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What is Professional Development?

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Professional Development|What is Professional Development?Getting a college degree and finding a job relevant to your academic background is not the end-all-be-all to being a professional. You will need to make it a career to be what you are in the professional sense, and for that to be possible, you will have to undergo the process of professional development. Now you may be asking, what is professional development?

The concept of professional development is basically a learning process where one works to earn or maintain their professional credentials through continuing education, research, training courses, attending seminars or conferences, and other learning opportunities that are relevant to one’s professional practice. The process is often said as collaborative and quite intensive; it ideally comes with an evaluation stage in the form of examinations, practical application, and the like.

There is a whole variety of approaches to professional development, but the following are what many of us should be familiar with at this point:

  • Job assignments. Often, the best way to learn and build up on your professional credentials is through work. Specifically, we are referring to those job assignments that practically encourage us to think outside the box in order to overcome various challenges and handle the various responsibilities on hand. New job assignments may be challenging at first, but you can always prepare yourself by discovering the work style that goes best with your new set of duties.
  • Skill-based training. Undergoing training in its various forms — lectures, formal coursework, technical training, and the like — is a very common approach to professional development. Skill-based training, in particular, is a straightforward way to learn new concepts, practices, and technologies that are relevant to your field. It also helps that many such training sessions include an evaluative stage. The great thing about training is that it does not need to be done face-to-face between the participant and the instructor. There are digital courses and training software like this trading simulator that can help give your knowledgebase an upgrade.
  • Building relationships with your peers. Simply interacting with fellow professionals in your field is a great way to gain fresh insights that can help you grow professionally. You and your peers can trade feedback, challenge each other’s point-of-view, or support each other’s professional endeavors.

StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Professional Development|What is Professional Development?Professional development sure is an investment of time and money for the most part, and it pays off really well.

Its share of benefits includes the following:

  • A broader knowledgebase. Professional development is learning, and what else can learning bring but more knowledge? All that training can easily get you exposed to new ideas and fresh insights that could, eventually, translate to various improvements to the way you do your work.
  • A confidence boost. Professional development will eventually make you an expert in your field. Increasing your knowledge can help build your confidence, which is very helpful when it comes to decision-making and many other aspects of your work.
  • Meeting other professionals and learning from them. You will end up meeting professionals in your field and end up acquiring new knowledge and insights from them. It is also a great way to build your professional network outside of LinkedIn.

A clear direction and foundation for success. The many courses and trainings that you will have to undergo makes for a good preparation towards overcoming challenges and obstacles on your way to success.
Pursuing professional development is a must for any professional looking to achieve growth and success in their line of work. It may take time, but it is always better than stagnation.

4 Post-Pandemic Marketing Tips to Help Your Business

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | 4 Post-Pandemic Marketing Tips to Help Your BusinessBusinesses of all sizes have been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, and many have to figure out a way to survive in an unfamiliar world. Studies show that 62% of small businesses have experienced significant decreases in their revenue stream since COVID-19 first began to affect the nation. Businesses that embraced ingenuity and creativity found ways to serve in a socially-distanced environment, and they have learned how to weather the ups and downs of a supply chain that has been impacted at every turn. For some, the key to survival was calling up venture capitalists like Mark Stevens for a quick influx of cash, but not everyone was able to receive funding assistance. Since you can’t always depend on a financing source to help you out when times get tough, you need to boost your marketing plan and develop loyalty among your customers. The pandemic seems far from over, so here are some tips for marketing your business during COVID-19.

Tip 1: Provide Reassurance to Your Consumers

The entire nation is faced with uncertainty as the pandemic drags on, and your consumers are worried about their health, their safety, their finances, and so much more. It doesn’t matter what kind of service or product you offer, your customers need reassurance that your business is still here for them and there is no danger in continuing to do business together. You can start by reassuring your customers of your response to what is going on. Many states have their own safety mandates and operation protocols, and you need to make your compliance and adaptations public. Use email messages, social media posts, website updates, and signs in your physical location that inform customers of the steps you are taking to keep their wellbeing your priority. If your customers are plagued by uncertainty, it will impact their purchasing habits. Encourage your consumers to contact you with any questions or concerns.

