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Nebraska … Lessons from fly over country

Invaluable lessons learned from educators in the heartland

Image Credit: Wikipedia

When I tell people that I was born and raised in Nebraska, I expect the usual smirks. Nebraska definitely is in the middle of "Flyover Country", that place where people commuting from the coasts rarely stop. In case you missed it, a native Nebraskan, Alexander Payne, made a movie simply titled "Nebraska", which is nominated for an Academy award. Let's just say that the movie doesn't paint the most flattering image of life on the plains. Recently, I had one of those eye opening experiences in Nebraska that contradicts all of the stereotypes. It is testimony to those forgotten heroes simply called "teachers" and "parents", who somehow can make miracles happen anywhere. This is a story of technology in "the middle of nowhere".

“Bad artists copy, good artists steal” ~ Pablo Picasso

Leverage others experience instead of wasting time on pure invention

Image: Stock.xchng

From the first days of school, we are taught that "copying others is bad". In the process of teaching students to think creatively, we create a lifetime baggage of fear that we'll be caught plagiarizing someone. The reality of today's fast paced world is that we as individuals, and as companies, can't create enough original concepts fast enough. If we struggle to constantly find the ultimate breakthrough, competitors focused on executing new wrinkles to proven processes win the race. It is always easier to edit than to create. We would do well to follow the advice of Picasso, shed the guilt of copying, and leverage the experience of others.

7 Ways to Wake the Dead and Inspire Action

How to use PowerPoint without boring people 

If you are in business, most of you probably put together “decks of slides”.  Outside of business, many of us get called upon as leaders to orchestrate meetings.  Even if you have a slick deck with cool graphics doesn’t mean you won’t bore your group.  I often get asked how we put together decks that engage workshop attendees.  I had an opportunity to provide our 7 tips in a recent guest blog for “SmartBlog on Leadership”.

Retail best practices – from the Girl Scouts?

Cutting edge tech for a lean, mean selling machine

The Girl Scouts is a nonprofit organization focused on developing life skills of girls.  Their biggest fundraiser is their annual cookie sale, where members historically sold cookies door to door.  Even in the face of Walmart selling “knockoff” cookie clones, the Girl Scouts sell over 200 million boxes in about 10 weeks.  Retailers would do well to study how Girls Scouts today have pulled out all the stops in using social media, apps, mobility, advance marketing and logistics.

5 Insights - Joint Scorecards to Improve Profit

Missing KPIs mean lost opportunities for both partners

Image: Stuart Miles; Freedigitalphotos.net

Earlier this year IMS had an opportunity to complete a review of top US retailer scorecards.  This past week at the VCF Fall Conference there was a unique opportunity to participate in simultaneous dialog with retailers and vendors on metrics and scorecards.  The clear take away is that scorecards are far from balanced.  But, the real gain for both partners will come from joint scorecards focused on profitable life cycle management. 

 

#1 Question: What is Apple’s Secret Sauce?

Inquiring minds want to know how Apple stores do it?

One of the most popular sections in IMS Retail University is a review of retail channels and what it takes to differentiate in order to survive.  After our most recent Retail U workshop the #1 question was what makes Apple so good?  How do Apple stores manage to sell more $ per sq. ft. than a Tiffany’s jewelry store?  The answers lie in the old maxim that “retail is detail” … and no one is executing better right now than Apple.

Harris Teeter … A case study in “retail is detail”

Who is Harris Teeter and how do they know so much? 

In retail, it is easy to get “stuck in the ruts”.  And, when looking for state of the art, it’s all too easy to focus on the “big names” like Amazon, Best Buy or Walmart.  One of our core tenants in IMS Retail University workshops is that you have to step outside of your channel and comfort zone to find best practices.  Harris Teeter is a classic case example of why focusing detail and measurement are retail critical success factors.

When to swallow your daily frog …

If you want to be more productive – swallow frog early 

Sometimes you read a headline that just smacks you between the eyes with a 2x4.  How can you ignore a headline about swallowing a frog daily and not read on?  If you like to be “gobsmacked” … this one is for you.  We all have “them”.  Your frog “ribits” until satisfied.  If you want to be more productive, read on to find out how to take care of your croaking frogs and increase your productivity.

Exceptional Results = Cut the Crap & Data Smog

Recent musings and insights from the VCF Conference

I have written previously about how “smart inventory” requires vendor-retailer partnerships: Sign of the retail times: “Smart Inventory”.  In that post I referenced VCF, an organization focused on best practice solutions for supplier-retailer collaboration.  I recently was invited by the Founder of VCF, Kim Zablocky, to speak at the November Conference.  I had an opportunity to share our IMS work and to meet with attendees to candidly discuss what works, what doesn’t and why.

How to use “bubble” analytics to engage Execs

Using simple tools to cut through crap and data smog

Today’s problem is not lack of data … we are literally drowning in it.  With so much “data smog” it is difficult to cut through the crap and analyze critical success factors.  Senior managers are not predisposed to spending more time on yet more stats.  However, there are some simple analytic tools at your fingertips that don’t require a PhD in statistics.