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Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast

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Management guru Peter Drucker clearly understood that corporate culture is an incredibly powerful factor in a company’s long-term success. He is right! No matter how good your strategy is, when it comes down to it, people always make the difference.

So how do you create a great culture? Does it just happen or can you shape it?

First, you have to define what your culture is and more importantly you must live it and protect it. Living it begins at the top. If people don’t see the executives living and displaying the corporate values that they expect others to live by, the end is near. However, the problem is that most companies don’t seriously take the concept of defining their values. Often they go through the process of identifying values they feel are necessary, but really these are just empty words that don’t mean anything. They check the box and move on. What a waste of time. Or worse, sometimes corporate values are selected as a strategy to “rally the troops” and are really manipulative in nature. This concept can cause resentment and backfire completely.

We find that the best corporate values are those that are personalized and reflect the true beliefs of the company. Above all, avoid standard one word solutions like: integrity, honesty, ethical, teamwork, etc. The best solution is when the values are clearly understood so they truly influence how people make decisions and behave on a daily basis. It is important to remember that values do not drive the business; they drive the people within the business. Values must be internalized by the people in the organization to have meaning.

As part of our process in helping companies develop their core guiding statements of Purpose, Vision and Mission we often evolve and clarify an organization’s values to reflect their culture. Many clients prefer to keep their values internal and not publish them externally. To illustrate our beliefs, I’ll use an example that many people are familiar with. Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, and his team represent a great example of how corporate values can drive business success. Take a look at their viewpoint in words, photos and video.

Zappos Family Core Values What puts the Zap in Zappos

“As we grow as a company, it has become more and more important to explicitly define the core values from which we develop our culture, our brand, and our business strategies. These are the ten core values that we live by:”

* Deliver WOW Through Service
* Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
* Embrace and Drive Change
* Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
* Pursue Growth and Learning
* Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
* Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
* Do More With Less
* Be Passionate and Determined
* Be Humble

Automotive Dealer Management Systems, Are You Using Your Tools Correctly

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The potential of many of the UKs dealerships will never be realised unless they start to use the tools they are provided with in the correct way. There is also a good argument that some dealerships are working so hard to achieve their potential that their old antiquated DMS cannot provide the tools needed. Many dealerships need to change their DMS solution because of this. However some view change as troublesome and worrying. There is a simple question that needs to be levelled is your dealership achieving what it should if the answer to this is no then a review of your DMS is essential.

I am often asked about what changes are needed to dealerships to gain that competitive edge? The simple reply to that is you know your dealership, staff and customers better than I. What I can say is that without dedicated, trained and motivated staff even the best DMS in the world will fail. People and process are the most important things in any dealership. Lets be clear about this, DMS is just a device used to achieve set down objectives. It helps if your DMS contains all the tools necessary.

Many in the industry now see that tools such as Showroom systems, Customer relationship management (CRM), analytical reporting, Internet marketing and time management systems are essential. These all should be available integrated into the DMS. There are many of these products available as stand-alone but few integrate, this means yet more work for the user duplicating information.

Choosing a DMS that suits your business is a bit like choosing a business partner, it needs very careful thought and consideration. The following were listed in the last issue as relevant questions to ask and are still essential today.

How will it give us a return on investment and over what time?
Where will it cut costs/enhance efficiency?
Is it designed to grow with our business?
Is it capable of operating multi-company, multi site, multi-franchise?
Will it communicate efficiently with customers on the web, in the call centre and on the dealership floor?
How good is the CRM part of the system?
How easy will it be for staff to adapt to the system? What training is required?
From talking to other users of the system, how good is the suppliers customer support?

Once you have chosen and implemented the DMS that’s where it begins. So many dealers forget that constant training and reviews of process need to be addressed. It is recognised that the average dealer should book at least two days training a year. A decent DMS provider should always be prepared to share their experiences on good working practices. I also think that as business partners the dealer and the DMS provider should document process controls. Simple but effective training training training.

I’d echo other industry observer’s recent comments about the current obsession with running a hosted DMS solution. It’s imperative for a DMS to have access to web services providing third party data delivery, and indeed using the internet as a transport mechanism for multi-site connectivity is a cost effective solution. However, running a DMS over the web where the server is in a datacentre all too often ends in tears. The UK communications infrastructure is not mature enough to reliably run a remote web server based application as intensive as a DMS with adequate performance. How many problems do you have with slow Internet connections? We offer the service, but we don’t actively promote it. Keep your DMS server within your business.

Most dealers owe it to their potential to review the DMS market. I believe that Gemini Systems Dealer Management Systems should be one of the systems reviewed.

Automotive Industry- Hot Jobs For The Future!

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If you are fascinated by cars then you should definitely check out jobs for future in the automobile industry. Today the employment rate is reaching all time highs, and at the same time security for jobs has become a priority for many people. The Automotive service industry has lots of opportunities for those who are interested in hands-on service-oriented career.

Jobs within the automotive industry are extremely different. It all depends on which section would you like to enter that defines the kind of jobs to choose for. To be clearer, there are two major sectors that divide the automotive industry. One is those who work in the manufacture, development and sales of new car, and the other one is those involved in the after sales garage industries.

Both can be fruitful areas to enter, especially the second one as there are majority of people who lack the real mechanical knowledge so your skill with the engine is often needed by many.

Automotive mechanic jobs within the car manufacturing industry have a wide scope and are not necessarily defined by the engineering qualifications. However, right training is essential and beneficial for those who have completed a technical degree. It is because the automotive industry is increasingly becoming technological and sophisticated, so proper training is considered important.