Tip 2: Explore Crazy Ideas

It’s time to be realistic. Life before COVID-19 is completely different from life post-pandemic will be. The marketing strategies you used last year or in times past won’t have the same impact going forward. Right now is the time to get creative and take risks without ideas and tactics. Generally speaking, there isn’t a bad idea going forward. The world has never faced something like this before, so everything is unchartered territory. You aren’t the only business that may be struggling. Your competitors are going to be working just as hard to rebound from the impact of COVID-19. The more unique and memorable your marking strategy, the greater the likelihood of standing out in your industry. Think of products that benefit consumers now, like a DIY care kit to offer when they visit the store. Offer virtual meetings or online classes to ease fears about traveling out. Have fun, and don’t limit yourself in this area.

Tip 3: Add Some Flame to Your Social Media Presence

It’s estimated that around 80% of Americans have at least one social media profile. Long before the pandemic, it was a prime way for companies to communicate, advertise, and leave reviews. The social distancing and shelter-in-place orders only created new demand for interesting and relevant content on social media, as more people and businesses went virtual. With all of the increased traffic online, there is no better time to kick up your social media presence. Use your company’s presence to start or join in on trending conversations. Pay for advertisements or sponsored posts. You can host online contests or surveys, or you can share photos and videos of products in your store or about what the employees at your company are up to. Social media will help you generate new interest and excitement about what’s going with your business, even if customers aren’t physically coming to your store or if clients aren’t meeting you for lunch.

Tip 4: Cultivate Virtual Relationships

Many people think you need to meet with someone in person in order to develop a strong relationship. It is more difficult to cultivate relationships through virtual means, but in light of the pandemic, it may be the only way to get things done. You may have little interest in hosting a Zoom call or going live on social media, but your apprehension or pride may keep you giving your customers what they want. Just because a consumer can’t get out doesn’t mean they have no interest in what is going on. Put yourself in the place of your customers. What would you expect from a business during this time? What have you seen your vendors or competitors do? You need to communicate with your customers on a regular basis, whether its through email, video calls, online presentations, or your social media content. Don’t waste these months and the ability to build strong virtual relationships.

Tip 5: Enhance Your Website

There are a lot of great ways in which you can make improvements to your company’s marketing routine, and the website plays a massive role in this. Since the pandemic hit, companies have had to reevaluate their marketing strategies and the steps they’ve taken in order to try to improve success. This is something that plays a massive role in any future success you might have, so you need to be making the right changes. And it is pretty clear that upgrading and updating your website is one of the best steps you can take to make the most of this.

You have to have a website that looks great, and one that is going to help increase organic traffic and attract customers. Having people visit your website is a big part of the process of being able to take things to the next level. Lead generation is important, but you also have to make sure you convert those leads in the process as well. So, you need to try to look at some of the best ways of doing this. Hiring a web design team could prove to be really decisive with this, and may well help you to revamp your site as much as possible. Work on taking the necessary steps that are going to help you improve your website as much as you can right now.

Economists still have concerns about the future, considering the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 infections. With a few months behind you as experience and with these tips going forward, you can keep your business going strong.

Is Your Company ‘Doing’ Lean or ‘Being’ Lean?

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Get Lean|Is Your Company ‘Doing’ Lean or ‘Being’ Lean?It seems as if every organization today is looking to “get lean.” I’ve visited hundreds of companies that claim they’re transforming their business with Lean methodologies. They’ve rolled out fanfare that—to the untrained eye—gives the impression that these transformations are rooted in rigor and discipline. Signboards, banners, Gemba boards, and tape on the floor all proclaim, “We’re taking this seriously.”

But as you become more experienced with Lean, you realize that what you can’t see is what separates world-class operations from mediocre ones. As a Toyota executive once said when asked why the auto giant allows competitors into its factories: “What they need to know, they cannot see.”

The $13 Billion Case Study

A $13 billion global organization had been “doing” Lean for close to a decade, and the plant I was visiting was considered to be one of its best. They asked me to review their Lean progress, so I spent a day listening to the story of their Lean journey and touring the facility.

The Metrics

My review started with a presentation of their progress to date. The management team ran through a myriad of metrics that had convinced the corporate office they had made real progress. In reality, their “progress” masked many dysfunctional Lean behaviors:

Excess inventory. The plant’s management boasted that inventory turns had increased from 6.5x to 18x. Upon further review, this increase in inventory “performance” was due to the fact that 70% of their raw material inventory was on consignment, and they didn’t include this in their calculation.

