you the knowledge of how to grow that to over $1M per year, within 5 to 10 years all this using other peoples time, talents, and money. That is the absolute best residual income business opportunity around. They even have a FREE REPORT that you can download from their website, to get an inside peek as to how you can do it yourself.
[Top]Risks And Challenges Involved In International Business
International businesses have to face risks and challenges at many fronts. Some are similar to the risks and challenges a domestic business confronts and some are unique. Even the challenges that are similar by definition differ in nature. For example both types of businesses have to face financial challenges, but an international business will be facing many factors related to global financial markets that don’t affect domestic businesses as much. They are more of a challenge in nature than risks and most of them can be handled through proper planning. Keep reading to understand these challenges better.
The challenge of international planning & strategy:
The first challenge for an international enterprise is to make a global strategy and then implement it. The managers and those at decision-making positions often find it difficult to change their thought pattern, which is not used to work in global paradigm. There are many international businesses but just some of them have truly adopted a proper global strategy. Though the situation is improving with more and more trained graduates and professionals taking on the management roles. Nevertheless, international business management requires extra ordinary management, foreseeing and leadership skills.
Financial and economic challenges:
It starts from arranging the funds to start international business and includes everything such as fluctuation in exchange rate, global economic crisis (or some economic crises in the host country), shift in oil prices, global inflation or tariff barriers imposed by the host government, also the export related policies of your own government.
International Politics:
Political know-how is a must for everybody but it becomes all so important when operating at international level. If some policies were suitable for your business, a change in ruling party can bring drastic changes in those policies. Political chaos will bring down the economy and with that your business. To prevent your business from such negative impacts, you need to make sound political judgments.
Environment, natural disasters and warfare:
Many multinational businesses have to face serious opposition by some environment friendly organizations. Citizens are more concerned about air and water pollution these days as it is becoming a serious threat to their health. Some natural disaster like floods and earthquake, or some kind of civil war breaking out in the host country is also in the list of possible challenges. A new challenge that an international business has to bear now days in some specific countries is the threat of terrorism.