Acerca do padrão americano

Recordar:

• Acima do padrão americano (Julho de 2013)
• O custo de arriscar (Dezembro de 2009)

E agora números mais recentes em "What Are The Real Small Business Survival Rates?":

"The latest data from the Small Business Administration (SBA) states that nearly 66 percent of small businesses will survive their first two years. That means only about one third of total businesses will actually fail in these first two crucial years, the main cause being a lack of experience. When the data is extrapolated four years out, the number of surviving businesses has been consistently near the 55 to 60 percent mark. This same data shows a five year survival rate that has historically hovered around the 50 percent mark, a far cry from the 80 to 90 percent failure rate so commonly claimed.
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Rather than 9 out of 10 businesses failing, as is commonly stated, the data shows us that approximately 50 percent will actually survive through their first five years. But even this information is open to interpretation, depending on what you define as a “failure.” As anybody who investigates this information further can see, there's a large difference between the approximately 33 percent of businesses that failed financially (or were shut down through legal action) and the nearly 17 percent those that were closed voluntarily. The SBA data combines these statistics, misleading one into believing that the failure rates are actually much higher than they are."

Tecto de vidro? Uma hipótese de explicação (parte III)

Parte I e parte II.
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A mesma fonte da parte I, "Six Disciplines for Excellence" de Gary Harpst, também apresenta um outro número interessante:

"Remember that 96% of all business start-ups in the US fail within 10 years, but the failure rate of franchises is less than one third of the rate of regular businesses.Why is this so?
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A significant part of franchises' greater general success is because of alignment. The best franchises have thought through very carefully who their target customer is and what the promise is that they want to make to that customer. And they've thought through all the internal systems and processes to deliver on that promise in the most efficient and effective way. Franchises have learned to invest in developing and maintaining alignment of resources to mission."

A incapacidade de crescer as vendas, para lá de um número que se comporta como um tecto de vidro, julgo que reside nesta falta de estratégia, falta de escolha dos clientes-alvo e falta de alinhamento dos recursos.
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Quando o empresário de uma PME finaliza um ano propondo a ultrapassagem da tal barreira, do tal tecto de vidro, quase sempre faz o que Frank Cespedes resume com graça em "Aligning Strategy and Sales" com o grito de encorajamento:

- Ide e Multiplicai-vos!!!

Uma espécie de: vão para a rua e ganhem clientes. Clientes são clientes, são pessoas ou empresas que pagam pelo nosso produto ou serviço. Não interessa quem eles são desde que tenham dinheiro e paguem.
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O que é que Skinner tentou dizer-nos naquele artigo, "The Focused factory", de Maio de 1974?

""For example, if the company is currently involved in five different products, technologies, markets, or volumes, does it need five plants, five sets of equipment, five processes, five technologies, and five organizational structures? The answer is probably yes." [Moi ici: Convém ler o resto, para perceber o conceito pwp]

O que aprendi com a Electrolux em Novembro de 2006?
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O que aprendi com Terry HilL naquele Verão de 2008?

"the most important orders are the ones to which a company says 'no'."

Claro que as "Valbonas" que não pensam chegam à situação espelhada pelas bolas vermelhas:

A figura coloca as bolas vermelhas, que representam opções, escolhas conscientes ou não que uma empresa faz, quase sempre no meio onde não há compromisso forte. Aquele meio fez-me recordar um tweet interessante de ontem:

It's the middle that gets squeezed. To disrupt make the incumbent the middle. Come high or come low
— Rags Srinivasan (@rags) February 15, 2015

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Até que ponto aquele tecto de vidro intransponível deriva da falta de uma estratégia que alinha os recursos no serviço dos clientes-alvo?
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Oh, wait... e quantas PME definem quem são os seus clientes-alvo?
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Quantas PME estão disponíveis para rejeitar clientes que não se enquadram no perfil dos clientes-alvo?
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Continua.

Comparar as implicações de diferentes propostas de valor (parte II)

Neste postal de ontem, acabámos com a referência à importância do franchising.

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A imagem é preciosa:

"We can learn much about achieving excellence - not only for our customers, but for ourselves - by taking a lesson from franchises. The franchising concept has been wildly successful over the past 40 years.

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The appeal of a franchise is rooted in two promises. First, there's a very clear promise to the customer that's reflected in the brand.

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Second, there's a promise to the business owner (franchisee) of a well-considered and proven business model that delivers on the customer promise. The result is two-fold. It delivers something of excellence to the customer ...

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It also delivers something of excellence to the business owner - a predictable return on investment, established business procedures, employee training, staffing plans, marketing strategies and interested customers.

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The point isn't that all businesses should be franchised; the point is that all businesses would benefit from taking the same holistic approach to excellence that franchises take. Franchised businesses recognize that there are two products - the product or service which the customer buys, and the business which the investor buys."

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Trecho retirado de "Six Disciplines for Excellence" de Gary Harpst.

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Por vezes sinto que às empresas falta alguma capacidade de distanciamento e reflexão sobre si próprias e sobre o seu posicionamento, para começarem a pensar a nível de modelo para o negócio.Sem um modelo, nunca teremos uma abordagem coerente, que possa ser transmitida e explicada.