"Companies don’t compete against other companies. Networks compete against networks." - Competing in a Flat World
I'm often asked, "what is a network orchestrator?". It is not a concept that I created from thin air. As the network orchestrator of a global business solutions firm, one of my primary goals is to help our clients understand that network orchestration goes beyond connecting people at a business function.
One of the best explanations of a network orchestration is presented by Dr. Victor K. Fung, Dr. William K. Fung and Yoram (Jerry) Wind in their book, Competing in a Flat World. In the book, they examine the role of the network orchestrator related to focus, management and value creation. The network orchestrator focuses on the following in comparison to traditional methods:
1. The complete network in the firm vs. the firm. 2. Empowerment of the components of the network vs. rigid controls. 3. Creating value through integration vs. the command and control method.
At S4X, we do not own manufacturing plants. We do not own distribution centers. We are not investment bankers. We are not a law firm. Although we have a location in Indiana, we are not an Indiana Life Science company.
We create solutions for our clients utilizing a global virtual business network. We orchestrate the formation or a specific network for a given client situation. The result is a flexible solution which can be short-term or long-term. All the components of the solution work to create a true client centric solution because we focus on the client situation versus the individual needs of the components.
Think of S4X as the guest conductor for an all-star jazz band at an international jazz festival. We work to bring the various talented musicians to create a beautiful melody for the audience.
To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question for business leaders.
I've heard some people say that Twitter is a waste of time. On the other side of the table, the opinion is vastly different. I will not go into the details of using Twitter as a strategy for online social networking to create business solutions. In my opinion, it is a simple decision. If you want to be a part of the conversation about your company or organizaiton, you should be using Twitter.
As the leader of a global business services firm, I tweet for a couple of reasons. First, I want to share my thoughts on topics related to our clients. As a result, I receive feedback that could be helpful to our clients. Second, I follow people who are actively involved in running businesses. Yes, you can learn from your peers. Overall, Twitter is a useful tool to achieve our goals at S4X. By the way, you can follow us at S4X on Twitter.
Are you using Twitter? How has is impacted your organization?
"...if you get the culture right, then most of the other stuff follows." - Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com CEO
I just finished reading The Zappos Way of Managing on Inc.com. Most of the article talked about the culture of Zappos. What struck me was the focus on happiness by Tony Hsieh. Too often, happiness is given lip service with regard to business. I agree with Tony (and not just because we share a similar name) with regard to happiness.
If you are not happy in your current position, will you be productive in your role? From an ownership and management level, if your staff is not happy, how will that impact customer service and your bottom line? It may not be high on your priority list. Business solutions built on a culture of happiness will ultimately make a positive impact on your company.
Great example of happiness and business is Action Wipes and Martha Van Inwegen. Recently, she had an issue with the production of a new line of products. Due to Martha's culture of happiness, she addressed the problem. The solution combined with business social networking has resulted in lemonade for the troops (see "Let's Make Lemonade" post).
Happiness is a choice for your business. Are you going to make it?
Much has been made about smart grids, energy independence, clean energy, etc. Whether you like it or not, I think we will have a clean energy infrastructure in place in the United States. Even today, the National Clean Energy Project forum is being held in Washington, DC. This forum is a follow-up to the National Clean Energy Summit.
From a corporate development standpoint, this will present an opportunity for those companies willing to get connected to the grid. By "grid", I'm talking about the technologies, organizations and funding sources that will help to change the energy infrastructure paradigm.
We are currently working on business development opportunities for a client in the energy management sector. Their technology connects the suppliers, consumers and the energy markets. This is one example a business opportunity.
Regarding funding, several top VC firms are looking to invest in clean energy including Kleiner Perkins (KPCB GreenTech Team). Multiple funding sources may add in business formation efforts.
As a business consulting firm and network orchestration firm, we are fortunate to be on the front line of the clean energy movement. Yes, clean energy is good for the environment but it can also be good for the growth of your business. I think the rhetoric is about to take a back seat to action by mutliple sectors. Will your company be connected to the grid..the action?
I think the mega-mergers and acquisitions that have occurred over that last few months may be creating an opportunity for corporations that fall in the SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) and/or virtual business category.