Regardless of whose books carry your inventory, the same ills of excess inventory exist. The consigned inventory encouraged the company to hold more inventory than it otherwise would have—had the inventory been purchased and valued on its corporate balance sheet. To make matters worse, the company had expanded its raw materials warehouse to accommodate the inventory increase.

Missing per-hour metrics. Management then explained that their sales-per-employee productivity metric increased from $280,000 to $360,000. They touted a renewed focus on standardized work, which accounted for most of this improvement. As I probed further, I learned that the company laid off 30% of its workforce in the previous year, and the plant’s overtime hours increased from 5% to 35% during this time period. Had they calculated their productivity based on hours worked, the improvement would have been negligible.

Miscalculated delivery performance. Management revealed that on-time delivery performance was 98%. Upon further investigation, I discovered this performance was based on the promise date to the customer, formulated from the company’s stated six-week lead time.

I explained that a promise date is meaningless to the customer. Instead, they should switch their calculation to the customer request date. They indicated they had attempted to calculate it this way, but when using this method, on-time delivery performance dropped to 35%.

The Plant Tour

When I toured the plant, the first thing I noticed was that the facility was spotless. It was well lit, and you could have eaten off the painted floors. Many assembly cells were in place, and they appeared orderly and organized. When I joined their morning Gemba walk to review the facility and the previous day’s performance, I noticed the following:

Missing targets. We first stopped at their Gemba board, which contained all of the plant’s operating metrics and value stream information. Many of the metrics were missing goals or targets, so it was difficult to gauge performance. The value stream map included only the current state, with no lead-time ladder or future state map. There was no value stream plan, so kaizen events were not tied into achieving the future state condition.

Misspent TAKT time. Although they constructed reasonably good manufacturing cells, the operators batched production and didn’t produce in a one-piece flow fashion. Operators were seated, which didn’t allow them to perform the required number of operations to consume their TAKT time.

Outdated standard work. Standard work combination sheets were posted in each cell. But the standard work was outdated; the original date (from one year prior) was crossed out and replaced with the current date. It was clear they hadn’t updated their standard work to reflect changes in TAKT time or kaizen improvements.

Overproduction. Each cell tracked production using day-by-the-hour boards. The previous day’s planned production units were 100, but the plant recorded an actual production quantity of 145 units. Management marked this figure in green to reflect a favorable condition.

When I asked why, the management team indicated they exceeded their production plan and stated, “We had a good day.” Now, every Lean practitioner is familiar with Lean’s “7 Wastes,” one of which is waste from overproduction. I explained that this excess production should have been marked in red, as an abnormal condition. If they were, in fact, properly using standard work, excess production would be virtually impossible (if operators were working to a properly calculated TAKT time).

The Takeaways

This plant had been “doing” Lean for over a decade, but it’s clear they were not “being” Lean. They had all the markings of a Lean organization, and the corporate office was convinced they were doing an outstanding job in transforming the plant. Yet, this was far from reality.

What lessons can we learn?

Invest in Lean education. Senior leaders need to be educated in Lean methodologies and learn how to ask the right questions. In this case, the plant management had the best intentions, but they were poorly educated in Lean principles and truly believed they were doing a stellar job.

In their effort to improve key performance indicators (KPIs) to give corporate leaders a sense of progress, they violated several Lean principles. Corporate leaders would have exposed these dysfunctional behaviors had they been trained to look at their business through a pure Lean lens.

Benchmark to world-class standards. This particular plant only benchmarked to other plants within their global organization. Quite frankly, the plant’s management and employees didn’t have an understanding of “what good looks like.” It’s important to benchmark outside your organization—and even outside your industry—to truly understand what world-class benchmarks are.

Now it’s your turn to ask: Is your organization “doing” Lean, or is it “being” Lean?

About the Author

Mark DeLuzio is a pioneer of Lean and the principal architect of the Danaher Business System (DBS). As a trusted advisor to global organizations, he helps leaders think differently about how to optimize enterprises systemwide. His new book is Flatlined: Why Lean Transformations Fail and What to Do About It. Learn more at markdeluzio.com and leanhorizons.com.

The Smaller Your Goals, The Better

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Business Goals|The Smaller Your Goals, The BetterIf you want to build a successful business or career, stop keeping your eye on the big prize. Instead, focus on little victories.

