“Rediscovering the Fundamentals of Business”
April 15, 2008: Many businesses find themselves sharpening their pencils and trying to figure out how to keep things going. Al Katz visited our club to offer us advice and to remind us all of the basics of business. Katz, a native of Greenville, SC, graduated with honors from The Citadel and earned his MBA from Georgia Tech. He began his career at a publicly held retail specialty organization eventually becoming President and COO. Since then, he has been serving as a “Personal and Business Coach” working with organizations as founder and Managing Partner of The Next Level, LLC.
Katz began his presentation talking about Tiger Woods. Woods is the best golf player in the world. Yet, he always talks about working on his golf fundamentals. He’s achieved massive success, but continues to work on the basics. It’s a great metaphor for business, no matter how much success you achieve, in order to continue being successful, you must always work on the fundamentals. Katz introduced “The Process” which can be easily implemented into any business.
First, “The Life Cycle”. There is nothing that doesn’t have a life cycle. What’s most important about staying in business for the long term is recognizing this and incorporating innovation and change when needed. Second, “Issues”. More than half the issues that companies deal with are not business issues, they are people issues. Ninety percent of people issues are attributed to communication issues. Make sure your message is being communicated effectively. Third, “Putting Out the Fires”. Most businesses spend the majority of their time being reactive rather than proactive. More communication and future planning equals less fires. Fourth, “The Process”. Know your employees and what their goals are. If someone is professionally challenged and feels valued, they will work hard. Fifth, “The Heart of the Matter”. Spend time to create an overall plan and specifically define expectations and make people accountable. Finally, “Managing, Measuring and Monitoring”. Meet often. Daily huddles, weekly tactical meetings, monthly strategic meetings and yearly off-site strategic meetings. Keep the lines of communication open. For more information, go to Katz’s website, www.yournextlevel.net.
Submitted by Darby Hand, Key Way Committee