Howard Beale Had it Right - Sort Of
Posted by Scott Good
Remember that famous line by Howard Beale from the movie, Network in which he told people to go to their open windows and shout out, "... I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore"? I'm not quite "there" yet, but was moved a bit closer to opening the window when I thought through the recent stock market volatility.
I am a staunch capitalist and believe that making money and capitalizing on opportunities is part of what makes America great and allows people of all economic strata the chance to prosper. I also believe just as strongly that people need to be treated fairly and with respect. Usually, both these tenets can live amiably side-by-side. However, the recent stock market volatility is frustrating in that it is, in large part, due to perfectly legal gamesmanship being played on Wall Street; resulting in tremendous gains for a small sector of traders and financial firms and massive losses (at least on paper) for about half of all US households.[1] The long and the short of it is that the financial regulations (e.g., margins and up-tick rules, decimalization, etc.) for the trading of stock, derivatives, and a host of other tools result in great market volatility which, in turn, offer savvy day-traders and brokers great opportunities from short sales and traders' transaction fees. "Savvy" is good and should be compensated, but "predatory" practices that hurt 100 for each one who benefits go beyond "okay".
My purpose for writing this is not to wrawl against the financial markets; plenty of others do that with greater zeal and impact than me. My point in this blog is to call out people who get complacent and offer some practical advice.
Some Wall Street insiders may not have the most scruples, but they are not lazy, either. They know the tools of their trade, how to operate (usually) within the legal and regulatory limits of their sector, and they are not satisfied with knowledge alone - their actions reflect what they believe. The Bible says that "... Faith without works is dead." (James 2:17). I do not intend to imply that financial skullduggery is consistent with Scripture; what I DO mean is that to be effective - on Wall Street, in our own companies, or at life in general - we need to work hard to find the opportunities and take action.
However, even working hard we can face obstacles: Do your business plans ever get stuck in neutral? Do your growth plans stay in the "plans" phase way too long? Do your practice development initiatives look great on paper but never produce what you want? If so, try these simple steps:
- Know your business - what it does best, how it changes the lives of its customers, its mission, how it can make money. Know the guiding regulations and constraints.
- Make a list of places where you can find customers; then, list targets to go after.
- Develop a sales plan. These points are REALLY basic so far, I know.
- Track your progress on CHANGES in the new business pipeline - not on efforts alone. Efforts are good, but without results, they are like "faith without works" or a lazy Wall Street investor. [You can also find this with "analysis paralysis."]
- Move the needle every week. Maybe you will only have five business development tasks this week ... fine. Don't mark any of them off your list unless you move them to a new, more advanced stage of your new business pipeline.
- Measure specific metrics and have someone (boss or colleague) hold you accountable to progress. Never rest on "good efforts." Good efforts are ... well ... good. However, there needs to be more. Well targeted efforts will lead to good, measurable results.
I am really lucky. I work with an absolutely fantastic group of people, and our practice development processes are pretty good. We have also been very successful in helping organizations in a great breadth of industrial sectors capitalize on market opportunities using this very simple approach. I still get irritated, though, when we go into a company and see inefficiencies and "good processes that under-produce results" due to internal politics and/or a lack of focus. On the other hand, it is usually a good environment for Crescendo to make a positive impact. My irritation dissapates when I can assist the company in working hard to become savvy opportunity seekers, preparing them to proactively plan for, and capitilize on, market volatility. Howard Beale was right to be moved to action by what he saw going on around him; however, it is probably wise for each of us to be a little more proactive in our own businesses so that we don't get quite as "edgy" as the character in Network.
[1] See Investment Company Institute, www.ici.org/pdf/rpt_02_equity_owners.pdf.