"It's all about revenue..."

This came out of a recent “Think Tank, Brain Trust, Support Group” meeting, or TTBTSG for short — it’s a trusted group where many things get discussed, and sage insights are given (well, at least on the part of the other members).

Somewhere in our discussions I happened to say “It’s all about revenue.” This is interesting for a couple of reasons that I will get to in a moment but first I want to get to the obvious response from the finance people in the group. There was a little light hearted mockery in the response as it was pointed out that in fact it’s always about revenue. I went on to defend myself by pointing out that lately there are a large number of high valuations out there for companies that don’t generate much (if any) revenue. The conversation died quickly as it was off topic and neither of us had the energy to debate it out. As an aside, what I really wanted to say but couldn’t find the words quick enough, was there seems to be much more interest lately in raising money and debt management than good ol’ revenue generation — it’s actually a good thing I didn’t go there because I am ill prepared to have this kind of discussion, particularly with people who have spent a lifetime in the world of high finance.

What really makes what I said interesting is it’s a reflection of what is at my core in terms of how I define business — for me, it is all about the generation of revenue as a result of marketing and sales activity (and I suppose a nice validation that I have good alignment of my skill sets). It was also a reminder that sometimes I can be loose with my language because what I meant to say was “It’s all about the measurement of revenue…”. I was trying to convey that revenue is important and it needs to be measured — like anything that is important to your broader goals and objectives. In the end, it was really more of a comment scratching at the importance of “measurement” :

Measurement identifies what is needed for success and is a proxy for what you should be (and not be) doing

Measurement requires objective data to determine if you are meeting your goals, exceeding them, or falling short

Measurement establishes benchmarks for improvement

Measurement of leading and lagging indicators is key for understanding progress.

I will always think of profitable revenue first because frankly it’s baked into my DNA but I will also say I’m acutely aware of the other functions that make up a healthy business, and the importance of good synergy. And if I can offer up one last thing for my respected members of the TTBTSG, who I know must shake their heads at the the antics of this “sales and marketing guy”… I’d like to simply say, "Find the galoshes”*.

iamgpe

*a classic sales and finance joke… I will tell it to you sometime.

Moments — My life is fine...

“My life is fine… although I could use something interesting.”

I didn’t say this but heard it uttered as I was running stairs. Two people were walking up the stairs of the Wallace Street Bridge as I was resting at the bottom — it wasn’t my intension but I heard it just the same.

I didn’t hear the reply.

The word fine has become one of those words where the true meaning has been corrupted because of its over use (as a default) or by many a motivator who like to use the word as a sardonic benchmark for improvement. As an adjective, the word fine means “of high quality” and has synonyms such as exceptional, out standing and even “first class”. I think it’s time to take back the definition and know being fine* is a very good thing.

As I continued my said stair running, I couldn’t help wonder how “interesting” would be defined in this case, and then I started to ponder the binary challenge that came with what was said — was she going to bring something interesting into her life? Yes or No?

I was reminded that action is binary, as well as its measurement for that matter. Yes I did it; no I did not do it — there is no nuance. The action and the measurement are one in the same. In this particular case, if “interesting” is the goal, then it’s best to pick something new and different; from there just do and afterwards you can always go though some advanced analysis to determine how interesting it was. In the end, something gets done and that wonderful journey we like to call process improvement gets started.

If I was going to play this game, and after some reflection, I suppose I would say my life is restorative. (full stop)

iamgpe

PS: "If you are going to play the “My life is…” game remember that when you are looking in the mirror, you know who is looking back.

*if fine is not the best adjective for you please choose another because as I say, we need to return this word back to its rightful place.

Striving for commercial excellence

Recently I listened to a marketing professional who offered a perspective on striving for marketing excellence (and I suppose commercial excellence by extension). I found it inspirational enough that I had this overwhelming desire to offer up a blog (something I haven’t been doing much of lately but in my defence I’ve been busy… I digress).

The proposed formula for marketing (and commercial) excellence came in the form of not one C, or even two, but 3 Cs.

Customer, Competitor and Craft

Customer — know who your customers are, know how they think, know what’s important to them, how to find them, and the best way to connect with them.

Competitor — know who your competitors are, what their value proposition is (particularly how it competes with yours), watch what they are doing, and identify how you can engage with your customers better.

Craft — identify those skills that are unique to you, your strengths, and get really, really good at them; develop and practice always.

This resonated with me, and although I really liked these core drivers, I kept thinking there was something missing. After a while it finally struck me — my issue wasn’t with the drivers themselves but with what actually fuelled them. Turns out there’s a fourth “C” and it fuels everything:

Curiosity [ˌkyo͝orēˈäsədē] NOUN — a strong desire to know or learn something.

So humbly, I would like to refine the three drivers slightly:

A strong desire to know or learn about your Customer

A strong desire to know or learn about your Competitors

A strong desire to know or learn about your Craft

So there you have it, another list to make you successful, and not even one I came up with myself — just something I “tinkered with”. This of course doesn’t diminish the importance of the three “C”s (or maybe four) but maybe “striving for excellence” also includes searching out smart people, listening to what they have to say, thinking about what they’ve said, and taking action.

After all, I wouldn’t have written this blog and “tinkered a little bit” if it wasn’t for someone who knows quite a bit about marketing.

iamgpe