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Comment on What is a Collaborative Enterprise? by Berry Zimmerman

Berry Zimmerman — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 01:51:26 +0000

It’s amazing how productive and successful organizations can be when they operate as a collaborative enterprise. They’re more innovative, more competitive, more sustainable, and just more fun to work for.

Who doesn’t want to work in an environment of communication, cooperation and commitment?

Comment on What is a Collaborative Enterprise? by Art Olsen

Art Olsen — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:08:51 +0000

Thanks Mike. It is very interesting how much of an influence the CEO has on the culture of the organization whether they are large or small. Being a CE really starts with the person at the top.

Comment on What is a Collaborative Enterprise? by bristol97

bristol97 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:58 +0000

I have also been involved with good and bad ERP implementations. The "good" were examples of companies where management were involved and did not have a habit of looking for the guilty and prosecuting them. The "bad" were characterized by a circus atmosphere where key managers actively avoided responsibility for their involvement in supporting the project. They would not attend meetings, would not agree to business rules but were quick to point a finger at the "current" project leader as ineffective and "the problem." The attitude and character of an organization is set by the leadership team and CEO and in the case of a significant implementation as an MRP system requires this support from the top down through thick and thin. Bob Nitschke's book details how a Collaborative Organization creates an environment where boundaries between departments are lowered and working relationships across the company are encouraged. This proactive atmosphere results in a much stronger business model and a much more enjoyable work climate for employees. The real benefactor - the customer. Mike Brice

Comment on Who are Your Best Customers and Why? by Art Olsen

Art Olsen — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 05:12:47 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts Mike. I have also found that customers can help spark ideas for new products and services.

Comment on Who are Your Best Customers and Why? by Art Olsen

Art Olsen — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 05:09:35 +0000

Thanks Julia. Interesting approach used by owner you know to clear out 10% of the low performing clients. I assume that step should be implemented after careful review of the relationships.

Comment on Who are Your Best Customers and Why? by mike brice

mike brice — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:29:18 +0000

Other “best customer” criteria would include your ability to.extend your business relationships into other parts of the company, their interest in including you when they have strategic discussions that give you an inside opportunity to define new business specs that best fit your competency, and of course their willingness to use their name as a referemce

Comment on Who are Your Best Customers and Why? by Julia Robinson

Julia Robinson — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:05:08 +0000

You bring up some great points Art. Knowing your numbers gives you data so you know where to focus resources to improve the health/ overall profitability of the business. One business owner shared with me, “I fire 10% of my clients every year.” Sounds hard-hearted, but why try to meet the needs of customers that aren’t a good fit and aren’t profitable for the business? Also your question about who is the salesperson is worth investigating. Does the salesperson have the right personality, drive, attitude and skills to best meet the customers’ needs and realize the market potential? Once you get the data, it always pay to ask more of those “why” questions!

Comment on The “Got – Owe” Ratio by Art Olsen

Art Olsen — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:07:13 +0000

You are correct that with my example you the “Got” should be $2.00. That won’t be all assets, just cash, amounts due from customers and inventory you sell to customers. What we are looking for is the cash and things that you can convert to cash in a relatively short period so you can pay your bills.

Our tennis club is member-owned and the primary mission is to provide an exceptional and comprehensive tennis experience for our members. To support that mission we focus on generating sufficient cash to maintain the existing assets of the Club after covering regular operating costs. In addition to the Got – Owe ratio, we monitor our cash savings compared to our annual capital budget to make sure we replace equipment as it wears out and maintain the buildings.

We also look at a couple of indicators that provide some insights about member activity. Besides charging members monthly dues we also charge for tennis lessons, fitness center training and other activities. We look at the trend of this additional spending by member. The one forward-looking metric we track is the number of people on the waiting list to join the Club. As a micro-measure of the economy we have seen that number trend down over the past 20 months but we think we are seeing a slight uptick, hopefully like the rest of the economy.

Thanks for the question Berry.

Comment on The “Got – Owe” Ratio by Berry Zimmerman

Berry Zimmerman — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:44:50 +0000

So if I understand your general rule-of-thumb of 2.0, you mean for every $1.oo of “Owe”, I should have $2.00 of “Got.” In other words, I should have twice as much in assets as I owe.

What other ratios or KPI’s are you tracking for the tennis club board?

Comment on The “Got – Owe” Ratio by Art Olsen

Art Olsen — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:46:27 +0000

Good point Mike. There are lots of opportunities to get financial transactions coded incorrectly. That’s why successful businesses often have properly trained accounting staff or make use of trusted advisors to “get the numbers right” in both correctly coding transactions explaining the details behind key accounts.