Okay, you might be thinking, “Wait. Did I read that right? Surely you are joking. How can that possibly be true?”

Everyone today is continually searching for the big goal. For the huge win. For the epic victory. But what if I were to tell you that this search is mostly in vain—especially today during the COVID 19 crisis and all else that is going on in the world?

Instead of focusing on the big goal, try the little victory. In fact, the smaller your goals, the better. How?

Well, there was an ice cream machine salesman a few years back who wanted to sell more ice cream machines. That was his big goal. So, he tended to his big goal the way most of us do. He would not quit until he got there. And he used an analytical construct of ‘volume’ that would help him get there. Get more customers, sell more machines. Volume. Right?

But when you think creatively instead of analytically—and you begin to start to think in terms of the little victory—the everything changes. One day, he got an order from a particular restaurant that kept ordering more and more machines. He decided to think creatively instead of analytically. He went to the restaurant and discovered the best cheeseburger he ever had. His Name was Ray Croc, and the restaurant was McDonalds.

At any point, Ray could have stuck with his big analytical victory of selling more ice cream machines and ignored all else except volume to help him get there. That is what most of us do in business and our careers today. But Ray took a chance. He took a chance on creativity. He listened to the little victory—that this one particular restaurant was ordering more and more machines—and then decided to take a closer look. And in doing so, he discovered that his big goal should not be selling ice cream machines at volume after all. Maybe his little victory—the small goal—was telling him something far more valuable than the big win.

What little victories are occurring in your business or career today that you are ignoring? And at what costs?

It’s easy today to feel defeated by what is going on in the world. It is easy to feel that we are not living up to our potential with widespread lockdowns, work-from-home mandates, social distancing, and other hurdles. It’s easy to say, well, I haven’t had a little victory since COVID hit.

But I urge you to look harder. Dig deeper. Think creatively.

Creativity takes hold and allows us a view of the little victory as something worth pursuing. And often this is hidden in plain sight. Because while we are chasing that big victory, we are ignoring the breadcrumbs that are trying to tell us what path we should be on instead.

Yes, big victories can sometimes happen—but, then again, sometimes they don’t. And, in many cases, the timeline for a big victory can be months or even years. But when we look at the little victories and celebrate them, we learn to shift our perspective. We see that, indeed, they are all around us. We just need to look.

This is an amazingly powerful creative tool that you can use today in your business or career. Try it right now. Pause for a moment and think: What has happened recently that could be a little victory that you steamrolled over in your pursuit of seemingly more worthwhile goals? In that small victory is a morsel of amazing creative potential. But you need to see it. Value it. Treasure it. And, yes, learn to love it.

If that sounds unimpressive to you—or, perhaps. lacking in vision—it is anything but. It turns out that when we allow ourselves to be guided by the little victory and the small goal, the road we take may be much richer than the road we started off on. And in today’s climate, nothing can be more important.

About the Author

Nir Bashan is the founder and CEO of The Creator Mindset LLC, where he teaches business leaders how to harness the power of creativity to improve profitability, increase sales, and make work more meaningful. His clients include AT&T, Microsoft, Ace Hardware, NFL Network, EA Sports, and JetBlue. He received a Clio Award and an Emmy nomination for his creative work on albums, movies, and advertisements, and was one of the youngest professors ever selected to teach graduate courses at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He lives in Orlando, Florida. Learn more about his new book, The Creator Mindset: 92 Tools to Unlock the Secrets to Innovation, Growth, and Sustainability (McGraw-Hill; August 2020), at https://www.nirbashan.com/the-creator-mindset. Or visit Amazon

6 Smart Investment Decisions To Make As An Entrepreneur

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Investment Decisions|6 Smart Investment Decisions To Make As An EntrepreneurSmart entrepreneurs invest business profits wisely to minimize loss. This ensures that even though the money is being spent, it is spent in ways that enable business growth, which, therefore, allows the value of the business to appreciate. Minimizing losses increases profit-making potential as scarce resources are being put to good use. A vast majority of entrepreneurs, 80% to be precise, fund their enterprises out of pocket, and managing cash flow is a major challenge as most have no prior business cash flow education. But you don’t have to be a part of this statistic. After you make your first turnover, making these smart financial decisions will help you make the most of your hard-earned money.

