I take too much for granted when I would benefit from being absolutely fascinated by things that we have been used to seeing – like commercicals. Well here is one that is totally fascinating when you read the story behind it. First the background then the commercial:
Amazing Honda Commercial:
There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in these images. Everything that you see happened in real time exactly as you see it.The recording required 606 takes and in the first 605 takes there always was something, usually of minor importance, that didn’t work. It was necessary for the recording team to install the set-up time after time, and it took several weeks working day and night to achieve this effect.The recording cost 6 million dollars, and it took 3 months to finish, including the engineering design of the sequence. The duration of the video is only 2 minutes, but every time that Honda shows the commercial on British television, they make enough money to support any of us for the rest of our lives.However, this commercial has turned out to be the most displayed in the history of the Internet. Honda execs think it will pay for itself simply because of the free showings (Honda is not paying one cent for you to see it.)When Honda senior execs viewed it, they immediately approved it without hesitation-including costs. There are only six Honda Accords built by hand in the whole world, and to the horror of Honda engineers, the recording team disassembled two of them for the recording.
Everything you see in the sequence (besides the walls, floor, ramp and untouched Honda Accord) is part of those two automobiles. The voice is that of Garrison Keller. The commercial was so well received by Honda execs when they saw it, that their first comment was how amazing the computer graphics were. They almost fell out of their chairs when told that the recording was real without any graphics manipulation.
The Wall Street Journal has been providing good coverage of the efforts of Wal Mart to upgrade the content and display of their merchandise in an effort to appeal to the more affluent population. Recently there was a report that Wal Mart’s effort to improve fashion apparel merchandising is not working so well.
Does this mean the change is not good? Upon closer examination the report says, merchandise displays are not managed well, dressing rooms are inadequate and sales staff are usually not experienced with fashion apparel. On top of that, advertising support is viewed as being weak.
Seems like most of these issues could be resolved. However, I am concerned about one of them and that is the hiring and the training of sales staff to support the affluent customer. Seems like this is contrary to the entire Wal Mart culture.
When a business is not achieving it’s potential, there always is an issue with leadership. This does not mean when there is a weakness, the person needs to be replaced. Most often, following a disciplined management system will result in all areas of the company doing their part to help the business achieve performance goals. Occasionally, someone is locked into the “way we used to do it” and will need to move on. However that is the exception rather that the rule.
People love knowing what is expected of them expecially when progress is objectively reviewed frequently. Frequently usually means weekly.
Recent news regarding the problems at the board level of Hewlitt Packard confirms legislation does not prevent less than optimum decisions. The governance rules of Sarbanes-Oxley and the SEC for public companies are very clear. These rules also offer guidance on managing private companies.
Very experienced business people and corporate lawyers at Hewlitt Packard proceeded to authorize activities that are at best questionable. They know better. In my experience, external lawyers and auditors complete due dilligence on compliance with SEC and Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. I am wondering why this process did not surface the planned questionable actions by HP?
Today’s success tip? Use sound business and moral principles to guide your decisions and use external experts to help you.
JD Powers again ranked Lexus Number 1 in quality with only 136 problems per 100 cars. That is a 136% rate of failure!
This is a perfect example of an opportunity to leap into the number one postion. Establish zero defects as a corporate culture. Do you think GM or Ford would have the problems they are currently experiencing if they achieved a near zero rate of problems when a customer was delivered a car?
Success Tip 13…Establish a Zero Defect Culture In Your Business.
Never announce a reduction in staff two months before it is to be implemented. Never, unless you are closing a plant or other facility where you are required to announce it three months or so in advance.
Radio Shack annouced they planned to eliminate 450 jobs in September. Now imagine you worked at the corporate headquarters. Imagine how you would feel with the uncertainty. What would you do? Many will hit the job boards. Imagine the politics in play. Could Radio Shack lose people who they do not want to lose? Not only could they, they will! Imagine the morale.
The CEO of one of my clients purchased a new laptop and needed to install the typical Office Suite of software. I suggested testing Open Office and he agreed. There are two options at www.openoffice.org one is to download the programs from the site for free or request a CD from one of the retailers listed at the site for $7.00. After looking at the download instructions and the estimated time for the download, we opted for the CD. It arrived in 2 days.
I was actually very surprised to see how well Word and Excel worked with this software. I am thinking Microsoft should be evaluating its business model considering Open Office is free.
Companies in the retail industry often face some of the most significant challenges to achieving consistent growth in revenue and profits. Large companies with very recognizable brands like Dell, Wal Mart, Home Depot and Microsoft as examples have all recently reported issues that have affected profit trends.
Not that long ago McDonalds was in the news as being one of the companies that was experiencing difficulties with profit performance. Now that has changed and McDonalds has been reporting very good sales and profit growth in recent quarters while some of the leaders in recent past like Cheesecake Factory, Outback Steakhouse and a number of others have been reporting softening sales and profit trends.
What’s changed and what has McDonalds done different to capitalize on the changes. The rise in interest rates is no secret as the Federal Reserve has just announced the continuance of their “let’s kill the economy program” with the 10th or 14th or whatever in a row increase in rates. Then there is the ongoing international issues which continue to keep the price of oil at record highs. So while unemployment remains relatively low, the costs associated with credit card debt and gasoline prices affect a lot of things including where people eat and how much they will pay for a meal.
Another trend is the increase publicity on the obesity issue in the US which seems to have had an impact on what foods people order to eat. McDonald recognized this trend and started adding appealing salads to its menu about three years ago. The salad category is actually accounting for a significant portion of their increased sales and profits. At the gym I visit there is a big poster ad for McDonalds grilled chicken salad. Not only is it big, it is appealing.
Public companies offer tremendous insight as to strategies that work and don’t. Today’s Success Tip is pay close attention to the trends and adjust your offer accordingly.
In the next Success Tips we will review what is happening at Federated Department Stores.
