4 Principles Guiding My Company’s Mission to Make Fresh Organic Meals Accessible for Everyone

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article | 4 Principles Guiding My Company’s Mission to Make Fresh Organic Meals Accessible for EveryoneA healthy diet doesn’t need to be expensive and taste bland.

Since I launched Fresh n’ Lean in 2010, I’ve been committed to breaking those stereotypes while getting affordable, pre-made organic meals to as many people as possible.

Those who need healthy meals the most, whether for medical issues or convenience, are too often left with heavily processed and unhealthy food choices. More than 50 million Americans live in food deserts, areas without access to high-quality or affordable fresh food, according to USDA research. But better knowledge about healthy eating has sparked national discourse about what we put into our bodies, and evolving consumer habits are making people less beholden to insufficient local food options.

Four principles have helped me lead my company forward: family, discipline, humility and vision.

My mission began with family in mind.

My father was facing life-threatening health issues — we didn’t know if he would be around in six months or a year. He made drastic changes to his diet and lifestyle, and his health rebounded. Seeing his success was proof that it could work for others, and that there was a greater need for fresh, healthy food options.

Discipline fueled the company’s growth.

I started Fresh n’ Lean when I was 18 years old. While my friends were out partying, I was waking up at 4 a.m. and working 16, 17, 18 hours a day, seven days a week.

That discipline carried over to the company’s financial wellbeing, where we sustained steady growth without relying on outside capital. We’ve always run a pretty lean operation, in part because we didn’t have a lot of excess funds to fuel unrestrained expansion. We had to be thoughtful in how to approach growth opportunities, because one mistake or one wrong decision could derail the whole company.

A dream since Day 1 was building our own kitchen and manufacturing area, a custom space to fit our needs. It wasn’t feasible during our early years, but in time it became a necessity. I never dealt with such a big construction project before, and it was a huge learning experience — I worked with contractors, city officials and architects throughout the permit process. There were setbacks, but we had to keep powering forward. Failure wasn’t an option.

Humility means respect for everyone’s role and impact.

I’ve worked every job the employees work, so I understand where they’re coming from and recognize the obstacles they face. I used to wash dishes and pack boxes. I’d go into the warehouse and pack boxes tomorrow if needed. We’re each a piece in a puzzle that fit together to reveal the mission and character of this company.

My vision for the future

As horrible and disappointing as it is that millions of people don’t have regular access to healthy food, I’m encouraged that our society is paying more attention to what we eat and that the rise of direct-to-consumer shipping provides additional options for people living in food deserts.

Ultimately, we want everyone in the United States to have access to a fresh organic meal within five miles of where they are. While direct-to-consumer is a big part of our business, we’re also looking to increase our offerings in grocery and retail on-the-go stores and getting our vending machines a wider release. We’ve targeted corporate wellness programs with the vending machines, but we plan to take a more mainstream approach in the coming years.

Convenience is a key to continued growth. A healthy diet doesn’t need to be expensive and taste bland — and it should be within reach no matter where you live.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Laureen AsseoLaureen Asseo is only 27-years-old, yet she has become a pioneer in leading the nation’s organic food craze. She’s the CEO and founder of LA-based Fresh n’ Lean, the largest nationwide organic meal delivery service in the country. It’s her mission to make eating organic easy, affordable and accessible – reclaiming the phrase “fast food”. She was inspired by her father’s ailing health due to his eating habits, and started the company from her one bedroom apartment.

The Disconnect that Keeps Your Company from Performing at its Peak

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article | THE SUCCESS CADENCE: Unleash Your Organization’s Rapid Growth CultureOver the years, I’ve worked with a number of founders, CEOs, and presidents of companies. Often, these executives are a part of my network. I have noticed that their story consistently repeats itself: their organizations are underperforming, and they want to discuss ways to optimize, share ideas and collaborate on experience that could help set up a plan to turn that situation around. These executives tell me frankly that they don’t have the revenue stream, the market share, or the margins their products and services deserve. They’re not sure what the problem or solution is. A common challenge is that they have not hired the level of skill necessary on the sales team. Very often, though, I find that there is another, related obstacle to their company achieving at its full potential, one that all too common goes unnoticed. I call this obstacle The Disconnect.

The Disconnect puts the sales team outside of the strategic conversation. Sales are considered an ending point, not a vital resource. Typically, Finance, Marketing, and Operations all have input, direct or indirect, on the creation and revision of the strategic plan. Sales often have no such contribution. The plan, and its revenue targets are dictated to Sales. The salespeople are expected to go out and execute it. There is zero conversation, zero back and forth, zero collaboration. The strategic communication with Sales can be translated roughly but accurately as: “Here’s your quarterly target. Go hit it.”