1.Investing in fixed assets

Investopedia defines an asset as an economically valuable resource owned, controlled, or acquired with the expectation that it will appreciate later. A fixed asset is an asset acquired to liquidate at a later period. It is expected to appreciate so that you can cash in on the benefits. A simpler explanation will be to save up money but not in cash, which can be affected by inflation. Important fixed assets an entrepreneur should invest in as a business, include furniture, and land. These assets appreciate over time, and when managed properly, can make you some great benefits. It will be much more beneficial to your business to own property that would be making you money in the long run and aiding business operations simultaneously.

Fixed assets require efficient maintenance to ensure that your investment is protected. In the case of concrete structures, you could have a periodic assessment done on your building by experts like K&E Flatwork so that any damage beyond normal wear and tear is remedied as soon as possible to prevent asset value from depreciating. Keep your sidewalks and parking lot in mint condition as well. A well-maintained building and environment is easier on the eyes and markets your business better to a potential customer.

2. Buying the right insurance

Insurance on your property, car, and health is an added layer of protection to your assets. Many state laws require all property owners to take out adequate insurance in the event of an unfortunate occurrence. Fire, earthquakes, or even accidents could cost property owners a lot of money in uninsured. Your business could take a hit as a result, and this would be a waste of money as well as an unnecessary business opportunity cost. Take time to research property insurance to understand how taking out one could work to protect property owners.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Investment Decisions|6 Smart Investment Decisions To Make As An Entrepreneur3. Investing in yourself

The importance of growing in your craft and building value through education cannot be over-emphasized because you are only as good as what you know. The entrepreneur, as the human resource, is the most valuable component in the profit-making process. So invest the money and time in bettering yourself so you can improve at building your business. You can take some courses in business analytics, economics, business communication, or even get an MBA. You can also acquire some marketing skills with a CIM so you can take advantage of the available marketplaces. Also, make it a point to frequently upgrade your qualifications when you get them. This is because there are always new ways of doing things. You’ll be able to keep up with the times, advance yourself and your business as well.

4. Investing in marketing

The notion that a good product by itself will drive traffic no longer holds. Many businesses struggle to retain their customers because they fail to invest in proper marketing structures early enough when they had the momentum. Strategically including ad expenditure on your budget saves you from being blindsided when you do need it. Diversify your marketing options by spreading your options so you can target different customer bases. Younger people are more likely to resonate better with social media, and older people are better reached with in-person marketing. Engage some extra help with in-person marketing campaigns so they can be even more productive. The business rewards will be worth the sacrifice.

5. Paying your debts

This may not seem so important on this list, but having debts is counter-productive to success. You cannot truly count your money as profit if you haven’t paid off your debtors. Owing people is also not a good identity to have. It could make it difficult for you to attract value investors as your credibility, which would be needed to build confidence in your enterprise, will be in question. So, come up with a debt repayment plan and pay off your debts at a convenient pace that would not leave you starving or homeless. Most entrepreneurs start up with loans from family and friends. Because of the personal relationship at stake, it is even more beneficial to you to pay your debts, so relations do not get strained. Some relations might even be willing to reduce your interest rate if you express interest in paying off your loan faster. This will imply increased business profits.

6. Getting the right help

Get help with administrative duties and any other roles that are not your strong suit because productivity will suffer in the end if you attempt to do it all. Do not also go overboard with hiring too many people. This will cost you needless expenditure as you’ll be overspending where you could be saving. First, hire an administrator or secretary to help you stay on top of paperwork so you can focus on making business decisions. Also, invest in a trustworthy accountant. An accountant role goes far beyond the boring task of securing the money. They’ll ensure that your taxes are paid on time, so your business is in the clear with the government. They’ll also keep track of cash inflows and outflows so that you know exactly how much profits you are making.

Additionally, outsource work that you do not need to hire full-time staff to do. A typical example is janitorial and maintenance work. Cleaning and maintenance work are duties that can easily be outsourced to an agency if it does not need to get done every day. Observe your workspace and plan on days the cleaning can get done. If it is something you can get done easily without your plate getting too full, then, in this case, it would be better to do it yourself. The result, either way, will be efficient financial management and increased productivity.

As an entrepreneur, you always need to have a plan and a back-up ready to run despite having limited funds at your disposal. Spending your money in ways that benefit your business will help you make the most out of your venture.