Enterprise Development Blog

Strategy – Now That You’ve Developed It, Execute It!

9/7/2010 12:15:12 PM  -  2 Comments
 

 David Oetken, Director of Business Advising for GLI’s ENTERPRISECORP, shares his insights on corporate strategies below. As one Harvard Business Review article notes, “A brilliant strategy, blockbuster product or breakthrough technology can put you on the competitive map, but only solid execution can keep you there.”

As market conditions quickly change, any company that can rapidly “triage” its strategy and adapt to new conditions will have a huge competitive advantage. Worldwide, strategic planning has become the business norm. However, in a recent survey, chief executives of corporations identified excellence in execution as their top challenge (55.4%), as well as the alignment between strategy and execution (47.0%), and speed, flexibility and adaptability to change (46.6%). Clearly, CEO’s are recognizing that developing a good strategy is far easier than executing that strategy. 

Finding New Customers to Diversify Your Client Base

8/9/2010 12:50:50 PM  -  0 Comments
 

Dave Oetken, Director of Business Advising for GLI’s ENTERPRISECORP, delivers detailed, personalized guidance to local businesses who want to generate new growth.  Below, Dave examines the “80/20” rule of business, and offers insights on how your company can successfully enlarge its customer base beyond that 20 percent:

Recently, experiences with clients have caused me to rethink the old 80/20 rule. This rule states that 80 percent of a company’s revenue comes from 20 percent of its customers. As a result, smart business leaders focus most of their time and company resources toward this segment.  And, while it can be a good business practice, it can also become a dangerous habit.

Case in point: a local company did increasing business with a large manufacturer to the extent that 90 percent of its revenues came from that one customer. As you can guess, when the customer decided it could buy cheaper elsewhere, it put the local company out of business, costing the community 67 jobs.

In today’s competitive environment, the 80/20 rule can sometimes be cause for alarm, especially if most of the 80 percent is coming from a small number of customers.

The Fed Says Regional Economy Improving

8/6/2010 09:22:00 AM  -  0 Comments
 

The Federal Reserve Bank's St. Louis District, which includes Louisville, is reporting that economic conditions are improving throughout the region. In a report released last week, the Fed showed activity has increased in the manufacturing and service sectors. However, the report also showed that commercial and industrial real estate markets remain weak, and overall bank lending activity decreased from early April to late June.