In early-stage and high growth scenarios, that’s a losing proposition because there’s no buy-in and no intimacy in the field with what the company is genuinely trying to accomplish. That Disconnect leads to a low-growth culture and a failure to execute the strategic plan adequately or effectively. It’s often impossible to recover from such a blow to communication, collaboration, and strategic alignment.

Changing this situation is not a simple fix. It requires the courage to change the operating culture that management has grown used to, and a parallel willingness to make and follow through on decisions that challenge the familiar ways of setting company strategy.  Specifically, there has to be a connecting line from the outset between the salespeople and leaders out in the field and the management team setting and funding corporate objectives – without it, slow growth is imminent.

Sales has to be the active, leading partner in the formation of the strategy that the company is trying to pursue. That’s a differentiator that most companies miss. Once you get it right, though, this way of doing business leads to a whole new organizational culture, one based on the full support of the principle of scalable, aggressive growth.

When the field organization,  both sales and technical sales have active roles in strategic planning, development of corporate initiatives, and specifically on the setting of their own monthly and quarterly targets, territory plans, etc. the dynamic changes, Everybody’s on the same page; everybody’s taking action to serve the same purposes; everyone is in alignment with senior executives.  A remarkable spirit of cohesion emerges when the sales team knows with deep certainty that their fingerprints and contribution are on the company’s objectives, initiatives and revenue targets, Unfortunately, this is the exception, rather than the rule. Usually, what happens is The Disconnect. That’s how companies are used to doing business. But that familiarity carries a steep cost: slow growth, missed targets, attrition, and unfulfilled potential.

The key takeaway for senior leaders here is a simple one. If for some reason you’re not including your sales leaders and front-line salespeople in your strategy discussions, your go-to-market planning sessions, and your discussions about monthly, quarterly, and annual revenue targets, you are missing out on the opportunity to turn your sales team into the battlefield defenders of your strategic vision. Start the conversation today!

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Bart FanelliBart Fanelli is co-author, with David Mattson and Tom Schodorf, of THE SUCCESS CADENCE: Unleash Your Organization’s Rapid Growth Culture. Bart is a sales leader, entrepreneur, executive advisor, and platform developer who specializes in team building, sales execution, sales leadership methodologies, and global operational efficiency. He has deep experience in building, leading, and scaling technology teams committed to rapid growth. The hypergrowth of one of the teams he led was the subject of a 2017 article in the Harvard Business Review. He is the recipient of the Technology Services Industry Association’s STAR award for “innovation in expand selling,” and the founder and lead designer of Skillibrium, a powerful sales success execution platform.

 

Key Steps To A Successful Business Strategy

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article |Business Plan| Key Steps To A Successful Business StrategyBefore opening the doors to your new business, you need to make sure you have a plan of action and a set of goals in place. If you don’t have an end game in mind, you’re going to have a disorganized, chaotic mess of a business.

Write a Mission Statement

This sounds like a piece of cake, but this is instrumental to defining what your business is all about. It needs to be crafted in a way that is clear and conscise to the readers. This is your way of showing your customers what you are trying to achieve in this business. Your guiding values will be outlined to show how business decisions are being made. Without having this vision, your company will run the risk of becoming distracted and having the train steer off of the tracks.

Creating a Strategy Plan

As StrategyDriven discusses on their website, “Not only does a compelling, well executed strategy align individuals to a common purpose, it ensures that purpose best serves the company’s mission.” The key message in there is having a group of individuals all on the same page with a common purpose. Everyone knows the company’s goal. This company provides an array of online tools to help businesses develop a strategy plan and how to properly implement them.

Your company’s strategy plan can be written with long term expectations or short term expectations. This plan should identify the steps needed to achieve the company’s mission. It is probably in the best interest of the business to write short term expectations with such a fast, evolving world. Things change constantly, so it is important to plan for the short term to lead to longer term success.

Strategic Implementation

You have your strategy plan in place, so now what? It is time to carefully implement your strategic plan. This is where you define “how” the strategic plan will be implemented and “who” will be responsible for implementing it. It is key that people have clearly defined roles at this stage of the process.

In Essential Steps to a Successful Strategy Implementation Process, they identify the key basic activities needed to implement your strategy.

  • Establishment of annual objectives
  • Fomulation of polices for execution of strategies
  • Allocation of resources
  • Actual performance of tasks and activities
  • Leading and controlling the performance of activities or tactics in various levels of the organization

The entire team of staff members are needed for these activites to be successfully implemented. From senior management to the general management team, everyone needs to be on the same page to begin this implementation.

Allocation of Resources

Of course, it goes without saying that money is needed to begin any successful business. In your strategic plan, it is essential to determine the amount of resources that will be needed to follow through on your objectives. Money may need to be allocated for resources such as document scanning, computers, staff, and understanding if you financially will have enough time to see the implementation all the way through. The worst thing that can happen if that you run out of money before your business can really pick up any momentum. This is something that needs to be clearly defined and studied in your action plan.

