"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?
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.
During the last four days, we have been working on four new private equity projects. Yes, deals are still being done. These projects range from $7 to $100 million. The industries represented by these projects are information technology, commodities, life science and hospitality.
The point I am trying to make is that despite the gloom and doom in the news, many companies are still moving forward and growing revenue. From emerging markets to a virtual business, we are assisting our clients through the private equity process. Even in the hospitality sector where the demographic trends suggest many negatives, our clients are selecting opportunities to position themselves to benefit down the road.
By understanding that private equity has not gone away, many small and middle market firms have an opportunity to capitalize on the crisis. Our strategic partner, David Castor, spells out some of the nuances in his blog series on private equity.
We enjoy working with our clients on these types of projects. Not only does the revenue increase but jobs are retained. That is really exciting.
Is your company looking for opportunities for growth? Contact us to learn more about finding your equation for growth.
Typically, I use this business blogging forum to discuss corporate and NGO related topics.
I wanted to take a moment to discuss something going right with the U.S. government. With all of the conversation surrounding lost jobs, one governmental agency is doing its part to help. That agency is the FBI.
In two articles this week (CNNMoney.com and Reuters.com), I read about the FBI hiring in excess of 2100 new employees. The hiring initiative includes field agents and professional staff. Both articles state this hiring initiative represents one of the largest in the history of the FBI.
As economic issues, online communities and global demographic trends continue to change, organizations similar to the FBI will be in need on more personnel. Just as the phoenix rises from the ashes, turmoil and crisis can create opportunity.
If you were downsized, have you checked out the FBI as an option? If so, what has been your experience thus far?
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?
It is often said that your reputation is defined by your community and the company you keep.
As
a global business consulting firm, we are fortunate to work with a
phenomenal community consisting our clients and partners. Although the
confidential nature of our relationships prevents me from mentioning
our entire community, I want to mention a few companies that have made
2008 a great year for our team.
Our relationships with our virtual business partners including the entrepreneurial business law firm, Alerding Castor, and the creative business blogging firm, Compendium Blogware, have helped us to expand our platform of services and geographic reach. Most recently, we have expanded our reach to Africa.
We look forward to continuing our relationships in 2009.
What do you want your equation to look like for 2009?
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?
The temperature outside has dropped 30 degrees in the last 24 hours here in Indianapolis. With the frigid temperatures and strong winds, a strategy from staying warm has to be implemented. One of the key strategies is to dress in layers rather than wearing one big coat.
In business, we are all experiencing a change in the weather. If we try to use a one-size-fits-all solution, we may not be able to weather the storm. We prefer to advise our clients on incremental solutions similar to wearing layers of clothing to protect yourself from the cold weather. You've heard about the principles of Kaizen and Six Sigma. For those that don't know, Kaizen focuses on ocuses on continuous improvement. Six Sigma focuses on improving processes and eliminating defects.
As a business consulting firm, we help our clients (including virtual business clients) to implement the components of these principles that work for their given industry. From a law firm to an Indiana life science company, we partner with our clients to develop incremental solutions which can help to provide stability in a time of "quick fixes".
When the winter temperatures hit our area, we prefer to use layers and dress for long-term warmth. What does your winter clothing look like?
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.
"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?
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?
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.
His book and blog help to remind our team to keep it simple. We currently have a couple of clients in the early stages of business formation. I have recommended that they take a look at the book. Although our clients don't have too complex of a model, they have a terrible time describing the model without a glut of PowerPoint slides.
In this fast-paced world of business blogging, online communities and the search for a way to stand out from the crowd, why not try something that has been sitting in your lap and is simple to use.
By the way, we are working on refining our napkin. I will share it with you in a future post. Have you read the book? What's on your napkin?
It seems that every week I hear about one or two new business networking groups. Some are free to attend and others have some level of membership dues.
I don't think you should have to pay a membership fee to help connect to people via an organization. Good "networking" leads to long-term relationships that in turn lead to business solutions (direct or indirect). These relationships are formed via face-to-face meetings and interactions in online communities. For example, you live in the same area as an executive who is blogging. Why not comment on the blog and call the executive to meet for coffee, tea or your favorite beverage. No membership fee involved in this example.
When was the last time you picked up the phone to build your network?
Yesterday, I attended a performance in Chicago by the Born Again Floozies. A good friend of mine is a member of the band and invited me up for the day. My plan was to use the day to recharge and relax. I was able to do both with an added bonus.
The bonus was an introduction to a potential business partner. This potential partner is the president of a global corporate security firm and friend of my friend's husband. We talked about our virtual business model at S4X and the business consulting we provide for our clients. He explained the intricacies of corporate security.
Moving forward, we both believe by working together in some capacity we can provide more comprehensive business solutions for our clients. Of course, the next meeting will be at another Born Again Floozies concert.
Everyday the news seems to be getting worse. High gas prices, high food prices, on and on. But as the say goes, "one person's trash...".
In today's economy, there are still deals being done. Yes, the credit markets are tight. That does not mean the economy is stopping its progress. Are you reviewing your strategic plan? From a business consulting perspective, Our clients are looking to global joint venture opportunities, virtual business models and acquisitions to take advantage of the current market
Are you turning your trash into treasure or will another organization do it for you without you benefiting?
"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.
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.
During the last four days, we have been working on four new private equity projects. Yes, deals are still being done. These projects range from $7 to $100 million. The industries represented by these projects are information technology, commodities, life science and hospitality.
It is often said that your reputation is defined by your community and the company you keep.
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