CEO Success Report -
September 2002
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CEO Success Report
- September 2002
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Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs
and business owners.
Contents of this issue...
.. Welcome - A few words from the publisher, Gary Lockwood
.. Thought-Starter - "Write This Article!"
.. Guest article - "Stacked" For Success in the Game of
Business"
.. CEO Resources
.. Quotes to use in your staff meeting this month
.. Humor to lighten up the executive suite
.. Contact the publisher
.. Subscribe and unsubscribe instructions
See past issues of the CEO Success Report at:
http://www.CEOSuccess.com/archives
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WELCOME to this issue of the CEO Success Report!
===================================================
Hello again. I'm Gary Lockwood, President of CEO Success.
Welcome back once again to the CEO Success. I know you have
no shortage of material to read and I thank you for choosing to
read our newsletter.
We work hard to provide practical ideas, thought-provoking concepts
and useful information for you.
You (and about 1000 of your CEO peers), have honored me by
being a loyal subscriber. For that, I appreciate you.
My Thought-Starter today is about writing articles.
How would you like a steady stream of prospective clients to call
and write to you, asking for your services? One of the most common
reasons cited by buyers for contacting a specific provider is "I've read
her articles". By writing an article about your field of specialty, your
credibility will soar.
Today's Thought-Starter guides you, step-by-step, through the
process of writing an article and getting it published.
May I ask a small favor? Please forward this issue to other CEOs
and company presidents who may be interested in receiving
these messages. Thank you.
And now for our guest article this month...
Our guest article this month is from Shel Horowitz. In his article,
Shel tells the story of Jack Stack. Stack bought a failing plant and
not only brought it back from death's door, not only made it profitable,
but spun off business after successful business: by rethinking every
assumption, involving the employees deeply in running the
company (including open-book management on an unprecedented
scale) - by making every one of his employers a player in the
Great Game of Business.
Shel tells the story of how Stack got every single employee to
look at productivity, efficiency, cost control-taking in both the big
picture and the individual trees in the forest.
Read more about Shel Horowitz at the end of his article.
I hope you enjoy receiving these articles and ideas to
help you sharpen your thinking about being an effective CEO.
My wish is that you use the ideas in the CEO Success Report to
get the results you really want. If you want some help in putting
them into practice, or if you have questions, email or call.
As you know, our specialty is Increasing the Effectiveness
and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs and business owners.
Enjoy this issue with my compliments.
Sincerely,
Gary Lockwood
CEO Success
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This month's THOUGHT-STARTER
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Write This Article!
How would you like a steady stream of prospective clients to call
and write to you, asking for your services?
In today's hotly competitive marketplace, almost anyone with a
phone, fax and computer can appear to be a qualified service
provider. In the midst of all the apparent choices, how do your pros-
pective buyers make their decision? One of the most common
reasons cited by buyers for contacting a specific provider is "I've
read her articles".
Buyers are searching for some signal of credibility. They want to
know that you know what you're talking about. There is great comfort
in buying from someone who you know, or at least have heard of.
By writing an article about your field of specialty, your credibility
will soar.
Let's examine the two main issues. First is writing the article. The
second is getting it published.
Writing an article is not as daunting as you might think. First of all,
most publications want fairly short articles. You don't need to create
the Great American Novel. Two or three pages will do the trick.
How about the topic? Remember the purpose of the article is to let
potential clients see that you are "an expert". The topic should be
something you know a lot about. It should also be a topic of interest
to your potential customers.
For example: let's say you are a financial planner and your best
potential clients are wealthy people who are concerned about taxes.
You could write an article about "the ten best ways to reduce your tax
burden". If you are a graphics designer who wants to attract mag-
azine publishers, your article could be about "how to design your
magazine so advertisers line up to buy ad space".
When you select your topic, start with a brief outline. Include a few
notes on:
The main message of the article
The three to five main points to cover
Some thoughts on each of the main points
Your opening and your closing call to action
A possible title for the article
>From here, you can expand your thoughts on each of the main
points of your article as if you were explaining them to an interested
friend. The nice part about working from an outline is that you can
write these sections in any sequence, then piece them together
later in a logical order. Three or four paragraphs on each of the
main points should work out great.
