Have you ever had a week at work where you are jumping back and forth between two totally different types of work? It can be strange and even a little disorienting.
Here's what I mean: This week the chamber staff is helping organize the Zanesville Gus Macker Basketball Tournament. It is an annual project of the ZDA, which is an arm of the Chamber, and it is a major undertaking. So our staff members are running around doing physical set up for the event, alongside dozens and dozens of volunteers. Yesterday, for example, we set up the basket units, which are metal structures that come in pieces on a truck and then are assembled here.
Interspersed with that kind of work, we plop down at our desks every now and then and hurriedly answer phones messages and emails and try to get some essential tasks done, maybe in preparation for an upcoming meeting or something. Then we get back to work out on the street or down the hall.
It is kind of fun and its not hard, although it can be physical. But it sort of throws me off. Switching gears rapidly from physical labor to thinking and concentrating on information and issues is evidently not my forte. All of our staff does it and does it pretty well, however.
This weekend we will all spend two days working various jobs at the tournament. In some ways that is the easiest part since we can just worry about the event coming off okay. There is no administrative work back at the office that can't wait for two days.
Then the event tear down takes place, and as you know the aftermath of a party is always the worst part. For at least few days into next week we wrap things up and put supplies away.
Then its back to our mostly administrative work. And even though we are all very tired by this time, I think all of us kind of miss the nice change of routine we just had and regret now being relatively tied to our meetings, memos and desks.
But its never for long. Some project, meeting or other event will soon drag us out and make us do real work again, before the month is out in fact. And we all look forward to it.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Blue Ocean Strategy
Are you familiar with the book "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne? They also have a website by the same name: www.blueoceanstrategy.com .
I have not read the book yet but I am going to. I have read summaries of it and talked to others who are pretty knowledgeable about the whole concept, and it sounds like it has real potential to help a lot of business people, especially right now.
The basic premise is that businesses should NOT seek to compete head to head in a crowded marketplace but that they should find the "blue ocean", that great big wide open place where there is little or no competition for what they are trying to do.
How exactly do you do that? I am not sure yet, but I plan to find out. And it sounds like innovation and creativity are required, and that has to be part of what many businesses need right now.
If you want to read some summaries of Blue Ocean Strategy here they are (and these are also provided in our Business Survival Toolkit discussed below).
Blue Ocean Strategy Book Summary: http://www.giantpromotions.com.au/Downloads/Blue_Ocean_Strategy_Book_Summary.pdf
Video summary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJH0g-EPGDs
Nine Key Points of Blue Ocean Strategy: http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/about/whatis.html
Blue Ocean Power Point: http://visipramudia.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/blue-ocean-strategy.pdf
A Conversation with W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, authors of BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY: http://www.insead.edu/alumni/newsletter/February2005/Interview.pdf
I have not read the book yet but I am going to. I have read summaries of it and talked to others who are pretty knowledgeable about the whole concept, and it sounds like it has real potential to help a lot of business people, especially right now.
The basic premise is that businesses should NOT seek to compete head to head in a crowded marketplace but that they should find the "blue ocean", that great big wide open place where there is little or no competition for what they are trying to do.
How exactly do you do that? I am not sure yet, but I plan to find out. And it sounds like innovation and creativity are required, and that has to be part of what many businesses need right now.
If you want to read some summaries of Blue Ocean Strategy here they are (and these are also provided in our Business Survival Toolkit discussed below).
Blue Ocean Strategy Book Summary: http://www.giantpromotions.com.au/Downloads/Blue_Ocean_Strategy_Book_Summary.pdf
Video summary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJH0g-EPGDs
Nine Key Points of Blue Ocean Strategy: http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/about/whatis.html
Blue Ocean Power Point: http://visipramudia.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/blue-ocean-strategy.pdf
A Conversation with W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, authors of BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY: http://www.insead.edu/alumni/newsletter/February2005/Interview.pdf
Monday, May 18, 2009
2009 Business Survival Toolkit for Chamber Members
The Chamber is offering all members a 2009 Business Survival Toolkit. The Toolkit is a collection of documents on a CD, all of which are geared to helping businesses improve and achieve success in spite of this year's economic conditions.
