Congratulations Business Goa on your
sixth anniversary. It is another milestone on your way to creating a
legacy. This is an ongoing process, we live and learn. Keeping it
going month after month year after year is an achievement by itself,
we wish you luck and blessings as you go into a new year. We at GMI
Zarhak just completed 20 years and as usual it is a time to look
back, refocus and rededicate ourselves to the task at hand, creating
a legacy.
The most obvious lesson that comes to
mind is actually better explained by the glorious game of
uncertainties, cricket. Most great batsmen say that the secret of
their success is the fact that they play every ball as if it is their
first ball of the innings. They actually practice what the financial
ads publish as a disclaimer, the fact that you hit a four of the
previous ball is no guarantee that the next one will be a four. So
also for any Company. Just because the firm had a good year is no
guarantee that the next year will be great. It will be only if a
review was done and attention was paid to those areas where problems
faced and corrective action taken.
A classic example is brought out by the
saying “When Good Sales Hide Poor Performance”. There are often
times when sales rise without any effort on the part of the company
or despite rude or poor service. This could be due to non
availability of competitors products, withdrawing of a competing
model etc. This situation could lull the company into a false sense
of security and once the competition gets its act together, the
customers will switch and it will be too late.
When we entered the market 20 years ago
we pushed a new delivery model. We offered dealers an opportunity not
to stock. They could call the factory, order the material required,
with no minimum and we would deliver directly to their customers.
This meant they did not have to carry inventory and that they could
use the godown space for other material. This model we developed
based on the finding that every manufacturer had a minimum lifting
quantity to deliver free to the dealer. If the dealer ordered less
than the minimum he had to pay for the delivery. This offered us a
gap, an opening, we grabbed it with both hands and this was born our
delivery model, JIT no minimum. As orders increased we had to make
additions, changes to our process after review to ensure our 24 hr
delivery commitment.
Employee engagement or team building is
another area that one has to constantly review. Anyone starting will
have a very hands on approach. This will mean that the Boss will be
in close touch with the employees on a daily basis. As the business
grows and spreads, the day to day activities are taken over by others
and that contact is lost or weakens. In addition there is attrition
and additions as an on going process, that personnel touch/ contact
can get lost. For us at GMI, it is the monthly Kaizen meeting where
interaction with every employee happens. Team building is an ongoing
and continuous process.
Talking of engagement, over these last
twenty years one way of giving back to society, a much talked about
concept is “INTERNSHIP”. We keep cribbing about the fact that
those who pass out are nowhere near the required standard. Yet what
do we do about it, easy way out is blame the education system. If we
have stated the problem, can we become part of the solution. That
solution is to hire INTERNS. Interns are students who come and work
in our organisations and when working get a feel of the real world
and how it connects to the theory they are learning. This process
effectively contributes to making the student a better product once
he/she actually finishes school and therefore the hiring organisation
has added value to society, given back in a way.
But only charity will not motivate us
to hire interns, the question is how will the organisation benefit.
It will benefit. Everyday our people focus on day to day activities,
there is really no time to stand back and study data generated
various activities. Eg while we know what is the rejection level do
we hav time to study the rejections and attack the one cause that is
generating the most defects, Pareto's analysis or do we have time to
do a fish bone analysis to find the root cause. Interns are the
answer, they are not concerned by day to day work, they can study the
data, make observations on the ground and give the concerned
department heads better information to take corrective action,
win-win for both.
Old customers do not die they fade
away. Just as employee turnover happens in your company, it is also
happening in your customers Company. The new purchase manager may not
be aware of your relationship as a supplier and having his own
connections from a previous experience, he will shift his business
elsewhere. It helps if a review is done and old customers are
reminded of your presence regularly just in case they have forgotten
or the new hire does not know about your product.
There is something we have not done but
it is surely on our wishlist. I recently attended the 10th
anniversary bash of Sethu. It was not just a bash, it was a birthday
bash with a purpose. It was a great way to connect with the stake
holders, and get feedback. Often we get feedback through a survey, in
this case the feedback was in the attendance, they are doing a great
job and they are doing it right. Maybe at 25 we will have a bash and
that will be a fun way of doing a serious job.
Last but not the least is keep scanning
the horizon. Is there anything out there which will put you out of
business, colour TV's blew B& W's out of the water, as did Maruti
to Premier Padmini. The owner of an aluminum tube mfg, believed that
lami (plastic) tubes would never replace aluminum tubes. He felt that
due to the fear of fakes, cosmetic companies would not switch because
lami tubes could be reused. Today, it will be hard to find an
aluminum tube being used to package toothpaste. These threats do not
have to be another competitor, but it could be another process,
another material.....
You could add your own areas to review
on your anniversary, but do review so that you will be around at the
next anniversary. Happy legacy creating.
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