The automotive industry offers jobs that appeal to wide range of interests and options for development exist in abundance for those with the right training. Jobs in the automotive industry range from mechanics job to automotive service manager jobs. There are also opportunities for the individuals to specialize in any specific area such as engine repair, dent repair, detailing or customer service. The list does not end here.

One of the promising areas of specialization in the automotive industry is in diesel engine repair and service. According to the reports of The Department of Labor, the diesel engine auto technician jobs are expected to grow by coming 2016. There has been a steady rise in the usage of diesel engine vehicles, as more buses and trucks are utilized to ship goods across the country. And the experts predict that with the rise of diesel engines in trucks and buses and also with the increasing passengers, vehicles will contribute new jobs in the field.

Another area that offers a complete new distinction of impact in moving sales and assists is the big growth of alternative render vehicles. Faced with great pressure to reduce the dependency on gas and reduce emissions, today most automobile producers are on the fast track to offer electric car and hybrids.

Therefore alternative render vehicles open up a whole new area of automotive jobs. For the graduates who have had a proper training in hybrid engine maintenance, electric car can give interesting career opportunities and long-term job security.

Government Business Financing In Canada Canadian Govt Loans Deliver

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Government business financing in Canada – While many entrepreneurs have heard of Canadian govt loans they have not fully understood his business finance offering. Let’s ‘ unbox ‘ the program and discuss the merits and applicability of this loan to your business – and that applies to start ups, franchises… in fact any business tha is under the pre-requisite 5 Million in revenues. Let’s dig in

Established by the federal gov’t many years ago the Small Business Financing program is dedicated to helping new , young, and growing businesses access the financing they might otherwise not receive.

The uniqueness of loan is that the majority of the loan is ‘ guaranteed’ to Canadian banks which offer the financing. At the end of the day it’s the govt commitment to encourage Canadian banks to lend to new and smaller businesses. Naturally one of he benefits to the government is the overall economic stimulus in employment, taxes, etc.

In recent years upwards of 7000++ businesses access the loan annually – for billions of dollars. The accessibility of the loan is augmented by the fact that Canadian ‘ bricks and mortar’ branches are on every main street in Canada. (Truth be told the challenge is not finding the right bank, it’s finding the right banker).

The ability to get approved for a govt small business loan in Canada provides realistic access to capital for businesses who otherwise cannot qualify for ‘ traditional ‘ loans. Yet the actual offering of the program is just that – a traditional term loan at attractive rates, great amortizations, and even the ability to pre-pay without penalty.

Many businesses who utilize the loan are either new, or in some cases purchases of businesses, including the very popular ‘ franchise ‘ segment.

The requirements of the loan are pretty basic – the owner must have reasonable good personal credit history, and must be able to contribute a minimum of 10% or more of permanent capital to the financing in question. The loan can only be used to finance 3 separate asset categories – equipment, leasehold improvements, and real estate. (The latter, real estate is rarely used in our experience as commercial mtges are more suited to this type of finance need).

As important to understand what the loan does to is what it doesn’t offer. You cannot use proceeds to refinance existing loans or for working capital/line of credit needs.

Other key aspects of getting approved include a good business plan, a cash flow forecast, and basic info on your business location, previous business experience, etc.

If you’re looking to ‘ unbox ‘ government business financing in Canada seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor who can assist in making Canadian govt loans a realistic part of your new or existing business venture.

Stan Prokop

Reliance Retail And Big Bazaar Rope In Kirana Stores To Expand Operations

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The retail sector in India has seen incredible growth over the last few years. It has seen many corporate houses that had very little experience in this sector venture in and actually achieve a good amount of success. Future Groups Big Bazaar and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) owned Reliance Retail are two such brands. After mulling over various strategies to expand operations, the two retail giants have decided to rope in local Kirana-walas with a view widen product reach and expand their operations to newer territories.

The two brands are following different paths for the same. Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance retail are speeding up their expansion of wholesale cash-and-carry stores. On the other hand, Big Bazaar, owned by Kishore Biyanis Future Group has undertaken its Big Bazaar Direct Programme in this, Kirana Stores can become a franchisee for the big retailer.

Analysts say that this move by both the retail chains is bound to increase growth. Big organized shopping mall type stores may not be successful in small towns or villages. Hence, pushing products through these small grocery stores or Kirana Stores is highly beneficial for the brand in the long run.

At the same time, small traders remain skeptical of this move are not too optimistic on being co-opted by the big boys. Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general, Confederation of All India Traders, was quoted as saying, Organized retailers are in the business for making profits and are least bothered of the small traders. They use predatory pricing tactics to ultimately wipe-off the smaller guys. Even their wholesale stores are nothing but retail in disguise, since they are giving membership to anyone, when it was only meant to be for traders.

Nothing seems to have deterred the people operating Reliance Retail though. The RIL owned entity which commenced operations in 2011 has opened 12 more stores in the last 10 months. And theyre not slowing down; this pace of expansion is growing. A person close to the retail chain said, We are catering to institutional consumers, hotels, resorts, cafes, catering companies etc, but kiranas are among the biggest target group.

The Reliance owned stores have also made in-roads into the wholesale store business. Its converting some of its stores into wholesale store businesses. About a million partners i.e., institutional customers have signed up for the wholesale business. Small shop owners, as well as people who own grocery stores in small towns are being part of member meetings to understand their needs. When contacted, a company spokesperson said only three stores are being converted and it will continue to expand across all formats, including retail and wholesale.

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