ETD: 849 SWOT; New Year's Resolutions; Setting up a blog
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Thu Jan 6 12:57:36 GMT 2005
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0849 January 6, 2005
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] SWOT
[3] New Year's Resolutions
[4] Setting up a blog
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
Thanks for the kudos on the New Year's resolutions. We have some more
information today on that topic.
List member Phil Matthews has a great image of SWOT vs SWAT. That vision
is now locked in my head forever. ;-)
Also, we had some queries on blogging and how to do it. If you have never
tried blogging, you should. It can be fun and informative. Be careful, in
that word travels fast. So, if you did a lousy job servicing that one
customer, you can get killed. OTOH, if you service accounts well, and do a
great job, you will get more business. It's word-of-mouth online.
List member Jean Pierre Jost (who is not French, but who's dad was from
Alsace but lived all his life in Chile) was wondering if anybody knew the
origin of the greeting NOUVELLE ANNÉE HEUREUSE DEDANS, which literally
translates to New Happy Year Inside. Is it French, Canadian or from
Alsace, etc. Since we have those wonderful greetings at E-Tailer's
Digest, he was hoping one of our gurus knew the answer.
Tell us about your business, which will remain for posterity at
our "Members: Who Are You?" site. This is a courtesy to our members who
contribute to our forum, and not merely a way to advertise for free.
Anything to do with the retail world, i.e., supplier, retailer, consulting,
etc. http://etailersdigest.com/resources/members/index.htm And we have a
form there for you to tell us about you. As I said when I first proposed
this idea, we have "known" each other for a long time, yet we often don't
know anything about each other. So, tell us who you are and what you do.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] SWOT
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I envision SWOT as a team of Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T) people
swarming in on my business, in full uniform, with guns drawn ready to take
charge.
What exactly is a SWOT analysis and why does a company need it?
Phil Mathews
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Great image Phil! I have to do a flyer with that image.
The main difference between SWAT and SWOT is the tools (and uniforms) they
use. SWAT uses guns and armor; SWOT uses expertise.
SWOT is an analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses, which are internal issues
you can control, and Opportunities and Threats, which are external issues
over which you have no control. SWOT is part of Strategic Planning.
The best way to conduct a SWOT exercise is in a series of workshops,
preferably offsite at a retreat, with all key parties involved. The
workshop should be a brainstorming session with everybody
participating. Focus on realistic SWOT issues that affect your
organization, not the latest buzzwords in the industry. Then analyze those
issues and narrow them down to fit your organization.
A workshop needs a facilitator, boards for recording SWOT issues, and
attendees of equal stature, i.e., all line managers together; all c-level
officers together; etc. The boards should be on brown paper, which can be
hung around the room using masking tape. This gives members a true clear
picture of your organization. Boards should have sections that contain:
A. Vision or Goals and Objectives. This should be a top-down approach,
i.e., the CEO identifies three goals for the organization. Each business
unit manager then identifies his/her three goals which must complement the
CEO’s goals.
B. Corporate Values. Identify the values and ethics that your organization
honors.
C. SWOT (Strengths; Weaknesses; Opportunities; Threats) issues – internal
and external factors that affect your organization.
D. Key Strategies. What strategies will you consider to accomplish your goals?
E. Strategic Action Programs. Develop action plans to be assigned to the
responsible parties, e.g., CEO – develop a corporate business plan; CFO –
develop a detailed financial plan; COO – identify resources needs to
execute the plans; Board of Directors – bring on more qualified BOD members
to advise management; etc.
The best way to conduct such a workshop is to have each of the major
categories on a separate board, and the SWOT to be separated into four
boards – one each for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Workshops like this should take 1-2 days for each group. Keep the
discussions going and encourage interaction and a wealth of input. The
strategic plan should not take longer than two or three months to
complete. Otherwise you lose momentum, and the planning effort will fail.
Each meeting should be scheduled at most two to three weeks apart when
planning. It's too easy to lose momentum otherwise. Attendance must be
mandated from the top down.
I will do a special report in the next week or so on SWOT and Strategic
Planning.
George
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[3] New Year's Resolutions
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Congratulations on keeping me constantly interested, involved and educated
even after all these hundreds of Digests.
Your 10 Resolutions were as terrific as anything you have done.
I am sending them to a new school principal that could use the direction
and inspiration.
Happy Healthy New Year and Thanks.
Joe Dweck
President
Success Meds
+++ Next Post +++
Excellent resolutions! They actually work for business and personal.
Your points 9 and 10 are quite good. "The Power of Positive Thinking" is
also one of my favorite books.
With point 10, I am tired of hearing the statements "I am trying" or "I'm
doing my best." In schools they don't want to hurt kids feelings, so they
don't keep score in games. Keeping score is part of life. It's a way we
measure results in life. As a result, the new crop of graduates coming
into the work force are not motivated and don't seem to be concerned with
their careers.
I'm not convinced this well help our country in the coming years.
Art Wolkner
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
I'm torn with this somewhat lack of interest in careers. On one hand, I
say it's atrocious that somebody doesn't put their job above everything
else. My grandfather, father and I did it! Then again, I envy those
folks who have a balance in life and can spend time with their families,
and not work all the time.
I do agree with you on the "I'm doing my best" statement. Sometimes your
best is just not good enough, and you have to acknowledge that. The Peter
Principle is something we should all be aware of - somebody reaches his
level of incompetency. The problem is people don't realize they have
reached that level.
With businesses, there are four stages to growth, each with different
challenges to deal with. The problem is most owners/managers don't know
they have reached another level of growth, and don't plan. The levels are
usually associated with sales volumes.
And thank you Joe Dweck for your comments. I'm glad I am still able to
educate an experience business man like you.
George
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[4] Setting up a blog
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Since we touched on blogging in last issue, some of you asked for more
information. It's very easy, and a great way to get the word out about
you, your company and your services. I started with blogs in 2000 when we
were in Tortola. We needed an easy way to link our offices and affiliates
and to drive home a vision. So we set up private blogs for use by our
global team. It was fun, and informative. Some staff recorded personal
stuff (i.e., I went to the full moon party at the Bamba Shack last night)
and others recorded strategy and policy.
It's very easy to set up a blog using Blogger.com. It should take less
than 10 minutes
1. Go to the Blogger site at http://www.blogger.com/
2. Click on the 'sign-up now' link or 'start now' button. You will be
directed to the registration page, where there will be three easy steps:
a. Create a Blog
b. Name your blog
c. Choose a template.
3. When you get to the 'Create a Blogger Account' page, you will be asked
for a Username*, your first and last name, your email address
('you at yourdomain.com'), and a password. You have to type your password
twice for security and confirmation purposes. Once you've read the Terms
and Conditions of Blogger, you can check the box that indicates your
acceptance. As soon as you've completed this process, click on the 'Sign
Up' button.
4. You will be taken to the 'Create a New Blog' page where you must
provide a title and description for your new blog. You will be able to
change this later. You will also have to decide whether you want your blog
to be private (only you can give away the URL address of your blog) or
public (Blogger can list you in their 'recently updated' list and other
promotions).
5. You are then given a choice whether to host your blog at BlogSpot,
Blogger.com's free, ad-supported hosting service or to use your own server
via FTP (File Transfer Protocol). If you are not sure what to do and/or if
you do not have your own web host/server, it is suggested that you choose
the first option.
6. Once the configuration of your blog is complete, you can then choose a
template for your blog. Chose any of the templates, which can be changed
later or even design your own.
7. When your blog is created, you will be taken to the administration page
of your blog where you can create your very first post.
George
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