To invest or not to invest, that is today's question

Indeed the raging debate over the past eight or nine months for nearly every commercial entity across the globe has been centered around where and how deep to make financial cuts in order to survive the current economic downturn. However, one could (and possibly should) argue that perhaps the better questions to be pondering are how and where to make strategic investments.

Having led both private and public companies, trust me when I say that I do fully understand the complexities involved here. A decline in the demand for your products or services will definitively result in a drop in revenues and inevitably bring increasing pressure from the external entities that influence your organization; your investors, your customers, your Board of Directors, etc.. This pressure can be all-encompassing and will almost assuredly involve frequent (i.e. daily) assessments of your personal performance and career standing.

The decision to do anything other than to divest along with 95% of today's business community is both difficult and complex, but I personally believe that the advantages to overcoming this pressure and investing forward far outweigh the burden of the pressures that we are ultimately paid to absorb. Among other things, making strategic investments in tough economic times allows for the following:

1. Your company can acquire relevant resources and materials at market prices that are at unprecedented lows.
2. Your business will be positioned perfectly for the inevitable economic rebound that other businesses will constantly be one step behind.
3. Your organization will have the satisfaction of knowing that it is not contributing to the vicious cycle of divestment that will undoubtedly prolong the current economic downturn.

As for the second guessing that always accompanies a journey down a road less traveled, be sure to document and communicate the logic and projected returns associated with your investment strategy. Keep in mind that most people inherently want to invest in the future but in economic times like these, they will require a little more convincing if they are to break from the general tendency to retract and retrench when the going gets tough.

Related readings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtuous_circle_and_vicious_circle ("vicious circle" definition/reference)

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1311004 (investment in technology saves time, increases productivity)

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/productivity_report.html (corporate investment fuels growth)

Value Proposition - The new language of differentiated selling

It seems everyone these days is talking about their company's "value proposition", but few organizations have truly changed their selling approach or language to reflect a new, differentiated selling model.

It was E.K. Strong in the early 20th century that brought us Feature/Benefit selling. And while Mr. Strong was absolutely correct, features are without context until you equate them to a benefit that's meaningful to a prospective buyer, Feature/Benefit selling doesn't fully represent the convolution of the complex selling environment or product offering.

It is my belief that the Value Proposition sufficiently represents all of the significant selling steps in a relatively simple selling language that differentiates product and company offerings. A Value Proposition is a construct. Its made up of three key elements; feature/function/benefits of the solution, favorable points of differentiation, and lastly the resonating value.

Feature/Function Benefits (FFB)

- These are what we have come to rely on as professional salespeople when asked about our product or service offering. These are the characteristics of the offering, the differentiated features and functions but always couched in a context of benefits relevant to our prospective client.

Favorable Points of Differentiation

- These statements and examples represent the FFBs in the hands of our organization. What do we do DIFFERENTLY with the FFBs versus our competitors? How does our frame of reference and experience related to the deployment or integration of these solutions differ from our competitors?

Resonating Value

- What are the quantifiable benefits our clients have received as a result of the FFBs, in the care and operation of our company. What were the efficiency gains, effectiveness improvements, dollar savings, etc.?

So, the next time someone asks you for your value proposition, remember to ask yourself one important question: "Did I build a construct that differentiated my organization?"

The importance of shared vision

For today's leaders, the past year has presented more challenges than many of them have experienced in their entire careers. These challenges have been relentless for many leaders as they have attempted to navigate their organizations through the intense economic negativity and uncertainty we have all witnessed in this past year. Leaders are being tested as they never have before; some are not able to rise to the new challenges, but some continue to succeed at all levels. What is the difference from one leader to another? Although there are many answers to that question, my belief is that one of the most important elements of sustaining leadership excellence is the ability to create and nurture a shared vision in an organization.

An organization is a collection of individuals. Therefore a significant challenge in leadership, and one of the most critical, is how to create a shared vision amongst all those whose passion, skill and commitment is required for an organization to be successful. This shared vision must ensure the passion and energy of this collective group is directed and sustained towards a common desirable future. As Senge (2006) reminds us in The Fifth Discipline; The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization:

A shared vision is not an idea. It is not even an important idea such as freedom. It is, rather, a force in people’s hearts, a force of impressive power. It may be inspired by an idea, but once it goes further-if it is compelling enough to acquire the support of more than one person-then it is no longer an abstraction. It is palpable. (p. 192).

Creating shared vision is the domain of leadership, not the domain of just the individual leader, but the collective leadership that exists within the organization.

To create the vision of a company, emotionally intelligent leaders need to move beyond a solo scrutiny of an organization’s vision to drawing on the collective wisdom of followers:

Side by side with the rest of the organization, leaders co-create the vision that will serve to rally and energize the group as a whole. Involving people in a deliberate study of themselves and the organization-first by looking at the reality and then at the ideal vision-builds resonance and sustainable change. (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2001, p. 206).

The responsibility of leadership is to foster the ongoing pursuit and continued development of this vision, managing the creative tension that exists between it and current reality. In today's uncertain times there is both challenge and opportunity. The ability to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that arise is, to a great degree, dependent upon how well your organization follows a shared vision that encourages everyone to work in concert to create the powerful force that can drive success.