Greetings from the Omni Homestead Resort in the beautiful County of Bath, Virginia. I am attending a conference with the Virginia Council of CEOs. The guys and gals at Madison+Main do look forward to me leaving once a year for a few days, but they hate it when I return – full of new ideas that I want to implement.
We had some great speakers this week, on a wide variety of topics. One of the sessions – presented by Prof. Randy Raggio from the UR’s School of Business – invited participants to write an obituary for the company, as a part of strategic planning. At first, I thought “Gosh, this is kind of morbid.” But I realized that the future death of your company can be prevented if you know can imagine the reason(s) why it failed.
Ask yourself this: If your company went belly up next year or in the next decade, what would be the reason?
Why do some companies thrive and others go the way of the DoDo? According to Wikipedia, the Dodo bird died out because they were hunted by sailors and invasive species (competition) and since they never learned to fly (failure to adapt), they were – pardon the pun – sitting ducks.
Will your company be eaten by the competition or will you fail to adapt to new technologies or methodologies?
What did learn this week? Don’t be a Dodo. Be a Disruptor.
Dodos fear change, fail to adapt and get swallowed up by competition. Disruptors not only embrace change, the drive it and understand that Dodos taste like chicken.
Monday, April 24: Big 5.0 for Sue’s Big 50
By now, many of you know my bride Sue turned 50 last weekend, so I bought her a Mustang 5.0. Watch out, Mama Sue has a hot rod!
Also, over the weekend, our friends at Sycamore Vet held their Grand Opening. Check out this nice article on them in the Times-Dispatch.
Tuesday, April 25: Big Shoes to Fill
On Tuesday, we began posting some recruitment ads for the BBB. In case you didn’t hear the news, longtime BBB President Tom Gallagher is retiring and it’s a big job to help them fill some big shoes.
With Virginia’s unemployment rate dropping to 3.9%, we’ve had several clients calling to assist them in finding good, qualified team employees. The economy is growing and “nearly full” employment numbers require some extra effort in recruiting. Let us know if Madison+Main can help you with this. #HereForYou
Wednesday, April 26: Bon Voyage
On Wednesday we said bon voyage to Account Manager Meredith Mason, as she and hubby Ronnie head out to on a European vacation.
Thursday, April 27: Thirsty Thursday
Great speakers on Thursday included Marshall Goldsmith, who has written 35 books on leadership and coaching, including the best-selling “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.” I really enjoyed his outlook and advice. Also enjoyed spending time with Polyface Farm owner Joel Salatin, a self-described “Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic,” and now I really want to visit his farm in Swoope, Virginia.
The Homestead is nice, but boy can it be pricey. My Thursday thirst was quenched with a $17 Old Fashioned. #OMG
Friday, April 28: Take Me Home County Roads
Winding down an excellent Virginia CEOs retreat, and I get to drive the beautiful back roads of Bath on my way back to RVA. The visit is short-lived as we ramp up for racing at Richmond Raceway this weekend. I – and most of Madison+Main-iacs – will be out at the track. Be sure to stop by the Who’s Your Driver tent and say hi.
“Remember my mantra. Distinct… or extinct.”– Tom Peters, Author & Businessman