Excellence University Journal

Key Drivers of a Highly Successful Company: PGC

by John Spence | 2 comments

Many of you that have been to my seminars have heard me talk about one of my favorite client companies: Philadelphia Gear (www.PhilaGear.com) and their fantastic CEO – Carl Rapp. I have a tremendous amount of respect for both the company and for Carl and recently asked him if he would give me a brief list of the key ideas that drive his business. Carl and his team (Also full of really super people) run a very successful organization in a brutally tough global market and I believe strongly that they have a firm grasp of what it truly takes to run a world class company. Take a close look at these key strategies – I think they are spot on.
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Tom Peters’ Bold Ideas

by John Spence | 1 comment

Tom’s Necessity for Boldness
Five Bold Objectives

In an Office Solutions article, Tom rants: I am an avowed incrementalist. Try, test, and experiment are among my favorite words. I still fervently believe that a pragmatic, incrementalist approach to progress is sound. But I also believe the visions to which we aspire must be grand ones. Not so much because inspiring visions are superb motivators, which they are, but because we must markedly pick up the pace of change in our businesses. If we don’t, we face the prospect of a permanently reduced standard of living.

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How to Build a Strong Training / Professional Speaking Business

by John Spence | Add comment

1. First you will need to get a VERY clear idea of exactly what you are trying to achieve. What, specifically do you want to do with your business? What will you offer? How many clients, what sort of clients, what sort of classes, how much travel are you willing to do, to where, how much revenue do you honestly want to generate, how much time do you want to work each week, what price are you willing to pay to succeed? You cannot be all things to all people—you need a laser-like focus on where you know you can hit home runs. You also have to decide what you really want—so you know what to say “No” to. You can get a lot of input about these questions from key folks around you that you respect and trust—but at some point you MUST put a stake in the ground and fully commit to a focused course of action. I would also add – that the only way you will ever be truly successful – is if you LOVE what you do. So it is a combination of picking something you really love that is fun for you, that you can do very well, that is also a topic that is highly valued in the market place. If you do not have ALL three of those, you will not be able to build a strong business.

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The Importance of Brand Congruence

by John Spence | 1 comment

I recently attended the national sales meeting of a high-end boat manufacturer that our firm represents and was delighted to listen as one of their top dealers gave an impassioned speech on the critical need for “congruence” when dealing with their customers. I could not have agreed with him more, and was motivated to take a few minutes to write out my thoughts on what this idea really means in the marketplace and why it is absolutely essential to building a successful company.

At the heart of this concept is the strong belief that every single aspect of the brand experience must be uncompromisingly consistent throughout all touch points with the consumer. From first exposure, to pre-purchase, to the buying event, to product decline and eventual obsolescence and finally to re-purchase — every interaction must fully support the brand promise.

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The Cost of “Frenzied Doing”

by Dr. Brian Higley | 4 comments

I’ve seen first hand the incredible cost of what is sometimes called “Frenzied Doing”, an approach to work (and sometimes life) that promotes the idea that there is not enough time to systematically implement new ideas into the workplace.  Frenzied doing is most often present in people who are too busy to think about what they (and/or their teams or families) are doing on a regular basis. Their days are often 10-15 hours of work, work, work – without an end in sight. When people tell them “you need to stop working so much”, they say something like, “I can’t” or “I know, I know – next year maybe.”  Sometimes people are proud of this level of constant work, so I want to take some time to discuss the negative impact of Frenzied Doing on the frenzied AND on those around them.

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