The Toolkit includes articles, columns and research papers by experts (sources cited in each case) such as:
"Buyer Behavior in a Recession"
"Ten Survival Steps to Take Right Now"
"Nine Key Points of Blue Ocean Strategy"
"Marketing Your Way Through a Recession"
"Financing & Development Incentives Guide" published by the Chamber
"Cash Management Strategies in Hard Times" published by CFO Research Services
Resources from the US Small Business Administration
Local market data from the Census Bureau
A list of books & audio tapes recommended by the Muskingum County Public Library System
A list of links to online videos, guides and handbooks
The Toolkit is FREE to Chamber members and is not available to non-members. To obtain your copy of the Toolkit you can pick one up at the Chamber office in the Welcome Center at 205 N. Fifth St. or email your request to khollins@zmchamber.com to make other arrangements.
The Toolkit includes articles, columns and research papers by experts (sources cited in each case) such as:
"Buyer Behavior in a Recession"
"Ten Survival Steps to Take Right Now"
"Nine Key Points of Blue Ocean Strategy"
"Marketing Your Way Through a Recession"
"Financing & Development Incentives Guide" published by the Chamber
"Cash Management Strategies in Hard Times" published by CFO Research Services
Resources from the US Small Business Administration
Local market data from the Census Bureau
A list of books & audio tapes recommended by the Muskingum County Public Library System
A list of links to online videos, guides and handbooks
The Toolkit is FREE to Chamber members and is not available to non-members. To obtain your copy of the Toolkit you can pick one up at the Chamber office in the Welcome Center at 205 N. Fifth St. or email your request to khollins@zmchamber.com to make other arrangements.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Happy National Tourism Week
This is a great week to reflect on the tremendous impact the hospitality industry has on our local economy. Tourists to Muskingum County have a $174.8 million impact on our economy. The wages earned due to the tourism industry in Muskingum County is $46.9 million. $22.9 million in taxes are generated and over 2,500 people are employed because of the toursim industry.
In addition, this week is a great time to promote all the great travel activities that are available for Spring and Summer travel - Staycations as well like to call it. Go to www.visitzanesville.com to make your destination plans.
Our hats go off to all the employees in the hospitality industry and a big thank you to families, friends, businesses, meeting planners, motor coach owners, trip planners and leisure travelers who choose Muskingum County as their destination.
Happy National Tourism Week!
In addition, this week is a great time to promote all the great travel activities that are available for Spring and Summer travel - Staycations as well like to call it. Go to www.visitzanesville.com to make your destination plans.
Our hats go off to all the employees in the hospitality industry and a big thank you to families, friends, businesses, meeting planners, motor coach owners, trip planners and leisure travelers who choose Muskingum County as their destination.
Happy National Tourism Week!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
How a chamber membership is like a health club membership (and why you should care)
Ever wonder what you get for your chamber membership? We regularly try to answer that question, as we should. Here’s a new way to look at your membership in the Chamber of Commerce and perhaps come up with the answer to that question: A Chamber membership is much like a health club membership. How so? Well, there are three main ways in which they are similar.
1. THEY BOTH PROVIDE YOU WITH SERVICES IN RETURN FOR YOUR INVESTMENT. When you join a health club you are paying for services, not making a donation. The same is true when you join the Chamber – you are purchasing a set of services for your business, not contributing to a charity. Joining the Chamber may not make you as healthy personally (!), but it should improve the health of your company by providing you with worthwhile services.
2. WHAT YOU GET OUT OF IT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO WHAT YOU PUT IN TO IT. You get healthier if you actually go use your health club membership. If you just pay your fees and never use the services the club offers you won’t get in shape. The same is true of your Chamber membership. Your business only really benefits if you use the services the Chamber offers its members. With dozens of services provided for businesses of all sizes and kinds there surely are at least a few programs you could use from time to time that will benefit your company.
And if yours is the kind of business that does not need a lot of direct services from the Chamber, maybe because you are a large business or you only manufacture or you sell only outside of the area, let me assure you of something: You need the chamber because your sales grow when the community grows and your customers need jobs in order to BE your customers. And if you exclusively manufacture, you still need to chamber because you depend on the community's ability to attract and keep a quality workforce and meet your other needs, like activism on business issues and development incentives.