For example, Pfizer's acquisition Wyeth has created a global pharmaceutical giant. If you are trying to increase profit and a pipeline of business, this looks like a good deal on the surface. However, a couple of major issues include culture integration and decision-making hierarchy.
In the case of SMEs, the strategic implementation process can proceed much faster. By utilizing virtual network partners and by utilizing network orchestration, SMEs may be able to out maneuver mega-corporations.
Sometimes it's better to be the speedboat instead of the Titanic. In today's economy, I think the SMEs need to leverage the power of their nimble networks.
“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.” - William James
While your strategic plan implementation is important, your underlying attitude is the rate-limiting step for positive results.
These days, many of the conversations at business networking functions and across the business social networking sites convey an attitude of scarcity and fear. I think it should be just the opposite.
If your firm is still doing business and you have time to fear, you have time to focus on creating abundance. Instead of fearing a loss of clients, we have been focusing on increasing the depth of relationships with our current clients. After all, business is about relationships on some level.
By focusing on your current clients and how you can help them grow their business, your firm may also benefit.
Attitude is the key. How are you spending your time?
Currently, we are working on the completion of our planning session for 2009. I often remind our clients the lessons that can be learned from your peers in other industries. This especially can be true with regard to strategic planning.
1) a strategy for greatness 2) team alignment 3) a pragmatic
roadmap of how we are going to achieve our plans within a reasonable
budget.
As a virtual business, we have several partners with which we communicate to provide services for our clients. In addition to the roadmap, we focus heavily on team alignment. Our structure dictates that all the components of our team have a focus aligned with our overall strategy.
Whether the client equation involves emerging markets or social networking, the team has to provide solutions that are aligned from the front-end planning.
I look forward to completing our process and sharing our experiences in 2009.
During your planning sessions, what are your areas of focus?
This week, I continued my annual ritual of reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. For the past 4 years, I have taken the time at the beginning of each to read the book to remind myself about the lessons that can be learned from this book. The book is focused on the following personal agreements made by an individual:
1. Be Impeccable With Your Word 2. Don't Take Anything Personally 3. Don't Make Assumptions 4. Always Do Your Best
I understand that life and business can be complicated. With that being said, I think the four agreements in this book can be useful for personal and professional reasons. From a business perspective, the agreements can help to create a sustainable culture for your company.
I mention culture for a company because the culture is often overlooked during strategic planning sessions. Additionally, culture will trump strategic implementation every day of the week.
Whether you are a business development professional or a social entrepreneur these agreements can assist you.
Do you have an annual activity to begin your year?
The use of the correct words to convey your company's message is paramount. This is true whether you are crafting a blog post for online social networking or attending a meeting for one of your business networking groups.
We have started to use a new tool (thanks to my attorney - Dave Castor) to assist our clients with crafting a consistent message. Along with all the other tools on the market, we have found Wordle to be a simple tool for quick check up. Of course, we also utilize the Wordle program. In a world or exponential amounts of information, a consistent message is key. The image above is the most recent snapshot of our blog. We are happy to see that our focus areas are represented including clients, business consulting and international/global.
Have you used Wordle in the past? If not, you may be surprised by the results. What are you really saying to your clients and partners?
Shortly after I posted the post about our new division, I received an email from Twitter notifying me that "PlayPumps Intl (playpumps)" was now following me. I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. PlayPumps International is combining one of the joy's of being a child with the benefits of physics and good marketing.
According to their website, PlayPumps International’s mission is help improve the lives of children
and their families by providing easy access to clean drinking water,
enhancing public health, and offering play equipment to millions across
Africa.
This organization combines global education and business to solve one of the most serious global issues (not to discount the capital market issue). If you still don't think that online social networking can benefit your organization (for-profit or NGO), you are missing the proverbial boat.
Lately, I have noticed the line between business and social becoming more blurred. In the past, business networking groups were the pure-play. Now, I am observing and participating in more business social networking events. Is this the result of the realization of the importance of solid well-rounded relationships?
I received an email yesterday from a client. The first half of the email was an update on a project. The second half was an invite to my client’s housewarming party. I will definitely be attending.