The opening of your article is designed to catch your readers'
attention. They will decide within the first three sentences if they're
interested in reading the rest of the article. Therefore, the first
three
sentences should promise a benefit to readers for reading your
article and let them see if the article applies to them.
The closing paragraph of the article is where you summarize your
main message and issue a call to action. Usually one or two
sentences will suffice for the summary, then one or two sentences
for your challenge to the reader to take action.
Along the way in writing your article, you will likely come up with a
catchy title. The title should be short and command attention. Think
of the title as the headline for your article or the cover of a book.
People will often decide to read or not depending on whether the
title hooks them.
You're not quite finished yet. Your article needs editing. Have some-
one else read your article looking for spelling errors, questionable
grammar, rambling sentences or unclear writing. If you don't know
someone who can edit your article for you, call the local college.
Often, you can hire someone in the English department or
Journalism department to edit your article for a small fee.
Now that you have an article ready, you need to get it published.
You have lots of possibilities for this. With over 10,000 periodicals
in the U.S., plus countless newsletters, informational Internet sites
and other publications, you will find outlets for your article.
Start by contacting the editors of your local chamber publications.
Also contact business journals in your area. Try the publications
issued by the associations where your potential customers are
members. Search the Internet for publications and websites that
cater to your desired potential clients.
When you contact these people about publishing your article, ask
if they would welcome an informative article from an expert in the
field. Generally, these editors and publishers will want to see your
article or at least a brief synopsis before they decide to use it in
their publication. You can't blame them for this. They receive lots
of crummy articles and articles that are nothing more than a thinly
disguised sales pitch for somebody's product or service.
Many publications prefer to print your photo with your article. Be
prepared to include a 5x7 black&white photograph of yourself
when you send in your article. Best if this photo is professionally
done. Tell the photographer how you will be using the photo.
They'll know what type of shot you'll need.
Write a couple of sentences about yourself that can be printed at
the end of your article. Some publications will print only your name
and a phone number. Others will print as much as three or four
sentences. Be sure to ask what is acceptable for each publication.
Sometimes publishers will edit your contact information to fit the
space they have available. Best if you write your contact section
so that the most important information is first. That way, if a
publication shortens it, you'll still get the good stuff printed.
Once your article is published, get reprints made. These make
great marketing pieces to send to other potential customers, hand
out at your store or office, or use in your media kit.
There you have it. With a few hours of work, you can write an article
that will allow your potential customers to get to know you as some-
one they would like to do business with. Write several articles
and you have the makings of a booklet or pamphlet for even more
exposure and credibility. Several more articles and you are well
on your way to writing a book that will attract buyers to you like
bees to honey.
Attract your desired customers today. Write now.
About the Author...
Gary Lockwood is Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the
Lives of CEOs, business owners and professionals.
Get the Free BizSuccess newsletter -
http://www.bizsuccess.com/newsletter.htm
or send any blank email to mailto:subscribe@BizSuccess.com
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Guest Article
==================================
Stacked" For Success in the Game of Business
by Shel Horowitz
Business is a game to Jack Stack; he calls it the Great Game of
Business. But what high stakes!
Stack worked for many years as an engine plant manager for
International Harvester-a megacompany mired in bureaucracy and
stagnant thinking. "We had 670 pages of regulations before we
could talk to anybody. We had to make the one rule apply to 17
plants. And the work was boring; we never engaged their minds.
There was no camaraderie, no loyalty."
Then, in the face of foreign competition and a slumping heavy
equipment market, the company decided it didn't need the plant
anymore. Stack bought the plant and not only brought it back
from death's door, not only made it profitable, but spun off
business after successful business: by rethinking every
assumption, involving the employees deeply in running the
company (including open-book management on an unprecedented
scale).by making every one of his employers a player in the
Great Game of Business.
Currently, Stack oversees an empire of 22 companies, all aiming
for 15% annual growth. A share of stock worth 10 cents in 1983
at the company's founding goes for $81.50 today. In one of the
most remarkable presentations the Family Business Center has had
in its entire existence, Stack led off the Center's 8th year of
programs at the Log Cabin on September 5.
