Term of the Day: Benchmarking

This is business-speak for comparing. Comparing to competitors within the industry. Comparing with similar sized companies. Comparing with similar products.

How are we, in relation to the 'other?'

It seems like something you can communicate easily. And it is if you've done your homework. You will want to know what, exactly, you are comparing. For example, diaper sales in the United States. If you are P&G (Proctor & Gamble,) you may want to know how many diapers you sell in New York City, in comparison to other brands, such as Kimberly Clark. You may compare figures such as profit margin, packs sold, profit per diaper and cost per diaper. You may sell more diapers than Kimberly Clark (i.e. Huggies) but yours cost more to make so your profits will be equal to or less than your main competitor. Benchmarking yourself to your competitor is vital to discovering how to beat them.

Being an avid diaperer, I currently use whatever brand sends me their coupons. My stash is currently Pamper-heavy but that changes with the sales. At any rate, Pampers hold waste longer than the Huggies, although Huggies sell you more diapers for less per diaper. It evens out. At the beginning of the month, I may spring for Pampers Swaddlers for my newborn, simply becuase they seem softer to me. But otherwise, they are pretty equal. If Pampers suddenly created a diaper that held the same but met or beat Huggies price, I would buy more Pampers with or without a coupon. They would do well to analyze something like this.

At that point, Pampers would have set a new benchmark. This is also akin to setting goals. Let's assume my toddler wets his pants 6 times a day (I wish.) First, I track how many times to make sure it really is 6 and not more or less. I do not with to inflict more of my goals on him than are fair. Then after tracking diapers several days, I find that, OK, 6 is pretty accurate. Once this is done, I go online and several sources tell me that if he's meeting all the milestones appropriately, he should be able to go tinkle on the potty at least 4 of those 6 times. Now I will start trying to sit him down and reward him or offer rewards for success. My benchmark is only 4 accidents. I can try to potty train in a day - and I've heard of successful instances - but its far more realistic a goal/benchmark.

Companies may go "all in," attempting to go far above and beyond the current benchmark. Like a casino, there are a few really big wins (think Apple's iPhone) but there are many many more losing machines. Benchmarking in business and in potty training will save you and your kids and your business many many tears.

Term of the day: CSR

This is a term like 'synergy,' that will make you look smart. It is more commonly used in large corporations but more and more smaller businesses are adopting it.

CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility. I thought it a good term to explore in lieu of tomorrow being Earth Day. Tomorrow is another more important day for me but its not very pc to mention so for blogging intents and purposes, tomorrow is Earth Day.

CSR is an umbrella term for the company's charitable giving, either in the form of monetary donations or fundraising efforts (sponsoring a team to walk a 5K for MS, building a hospital wing, cleaning oily birds from the Gulf spill, etc.) There's not too much funny stuff I can contribute here but I'll do my best!

CSR can be a verb or a noun. Verb: We will want to CSR this charity. Noun: This charity is part of our CSR. CSR encompasses any and all efforts to "give back." Think of your household and its charitable giving. Important ones for us are our church, maternity homes, children and multiple sclerosis research. What are yours? Corporations are able to help causes on a larger scale. And almost all of them have CSRs. Some even have whole departments dedicated to this.

Now, corporations still thrive on profit. So why is the CSR important to them? PR, or public relations. You could say they like CSRPR, FYI, BTW. That should get an LOL:) Earth day ties in because environmental causes are a HUGELY popular CSR. Companies are more and more concerned with their carbon footprint so if they are connected with a business that affects the earth (Proctor & Gamble = diapers = landfills) they try to give back (cleaning oil spill affected animals with Dove soap.) If they do not affect it as much, it is still a popular cause that the majority of companies serve.

Why is CSR important to you? Well, the first thing is that good little 'company girls' like what the company likes. Second, or maybe first for many people, is that if you have the luxury, you will want to work for someone who supports good things. There are some causes that are divisive; nuclear research comes to mind. Nuclear power has the potential to do much good but it also has the potential for great destruction, as we have seen in Japan. Any money you make for your corporation is partially funded into their CSR. So your efforts indirectly contribute to the causes your company supports. Scientists who object to embryonic stem cell research often lend their time, money and talents to charities that focus on adult stem cell research only. Every company website today has a link on one of their first web pages, outlining their giving priorities, their CSR. This is important to note, when determining if you will even apply. Your money will make a difference to someone. Make sure it is the difference you want to make.

On a side note, go to Starbucks tomorrow with a mug/travel mug and they will give you free coffee for being environmentally conscious.

Happy Good Friday!