Dave Castor at Alerding Castor LLP and I met under social circumstances. Since that time, we have forged a strong friendship. Our friendship has enhanced our business relationship on multiple levels.
Of course, you will not be able to close friends with all of your clients. But if there is a choice, I will always choose to do business with people I know on a personal level.
"With the world in turmoil and doubt, the American people, faithful to the values that have always defined America's identity, have expressed with force their faith in progress and the future. At a time when we must face huge challenges together, your election has raised enormous hope in France, in Europe and beyond." - Nicolas Sarkozy, French President (Reuters)
As President-Elect, Barack Obama will become the first African-American President of the United States. With that being said, the focus should not be on his ethnicity. The focus should be on the goals of the campaign and how those goals will shape the future of the United States and with President-Elect Obama's global peers, our world.
The strategic implementation of President Elect Obama's campaign plan was the key to his campaign victory. His campaign stayed focused and did not stray when competitors tried to steer the focus away from the real issues. They utilized online social networking, virtual teams and other online communities to enable people from different ethnicties, religious beliefs and social-economic backgrounds to collaborate for a common cause.
In politics as in business, the great leaders surround themselves with solid advisors. As a leader, President-Elect Obama shifted paradigms by working with and being supported by Republicans including Senator Richard Lugar and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The future holds many unknowns for the United States. If President-Elect Barack Obama and his team operate during his term as they during his campaign, the United States will move in a positive direction. Additionally, we must remember that the actions of thousands of people contributed to the success of his campaign. Change will not happen just because Barack Obama is the President-Elect. Every American must continue to take action to make our country a better place.
What are you doing to impact your present and our future?
Making a virtual company work takes careful planning. The major components are relatively simple. Those being attorneys, accountants, C-Level executives and understanding your product.
What if you are an Indiana life science company looking to working with a South Africa life science company? Not only due you have cultural issues, you will also have different regulatory issues to manage. Additionally, how will you ensure the communications are seamless and real-time?
With regard to the communications, we are working with a client to utilize the online social networking infrastructure in a business social networking environment. The goal is to create a collaborative culture and decrease communication cost.
For the regulatory component, our client and partner, Safis Solutions provides excellent advice for ensuring compliance. Gretchen Bowker, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Services has a great article relating to virtual companies in the October 2008 Safis Solutions Newsletter.
How do you manage the components of your virtual business?
Yesterday, I ran a 10-mile training run. At the beginning of the run, I began to think about the similarities between a running partner and partnerships in business.
Business partnerships can come in the form of joint ventures, distribution deals, co-founders and even virtual business partners. Running partners occur in several forms including a daily running partner, group running and running against/with virtual partners (see Nike+ training system).
My first running partner helped me train for the 2005 Chicago Marathon. He was faster than me but we both had one common goal - finish the 2005 Chicago Marathon. As we trained together, I became a faster runner because of him. He became a more patient runner because of me. As a result, we both finished the race and accomplished our goals. This scenario is similar to the business development efforts of a for-profit partnership or that of a social entrepreneur partnership between two NGOs. Together both entities have a common goal. Along the way, both sides learn and grow from each other while achieving their respective individual goals.
What lessons have you learned from the miles you've run with your running partners?
Last night, I spent four hours in a strategic planning session for a non-profit board on which I am chairperson. During the meeting, I was reminded about a few business benefits of participating on a non-profit board. Of course the opportunity to impact the people in my community is never lost on me. From a business perspective, you can learn about best practices for business networking and business development. Additionally, you can learn what not to do in a board meeting for your business.
For the first two items, the non-profit world must constantly get out their message and cultivate donors and volunteers. This is no different than cultivating clients both internal and external.
As for learning what not to do, the lessons can be endless. There are several lessons but two that I think are most important are getting materials out early and board members reviewing the materials. This can ensure a productive and action-driven meeting. One of the best blogs I have read about this area is the Market Mine blog by Penny Herscher, President CEO of First Rain.
A good example of an organization that crosses the line between non-profit and for-profit is the social entrepreneur-driven organization. Have you reached out to one? You may learn something new.
At the end of last week, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting for the Marriott Diversity Ownership Initiative. This meeting introduced me to new terms related to the hospitality industry such as RevPar.