3. THEY BOTH DO GOOD THINGS EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT THERE. Health clubs promote good health and help individuals who are suffering from various afflictions, even if you are not personally in attendance on a given day. Their valuable services to others do not stop. Likewise, the Chamber is helping companies every day – if not yours, then someone else’s. We are routinely working on positive projects and pursuing the economic development of the community because that is our mission. So even if you don’t use a particular Chamber service or don’t feel the direct effect from some Chamber activity, you can be sure that someone else does. And that is good for YOUR business, undoubtedly. In the long run, that is how a community and an economy thrive and ultimately that does impact your business. And it was your investment in a Chamber membership that helped make that possible.
Tom Poorman
1. THEY BOTH PROVIDE YOU WITH SERVICES IN RETURN FOR YOUR INVESTMENT. When you join a health club you are paying for services, not making a donation. The same is true when you join the Chamber – you are purchasing a set of services for your business, not contributing to a charity. Joining the Chamber may not make you as healthy personally (!), but it should improve the health of your company by providing you with worthwhile services.
2. WHAT YOU GET OUT OF IT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO WHAT YOU PUT IN TO IT. You get healthier if you actually go use your health club membership. If you just pay your fees and never use the services the club offers you won’t get in shape. The same is true of your Chamber membership. Your business only really benefits if you use the services the Chamber offers its members. With dozens of services provided for businesses of all sizes and kinds there surely are at least a few programs you could use from time to time that will benefit your company.
And if yours is the kind of business that does not need a lot of direct services from the Chamber, maybe because you are a large business or you only manufacture or you sell only outside of the area, let me assure you of something: You need the chamber because your sales grow when the community grows and your customers need jobs in order to BE your customers. And if you exclusively manufacture, you still need to chamber because you depend on the community's ability to attract and keep a quality workforce and meet your other needs, like activism on business issues and development incentives.
3. THEY BOTH DO GOOD THINGS EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT THERE. Health clubs promote good health and help individuals who are suffering from various afflictions, even if you are not personally in attendance on a given day. Their valuable services to others do not stop. Likewise, the Chamber is helping companies every day – if not yours, then someone else’s. We are routinely working on positive projects and pursuing the economic development of the community because that is our mission. So even if you don’t use a particular Chamber service or don’t feel the direct effect from some Chamber activity, you can be sure that someone else does. And that is good for YOUR business, undoubtedly. In the long run, that is how a community and an economy thrive and ultimately that does impact your business. And it was your investment in a Chamber membership that helped make that possible.
Tom Poorman
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
8 Signs of Hope for the Economy
Here is an interesting online piece called "8 Signs of Hope for the Economy" from the Fortune website.
FORTUNE ARTICLE
It's a great summary of what I have been reading about the economic problems abating somewhat.
It says that there are a number of "green shoots" (as in signs of new growth) out there. Although all risk is certainly not over, they point to data on housing starts, the stock market, consumer confidence, single family home prices, business earnings, jobless benefit claims, new orders and exports, and the credit markets and suggest we could be on the brink of recovery.
Let's hope these indicators are right.
FORTUNE ARTICLE
It's a great summary of what I have been reading about the economic problems abating somewhat.
It says that there are a number of "green shoots" (as in signs of new growth) out there. Although all risk is certainly not over, they point to data on housing starts, the stock market, consumer confidence, single family home prices, business earnings, jobless benefit claims, new orders and exports, and the credit markets and suggest we could be on the brink of recovery.
Let's hope these indicators are right.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Legislation and Governmental Issues
There is a great deal of state and federal legislation pending that would affect businesses. Everything from the Employee Free Choice Act to the state budget. Which bills or laws or regulations concern you the most as a business owner or manager? We plan to soon to poll our members about their legislative or governmental concerns and share the collective results with our representatives in the statehouse and the US capital. But we welcome your help on the front end to identify which issues should be in the poll. Post your concerns here and we will incorporate those into our plans, and watch your email for our issues poll. Thanks.
Tom Poorman
Tom Poorman
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