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Sparkmag: Spark - August 2015 Edition

Sparkmag: Spark - August 2015 Edition

Why are group affiliated brands more successful than stand alone brands?

In an article by HBR, (https://hbr.org/2015/06/luxurys-talent-factories/)  group fashion brands were three times as creative as collections made by independent competitors. (See the exhibit below)

The real source of  the groups’ value says Andrew Shipilov, associate professor of strategy and an Akzo Nobel Fellow at INSEAD  is the way they exploit their diverse business portfolios to offer rich learning opportunities to both managers and creative talent. This is why their brands excel at design and business innovation.

Within the group, there is a vibrant circulation of talent that allows them to spread knowledge and best practices, despite the sometimes intense rivalry between their brands.

Cross fertilisation of ideas is key  :-

An example of LVMH - a brand house - To boost sales growth, the groups’ watchmaking companies started hiring marketing managers from their groups’ cosmetics and fashion companies.

These people were adept at developing stories that explain why a company created a particular model of watch and what the aspirations of its creators were. The ability to draw on deep brand-building and advertising expertise from other companies within their groups gives affiliated watch brands an advantage over independent watch companies, which have to hire it externally, often at a hefty price.

One executive reflected, “I’m responsible for a luxury watch brand in Asia. My team never had a CRM function, so I recruited an executive who had experience in CRM in fashion and cosmetics firms in our group. She brought the tools and the processes, as well as the knowledge about performance benchmarks. She helped our people change their mindset from being focused on the product to being more customer-oriented.” The new CRM systems improved the brand’s customer understanding and reduced its risks of stock buildup, since they provided quick feedback on market reactions to products. And the relationship-based approach the former fashion executive introduced has played an important part in making this brand one of the most-sought-after luxury lines in China.

10X provides this opportunity to SME’s and gives them  the edge to compete, says Terry Kew, CEO of 10X.  By forming mastermind groups (coaching clubs) which meet regularly and facilitated by an experienced chair (coach), SME’s can now exploit their diverse business’s to offer rich learning opportunities to both managers and creative talent.

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Andrew Shipilov is an associate professor of strategy and an Akzo Nobel Fellow at INSEAD. He is the coauthor, with Frédéric Godart, of the June 2015 HBR article “Luxury’s Talent Factories”https://hbr.org/2015/06/luxurys-talent-factories as well as a coauthor of Network Advantage: How to Unlock Value From Your Alliances and Partnerships http://www.amazon.com/Network-Advantage-Unlock-Alliances-Partnerships/dp/1118561457/.

Venture Capital in Australia: Jack Ma of Ali Baba gives us a few gems

Venture Capital in Australia: Jack Ma of Ali Baba gives us a few gems: Jack Ma  of Ali Baba is a legend - listen to this amazing interview -  If you are 20-35 - just do it! Take risks , fall down, get ba...

Venture Capital in Australia: Sydney's First Hookup Dinner

Venture Capital in Australia: Sydney's First Hookup Dinner

5 things to remember when goal setting

We all know that one of the keys to achieving ones goals is to write them down - but when asking a typical crowd whether they have written down their goals for the current year - very few put up their hands!

Goal setting process starts with writing down your goal, bringing it into action, constant reviewing and achieving.

1.  Focus  on a few goals that you can repeat almost from memory. Not more than a list of 5-7 goals

2. Keep them SMaRT - specific, measurable, actionable , realistic and time bound 

3. Write it down - as soon as you do it - you are stating your intention and your Bahrain goes into "making that goal happen mode"

4. Review your goals  frequently– This is what turns them into reality. Every time you review your goals, your brain automatically asks , “What’s the next step I need to take to move toward this goal”. 

5. Share them– share your goal with few selected people like your Children , your Parents, Your Mentor, your MasterMind Group or Close Friends. These people will be helping you in achieving your goal.

There are a few great tools / apps that help you do this:-

- update Zen

- OmniFocus

- 10x mastermind groups

Some things an entrepreneur would have loved to have known

2. Before going into business I wish I knew the importance of having an established “Advisory Board”.  Having a mentor is one thing but having a counsel of people who are not only experts in various business related functions but are also cheerleaders and coaches for your success is another. – Kellie L. Posey

4. The one thing that I wish I knew before starting a business was how much time you spend learning – it is constant – from self development, to business basics, to social media, – talk about wearing many hats! Oh my and thought motherhood was challenging. I love to learn new things but had no idea it was going to be like this. You have to learn how to act, how to present, how to close, how to keep in contact, how to prospect, and how to keep customers! – 

5. Focus on yourself as much as your product/service. The recipe is only as good as the Chef preparing the dish. – Mujteba H. Naqvi

29. Several years after starting my business I learned that the best source of advice and peer support are fellow entrepreneurs, especially those who have attained the level of business success to which I aspire. – Charles E. McCabe

70. Get a coach – someone who can walk you through the jungle to get you to the gold. Why bother flying blind, when others have blazed the trail before you? Starting a business without a coach is like getting in the car and driving. Sure you can move–and fast–but using a map is so much smarter than not. – Richard J. Atkins

59. I wish that early on I had sought out more business leaders in my field. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that I realized the value of the knowledge to be learned from veteran industry players and how it could help me grow my business. – Jim Janosik

82. What I wish I knew before I started a business was a really great business advisor! Most of us go into a business with a big heart for the product and lots of excitement. Few of us really know how to run a business. –Kelley Small