Structuring Your Business

Establishing a clear cut chain of command is essential for your business. People need to know their responsibilities and who they are to report to. You don’t want to have your employees confused as to who is responsible for what. It also needs to be stated the importance of clear and open lines of communication. Everyone from the top to the bottom should feel comfortable speaking to someone about a problem or any questions they may have. This will help to facilitate the flow of your strategy plan.

Creating a Great Working Environment

One thing that seems to get overlooked when starting a new business is understanding the importance of establishing a strong work culture. You want your employees to enjoy coming to work every day and helping to positively spread the message of your company. A cohesive unit all working towards a common goal will lead to ultimate success. But, as a business owner, you should be establishing your business culture from day one. There should be incentives for employees as well as sanctions for any mistakes that happen. People should know what they are accountable for and feel comfortable to speak with anyone if they have any concerns. The cultural expectations should be followed by every member of the business.

Businesses should have programs in place to support employees. The proper training needs to be implemented from day one. There should be a training program for all new employees before ever starting the job. This is where you can clearly establish your policies and show off the culture that you’ve created in your business.

Employees and customers should also be able to comfortably provide feedback to help improve the organization. Knowing ahead of time that mistakes can happen and having plans in place to help fix the mistakes should also be established.

In Conclusion

Starting up a business is a huge endeavor. But, knowing the importance of having a full action plan in place before ever starting your business is the first step to success moving forward. Don’t be afraid to let your guard down and ask for help from experienced companies that provide the business support that you need. It just makes perfect sense to communicate with companies that have found success and create a similar model to theirs. Utilize the many online business consulting firms available and create a business that others will consider to be a model business in the future.

Effective Strategies For Business Growth

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article|Business Growth|Effective Strategies For Business Growth As a business owner, you will always want to be making strides forward to help your company to grow and reach the next level. Knowing how to go about doing this can be challenging once you have found some initial success and it is here where businesses often plateau and find themselves treading water. It is crucial at this time to use positive momentum to keep pushing forward as this can have a significant impact on the success of the company. There are many effective strategies for growing a business in any industry so consider any of the following when you are ready to take the next step.

Increase Marketing Efforts

Marketing is vital to success and the more that you do, the more likely you are to boost sales. Increasing your marketing efforts can raise brand awareness, increase visibility online and drive more traffic to your company website. For the best results, it is worth using the services of a reliable internet marketing agency who will be able to provide services such as:

  • SEO
  • PPC
  • Content marketing
  • Social media marketing
  • Email marketing

In addition to internet marketing, think about how more traditional forms could also be used to boost brand awareness. Many businesses also find it helpful to get involved with the local community by attending events, hosting their events, sponsorship, etc.

Market Research

Times change quickly in business which means that market research can quickly become outdated. Carrying out new market research will help a company to discover crucial new information about their target customer and the competition which could help them to identify gaps in the market and other ways to succeed.

It is crucial that you aim to keep a keen eye on the competition to determine their strengths and weaknesses and how you can use this information to your advantage.

Add To Your Range

Leading on from this, adding to your product/service range can be an effective strategy for attracting new customers and retaining loyal, existing ones. Consider any gaps in the market and problems that your target customer faces and find a way to solve these issues. This can breathe new life into the business and help you to target an entirely new group.

Form A Strategic Alliance

Similarly, teaming with a complementary company will help you to tap into an entirely new market. A strategic alliance works when two complementary companies who are not competitors strike up a professional relationship where one supports the other. This is often through recommending the brand to its customer base with potential discounts/deals for referrals.

The key to success with a strategic alliance is finding a suitable company as, in addition to not being a competitor, it must also be a brand that shares similar values to your own.

Invest In New Technology & Software

Technology is evolving at such a continuous, rapid rate that it often means that what you are currently using is out of date. Updating to new tech can be costly, but it could have a significant impact on your company by streamlining the operation, automating specific tasks, reducing errors and improving the quality of the end product or service.

Professional Development

No company can succeed without a talented, passionate and motivated workforce powering the operation. Therefore, investing in your workforce with professional development is a terrific way to grow your company from within. Employees will want to find ways to progress and to offer these opportunities internally can boost morale and promote employee loyalty. Listen to the wishes of your staff and consider training, seminars, and courses that will improve their abilities and enable them to excel in their role.

Global Expansion

One of the biggest and most exciting methods for growing a business is international expansion. This can be a complicated and expensive process but the potential for profits are gigantic, and it can be incredibly rewarding and glamorous to open up offices in a different country.

One of the major logistical issues with this approach is staffing, and you are likely to want a few team members to relocate overseas. Implementation in global mobility is a difficult process, but some businesses can handle this aspect for you. This way, you can focus on other areas; you can find more information here.