Partly through luck, Stack climbed the ladder very quickly at Harvester,
becoming a manager at age 20. "I had a $243 million budget and
I couldn't buy a beer! They were told their management was too
old, so they brought in all the kids. I was good at my job-made
everyone fill out 15 forms to get a part. But I was not connected
[with the reality] that the assembly line was shutting down because
I wouldn't give them the parts."
He worked at the company for 14 years. When Japanese heavy
equipment manufacturers started to "take the American market"
from the 17 US tractor manufacturers in the late 1970s, they gained
market share quickly by listening to their customers, instituting rapid
shifts (slashing the time for a new model introduction by two thirds,
from 18 months to 6) -and by paying attention to the line workers.
"The Japanese had one simple philosophy: who knows how to do
the job better than the one doing it? We did not trust hourly
employees. We had seven layers of overhead, all doing the same
job. We didn't trust the crankshaft grinder to call the forge
and say, 'deliver me 10 units.'" When Harvester's debt climbed
past 6 billion, the company was laying off 1000 people a week.
That's when Stack offered to buy the plant-and got some hard
lessons. "The quickest way to learn about business is to try to
borrow millions of dollars when you don't have any of it. I
wanted to borrow $9 million." It would have been much easier,
Stack said, to borrow many times that amount.
Meanwhile-this was 1983-interest rates were at record high
levels. Venture capitalists were looking for 40% return.
"I went to 54 financial institutions; by the 17th I could write
a business plan in a taxi. Then I went to a bank in trouble: 'I
hear you're looking for bad loans; I've got a doozy!' If you
have a bad loan, go to bad banks first; safe banks don't give
bad loans."
Of course, bad banks making bad loans demand horrible terms.
"We borrowed $8.9 million and collected $100,000 in equity. The
interest was 18%: $96,000 a month-and we started in February,
not a long month."
With an 89:1 debt-to-equity ratio, Stack started giving his
employees a crash course in economics and finance. "I gave them
a financial literacy test; they were all wrong. Nobody ever told
them how the business is run, but they had these perceptions. We
had to trick them into learning with a metaphor, the Great Game
of Business. We explained-89:1, you're on life support. The
whole idea is to go from 89:1 to 1:89."
To do this, Stack not only opened the books, but asked every
single employee to look at productivity, efficiency, cost
control-taking in both the big picture and the individual trees
in the forest. He achieved quite a bit through strategically
designed incentives and bonuses-but also by simply keeping all
lines of communication open. "A janitor told me, 'this open book
stuff is baloney; have you looked at your balance sheet? Do you
know 76% of your receivables are in the truck market? You have
all your eggs in one basket. They have a recession every six
years. You're going to lay us all off.' Then he went back to
pushing his broom."
Stack discovered the janitor was right and started diversifying.
He and his employees looked for markets that would be strong
when the truck market was weak. Auto parts was one success; in a
recession, people keep their vehicles longer and need
replacement parts. "Most recessions occur because of bad
management; they don't just happen. We're still going strong
because we prepared from day one for a recession. Everyone in 22
organizations knows the contingency plans. When you set
standards of this nature, it's amazing what people come up with."
Stack shared two more anecdotes from the early days of his
company: A woman, at an employee meeting about the need to be
more efficient in producing engines, said, "I don't like engines.
I like nozzles. I build 6000 nozzles a month." He gave her some
authority in the department. "I came back a month later-it was
the most incredible transformation. She painted the floor to
show contaminants, saved $12 per unit by grinding down the burrs,
bought department t-shirts with her own money.I saw the
ownership, the pride.
"There's 750 parts in an engine; we had to duplicate her success.
I gave them all the information a CEO has. We'd sit down and
figure out how to make it better. We took half the saved
interest and put it in a bonus pool."
And then there was the person who dreamed up a 5-year dealership
incentive program tied to a bass fishing derby, with escalating
prizes. "The dealers are killing each other to get in. They want
the 5-year megabucks $25,000 prize. We've run it for 13 years; I
run seven fishing tournaments a year because of this guy!"
Sometimes it gets pretty far afield. One of the spin-off
companies is a highly profitable venture selling non-caustic
cleaning chemicals to sheltered workshops. Still, in a climate
that rewards internal entrepreneurship with instant recognition,
celebrations, career opportunities and even ownership, 80% of
the news businesses succeed. Sometimes the success is dramatic:
one spin-off, a furniture company, applied the game and
generated an increase in sales of 220%, profits of 540%, a
decrease in returns of 18% and a 19% gross margin.