My attendance was due to a client/partner project. This project involves the creation of a fund to acquire limited-service hotels in the Midwest and Southeast portions of the United States. We will then utilize various partnerships to execute acquisitions.
What intrigued me was the level of collaboration by the participants and organizations such asNABHOOD - The National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers, Inc. The environment reminded me of the open source world of the information technology industry. We were sharing knowledge and creating virtual business partnerships through casual business networking. Additonally, I was pleased with the program and how it also focused on our domestic emerging markets as opporunities to create jobs.
In future posts, I will let you know how this project plays out. In the meantime, have you thought about a best practice from another industry that can be utilized in your business?
Much as been said about the economy and its issues. The major news outlets provide the high-level interviews and articles. I read those articles but rely on something more sensible - my peers, colleagues and close friends. How do we communicate? Online social networking sites and text messages.
I prefer Twitter and Facebook. For instance, I recently received an article about Citigroup divesting one of its divisions in India. The acquirer was Tata. The twist of the deal was a 9.5-year outsourcing contract for Tata from Citigroup. Definitely, a great win for Tata.
Via our online social networking, we have advised our clients and have gained several business formation projects in the last two weeks.
Have you learned to leverage the available technology at your fingertips?
With all the talk about economic crisis, one would think that the world is coming to an end. I tend to be a “glass is half full…let’s find more to put in it” kind of person. Just because the markets are in turmoil doesn’t mean that deals are not being done and good products (not just ideas) are being funded.
Most of those deals are happening below the radar. In my opinion, this happens due to a combination of creative minds, economic issues and atypical business networking groups.
The first two drive the product development. I use “atypical” for the third because most business networking groups are very open. Business development and networking activities with a group that is closed can yield excellent results. This group should include people that can make the deals happen without spilling the beans too soon.
A great example is Solyndra. If you haven’t heard about them, you will very soon. They are a startup that has raised $600 million. Check out this post about Solyndra on the Green Wombat blog by Todd Woody. They stayed below the radar and focused on their product and next thing you know…$600 million. This is happening in the current economic crisis.
Are you focused on what can’t happen or what is happening and could happen?
During a recent lunch meeting, I met with a couple of partners in private banking. Our conversation centered on helping their clients beyond the private banking services. I mentioned executive office suites. To my surprise they did not know about the concept and business model. I though I would share a little of the information I shared with my partners.
Occupancy costs are an important factor when determining the location of your business. Executive office suites offer a solid alternative to leasing space in a typical office building. In this model, a company leases on a short-term basis (typically 6-12 months) an office space which includes shared administrative services, conference and break rooms and additional services depending on the situation. An example of a executive office suite company is Regus.
We recommend executive office suites to our virtual business, emerging markets and workingarket clients. For those in the start-up or business formation phase, the executive office or virtual office is a good way to establish a business presence.
For our part, we are working with the folks at Regus to establish our offices in South Africa and Dubai. I'll let you know how the process works out for us.
Do you really need all the office space you are leasing? You might want to check again.
Over the past few weeks, my friend Dave Castor of Alerding & Castor and I have discussed the virtues of strategic alliances. In my opinion, one of the major reasons for success or failure is lack of real communication.
An good example is the BioCrossroadsLINX collaboration between Indiana and San Diego. Spearheaded by BioCrossroads, this project is focused on the Indiana Life Sciences industry. The collaboration allows for both sides to benefit while maintaining there strategic advantages. Through multiple meetings and open dialogue on the proper strategic implementation, this alliance works.
Open communication is only one part of the deal. I watched this quick video from the folks at The Deal.com this morning that helps with the other key business issues.
"Companies don’t compete against other companies. Networks compete against networks." - Competing in a Flat World
To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question for business leaders.
"...if you get the culture right, then most of the other stuff follows." 
Much has been made about smart grids, energy independence, clean energy, etc. Whether you like it or not, I think we will have a clean energy infrastructure in place in the United States. Even today, the 
I think the mega-mergers and acquisitions that have occurred over that last few months may be creating an opportunity for corporations that fall in the SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) and/or virtual business category.
“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.” - William James
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