Change for Dummies: Part II - The Change Agent

So we've established in part one that the best way to introduce change is to ask people to do something small. Why? Change is hard. People who have been around forever like to do things like they've been doing them forever. Newbies just learned the ropes and are reluctant to change their routine. And statistically, 80 % of everyone else in between is too comfortable to switch. The low hanging fruit would seem to be easily enough to implement among your staff. But more is needed. This is where the process requires going back to high school. Yuck, I know. Enter the change agent. This is the person who will cheerlead the change for your. If you work at a corporation, managers implementing change will all need to find one. People respect and like this person because of either experience, personality or any other number of reasons. Who are they most likely to listen to? Think high school: was this the student council president? Maybe, if they were elected by the vast majority because they genuinely were nice. Was it the head cheerleader or the quarterback of the football team. Eh. People like them but are usually scared of them or intimidated in awe (haha:)) Some of these people could be jerks/bitches but not always. They did have great hair/clothes which won some points. Probably best to stay away from the AV club nerds though they are usually very very nice. They get a lot done but have bad hair and sometimes BO problems. In work. I'm serious. Partiers are fun but usually offend someone when they are under the influence. People in my class could convince us of much but we also knew they wouldn't follow through because they were too "fun." Whose word has the most "cred" in your school? This might be an easy job. There might be an obvious choice. But be careful. Just because someone is a social leader or your friend does not mean everyone listens to their business savvy. Social cred is equally as important as business cred. Here are some places to look for your change agent or to double check, if you think you are sure of who they are. 1. Secretaries, er administrative assistants. (I say this with a wink because I was one.) These people work with EVERYBODY. They usually know EVERYTHING and most have to possess at least pleasant personalities and competence because they do everything for everyone. Not high on the totem pole, an excellent administrative assistant often commands a lot of respect. 2. Old, er, experienced people. Not all of them. Ones with a proven record of success and hard work. And not crochety ("when I first came here, we worked up hill, both ways.") Experience gets automatic points with co-workers. 3. Map the cliques. Work has cliques, just like high school did. Write them out. If there are any people who aren't easily classified or who fit into more than one, consider them. Some people just get along with everybody because they are nice people but if they are at an office and this happens, it is also because they are respected for their work. And then some people are crabby when your computer breaks and they have to come fix it and they grump about it the whole time and they don't wear deodorant (you know who you are, former IT guy whose name will not be mentioned.) 4. Everyone else. Maybe there's someone in a definite clique who just has the respect. Reminds me of C in high school. C was a woodshop guy, a partier, a C student. Definitely ran with that crowd. But he was also incredibly nice. And not a mean drunk when he partied. And helped the slow kids in the halls. Well, don't you pick a C student, necessarily, but C would have been able to convince most of our class when it came to certain things. He wouldn't have been a bad choice to convince most of us on a change. 5. Managers. Look to this group last because they are usually the ones telling people what to do. But often it is because they got where they are being competent, nice guys. This does not apply if the boss's son is manager. Or if you know people just pay them lip service. Be careful to investigate thoroghly if your choice comes from this category. Even the best manager is no substitute for a good choice from the above categories. Once you have your shortlist down, its time to GOSSSIP. No, not really. Just test the waters. Make a generic comment about one of them to a rando by the water cooler and see the reaction. When you find your perfect change agent, your job is to get them to go out with you. Almost literally. If they're the same sex as you, as them for lunch or coffee (your treat) to discuss an important issue. Ask for an important meeting if they are male. Be blunt. Present it by saying you need their expertise in an important matter. (Oh, BTW do not pick the class gossip because you need to change agent to work covertly) Pose questions like, "How would you implement something like this?" "What do you think this department would do if this change happened?" Let them know why you chose them; ask them what they think of the changes. These people are often "in the know" and no matter what category they fall into, will be flattered you asked for their expertise. Then you ask for their help. Whether its being a cheerleader in the lunchroom or doing actual implementation with you, that is more dependent on the change and the appropriateness to your workplace. Let them know they can put the implementation on their resume (if they are young) or simply how much you value them. Ask if there is anything you can do to make their help more available, perhaps like taking some aspect of their job less appealing off their plate. The returning mom to the work force is the student who went to Spain for the year and came back. They can seem pretentious when they return. Or too eager to jump back in. The implication is that they've been away because they're either more cultured or smarter than you. So you need to sincerely respect whoever you choose. You really do need their help so you want to take their feedback seriously and give them the respect they deserve!

New Baby

Hi strangers! Posting this picture as an "I'm sorry" gesture for not keeping up with Relaunch. The last month has been a whirlwind. Currently trying to do a post but if things go as usual, she will interrupt it and I'll have to cut out. Thanks for your patience!