Bonus programs are an important part of the success. Stack looks
carefully to find places where incentives will produce large
gains. "Every year, we identify different weaknesses. Every time
we've bonused a benchmark, the gain has maintained.
Meanwhile, Stack appears to have the Midas touch. "We've made
money 18 consecutive years, with no layoffs."
And now he consults to companies, the World Bank, even whole
countries, such as Zambia. For more on the Great Game of
Business, visit http://www.greatgame.com
or get a copy of Stack's
book called (surprise!) The Great Game of Business.
Based on a presentation to the UMass Family Business Center
Shel Horowitz is Director of Accurate Writing & More, a
family-owned firm in Northampton, MA, offering low-cost
marketing strategies for businesses. His latest book is
Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World. He can
be reached at 800-683-WORD or at his web site www.frugalfun.com
=============================================
RESOURCES for CEOs
=============================================
The Executive Committee - Chief Executives Working Together
http://www.CEOSuccess.com
** Attention CEOs
Business leaders are choosing a new way to better their companies and
themselves - through membership in TEC, an international organization of
CEOs.
Imagine the benefits of meeting regularly with a small group
of company leaders in your area to share experiences, exchange ideas and
solve common problems.
Thousands of chief executives turn to TEC for a learning experience they
cannot get anywhere else. We are committed to connecting CEOs with the
people, ideas and information they need to help them improve their
businesses and enhance their lives.
Check it out at http://www.CEOSuccess.com
==================================================
QUOTES to use in your staff meeting this month
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"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind."
Sir Winston Churchill
"The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you
get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office."
Robert Frost
"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands
the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of
human life."
John Fitzgerald Kennedy,
Inaugural Address
"He who lives in solitude may make his own laws."
Publilius Syrus
"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret
for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."
Sydney J. Harris
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HUMOR to lighten up
the executive suite
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** How to know whether or not you are ready to have kids:
- Mess Test
Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick
behind the couch and leave it there all summer.
- Toy Test
Obtain a 55 gallon box of Legos (you may substitute roofing tacks
if you wish). Have a friend spread them all over the house.
Put on blindfold and take off shoes. Try to walk to the bathroom or
kitchen. Do not scream because this would wake a child at night.
- Grocery Store Test
Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them
with you as you shop. Always keep them in sight and pay for
anything they eat or damage.
- Dressing Test
Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net
bag making sure that all the arms stay inside.
- Feeding Test
Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend
from the ceiling with a cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert
spoonfuls of soggy cereal into the mouth of the jug, while pretending
to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.
- Night Test
Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8-12 pounds
of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 3:00pm, begin to waltz
and hum with the bag until 9:00pm. Lay down your bag and set
your alarm for 10:00pm. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every
song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing
these too until 4:00am. Set alarm for 5:00am. Get up and make
breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.
- Ingenuity Test
Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and pot of paint, turn
it into an alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube and turn it into an
attractive Christmas candle. Use only scotch tape and a piece of
foil. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty box
of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.
- Automobile Test
Forget the BMW and buy a station wagon. Buy a chocolate ice
cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
Get a dime. Stick it into the CD player. Take a family-size package
of chocolate chip cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Run a
rake along both side of the car. There, perfect!
- Physical Test (Women)
Obtain a large bean bag chair and attach it to the front of your
clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Then remove the beans. And
try not to notice your closet full of clothes. You won't be wearing
them for a while.
- Physical Test (Men)
Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask
the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store.
Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly
deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read
it quietly for the last time.
- Final Assignment
Find a couple who already has a small child. Lecture them on how
they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, and toilet
training and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can
improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their
children to run wild. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time
you will have all the answers
***excerpts from: http://www.joker.org/ ***
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CONTACT CEO Success
=================================
Gary Lockwood is the publisher of the CEO Success Report.
Email: mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com
Office: (800) 272-1575 (USA) * (909) 739-7444
Fax: (909) 494-4314
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Your Comments, please?
========================================
I appreciate feedback, corrections, and comments about the
CEO Success Report. Please send your thoughts to:
Gary@CEOSuccess.com mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com
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