Improve Your Customer Service

One of the most overlooked (and under-invested) areas of business, yet one of the most important for success, is customer service. People like to use companies that they respect and trust, and it can be much easier to retain loyal, existing customers than to find brand new ones. Improving your customer service will help to keep customers, strengthen your brand reputation and you should also benefit from word-of-mouth marketing which remains incredibly effective.

Improving your customer service will involve going the extra mile for customers, solving issues quickly and letting customers know that they are valued. You can also encourage loyalty through the use of loyalty programs which will show that you care about your customer and appreciate their business.

Streamline The Operation

It can feel risky to make changes to how you operate when you are running a profitable business, but it is also one of the most effective methods to grow a business. Carefully assess every single process and work with relevant department heads to determine if it is necessary and if there is a way that could be improved – even a small change could have a significant impact on the efficiency of the operation.

This will often involve finding ways to reduce costs as this enables you to maximize profit. There are many ways to reduce business costs to consider, including switching to alternative energy, going paperless, renegotiating rates with vendors and encouraging remote working.

If you are ready and committed to taking the next step with your business, then consider any or all of the above. It is essential always to be moving forward in the business world as otherwise you will fall behind to the competition and struggle to succeed. Growth can be challenging, but it is also an exciting process which could help you to maximize profit and dominate the industry.

Strategy Driven – A Reality Check

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article | Strategic Planning | Strategy Driven – A Reality CheckMost modern organizations claim to be strategy-driven. But when you cut through the hyperbole, what do you find?

The Oxford dictionary defines strategy as “a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.” People tend to focus on the word “plan” in this sentence. We think about strategy as the highest-level, guiding plan for an organization, but if we want to objectively determine the strategy of an organization, this is where we’ll hit a problem.

A plan is an intention to do things in the future, but you can’t objectively study or observe an intention. An intention has no physical presence, we can only witness people talking about it. Walk into an organization and ask to see their strategy and you will likely be given a one-line “mission” statement and a document filled with words and diagrams. The document is real and can be observed. However, the intention that the document describes is not real. We should never confuse the two – having a physical document does not mean that you have a strategy.

But don’t give up hope yet! I cannot physically find gravity and yet I know that it is real because I can witness the impact of gravity on the real world. Newton observed a falling apple and was able to use this data to infer that gravity existed.

So what is the equivalent of Newton’s apple when it comes to strategy? Think about the dictionary definition. A strategy is a not just “a plan”, it is “a plan of action”. I cannot physically witness the plan, but I can certainly witness actions and use them to infer the strategy. If I walk into an organization and carefully examine the action, then I will be able to determine the strategy which is at play.

This might sound a bit backward. After all, the strategy is all about the big picture, about how we will conquer the world tomorrow, not about what is happening today. I disagree – the only way that you can witness a strategy is to carefully look at what is happening today and then infer the strategy from that data.

Let’s look at an example. Some years ago, I worked with a company that was on a sustained journey to improve safety in its operation. Their strategy document declared that “Safety comes first. There is nothing more important for us than the safety of our people and the community in which we operate.” As a strategy statement, it couldn’t be clearer. When I went looking for the action however, I found something different.

At their project portfolio meeting I found something interesting. As is frequently the case, this company had many more potential projects than it had budget. Because of this, the company had to choose which projects to progress and which projects to defer or cancel. Given their strategy of “safety comes first”, I should have witnessed that all the safety projects were approved first and then, only if there was remaining budget, would commercial projects be approved. What I witnessed instead was that a large number of safety projects had been deferred to make space for a more evenly balanced selection of commercial and safety projects. The individuals responsible for making these calls were under a great deal of stress.

“Safety first” was what we call the espoused strategy and it was clearly not real. By witnessing the company’s actions, we can see that the real strategy was to balance commercial and safety interests. They were very committed to their safety journey, but not in a way that put them out of business!

The most concerning thing that I observed was the stress placed on the decision makers. They were implementing the real strategy of the senior management. But they were then placed in a highly compromised position by the same senior management espousing a completely different “strategy”.

As a leader in your organization, I encourage you to constantly check that the actions in your organization match the strategy you espouse. Only then can you truly claim to be strategy-driven.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article | Strategic Planning | Strategy Driven – A Reality CheckGraeme Findlay is an Associate Fellow at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School. He consults to industry as an executive coach and change management advisor. Prior to specializing in leadership development, Findlay held executive management roles and was accountable for delivering operational transformations and performance turnarounds on world-scale mega-projects. His passion for high performance teams led to academic research at Oxford University and HEC Paris. Findlay holds a Masters degree in Consulting and Coaching for Change. For more information, please visit www.graemefindlay.com