I am a fan of small businesses and especially the brave entrepreneurs who launch them. Below is the link of a recently launched business: Viddlz. Viddlz has developed a marketplace that allows food artisans to sell their product online to other foodies. Great idea and I am wishing the Viddlz team much success.
Viddlz Introduces E-commerce Platform & Marketplace for Food Artisans | Viddlz Blog.
Rindge Leaphart
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Good article- Fix The Machine, Not The Person | Lifehacker Australia. that illustrates that many times the problem with under-performing organizations is one of process / procedures and not necessarily people. How many times has one of us jumped to the conclusion that person X is not doing a good job versus surveying what organizational constructs might be contributing to the issue? While the NUMMI Plant referenced in the article might be somewhat of a dated example, it is a good reminder to take a step back and consider what processes / procedures / organizational culture issues might be causing performance issues versus assigning blame to the people.
Rindge Leaphart
Brief, but good article geared for small / medium sized business owners. One of the areas the article touched on was firing customers who may be late payers or have low margins. This is a concept I often see referred to in the business press, but I have not yet come across a situation where I “fired” a customer. Enjoy the article and let me know if you have ever fired a customer.
Are You Growing Too Fast? – Sandeep Dahiya – Harvard Business Review.
Rindge Leaphart
When developing a new product or adding features to an existing one, I believe one should go slow to go fast. What do I mean by that phrase? Whether you are in a hyper-competitive marketplace or a slow growth one, there is typically pressure to release a new product, add features to an existing product, or reduce the cost of an existing product. Whatever that pressure may be, I believe one should be methodical with product testing. Part of being methodical means getting feedback from customers before releasing the new product / feature / change into full scale production. Sometimes the downside of getting customer feedback is that one cannot proceed as fast as one would like. Being methodical doesn’t mean people have to drag their feet. But, if a company goes a little slow in the beginning (testing / product development) they can then go very fast (full scale production / roll out) afterwards.
One doesn’t have to look far to find examples of companies that have introduced new products / features to only recall them because they didn’t take the extra step of obtaining customer feedback. For some reason, the example of the NBA introducing a new basketball comes to mind: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/sports/basketball/06ball.html
I know from experience that it is not possible to anticipate or test all the potential issues that a product might incur. Unanticipated product failures occur all of the time, even with the most diligent testing protocols, which might include customer testing. The best companies I have worked with and for have always been good at incorporating customer testing / feedback to make sure a product dud wasn’t released to the field. There will always be pressure to release new products / features as quickly as possible. There is nothing wrong with organizational and competitive pressure to keep people motivated and focused on releasing new products. Just remember, where possible, go slow to go fast and don’t forget to obtain customer feedback.
Feel free to share your thoughts.
Rindge Leaphart
I’m not sure how I feel about this concept. A quote from their website: “Upstart allows you to raise capital in exchange for a small portion of your future income.” May be a very successful business. I need to spend some time contemplating the implications.
Ex-Google exec brings Kickstarter model to careers of new grads – Fortune Tech.
Rindge Leaphart
Brief article about the rise of machines (automation) in China. Some of the suppliers I have dealt with in China could benefit / participate in this trend if they consolidated their operations. I’m not sure how this trend might apply to the apparel industry.
Credit Suisse Chinese Automation Boom – Business Insider.
Rindge Leaphart
The article below is a good synopsis of the book itself. The book is a good read and I recommend it Every so often we need tot take a time out and reflect on our lives – where we have been, where we have gone, and maybe think about self corrections. I wish I had put the time and effort into these issues earlier in my life / career, but I guess it is never too late.
Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?” — HBS Working Knowledge.
Rindge Leaphart
It is always heart warming when I read about young people from difficult backgrounds making progress. The program referenced in the article – Minds Matter – is an organization I am proud to support. A classmate of mine in Los Angeles is one of the founding members. I have met several of the students in the Los Angeles program at various fundraisers and they are impressive young adults.
From Homeless to Harvard – Business Insider.
Rindge Leaphart
A brief but good article. I never thought hardware ever died, though.
In Silicon Valley, Hardware Is Hot Again – Businessweek.
Rindge Leaphart
Just a quick post on manufacturing in the US. Given the political discussions taking place regarding outsourcing, I thought I would post a few links I found to be somewhat interesting if not all-together original.
The first is a link to Quora with responses to the question: Is it possible to make quality products in the US and still compete:
Some of the responses to this question are pretty good and while not in-depth have some interesting links or insights. Clearly manufacturing in the US has declined (outsourcing, China, rise of the service based economy) but my personal opinion is that US manufacturers will always be able to compete in industries or markets that require short lead times and / or some level of customization. I realize that is a broad statement, but US manufacturing companies can definitely compete and win when they compete for products where customers require short lead times. Additionally, there will always be political reasons (Airbus indicating that they will produce planes in the US) and in some cases regulatory that will always require some level of US manufacturing. As many of you know there seems to be a slight movement afoot to bring jobs back to the US from China and other locales due to rising wages, quality, and general supply chain complications. Even with this trend, times have clearly changed and I doubt as a nation that we will have as many US based manufacturing jobs as we once had.
The second link I thought was kind of funny and probably has never been bandied around as an economic indicator, but it does provide a chuckle
http://www.businessinsider.com/there-has-been-an-ominous-collapse-in-vending-machine-revenue-2012-7
I guess the decrease in vending machine revenue can’t really be attributed to people eating healthier. Probably not, as I make a candy run to the vending machine 2-3 times per day.
Rindge Leaphart
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