Some Suggested Reading for Businesses on the Move
These three resources can provide you with some terrific ideas, guidance and advice.
April 2007 By Robert Ain
If there’s one truism in business, it’s that we can all learn more. That’s especially true for the veterans of the consumer electronics business, who are more open than ever to new ideas that can stimulate growth and progress.
Over the years, I’ve encountered numerous books, web sites and newsletters that offer layers of detail on how ideas can work in your business. Unfortunately, many of those ideas are just that—ideas—and really haven’t been tested. I tend to learn more from ideas that are derived from market research and investigation.
The following recommendations, then, outline ideas that are proven quantities. These ideas come from analytical investigation, research, and even sometimes just recording how people act in retail locations.
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill
Published in 2000, this book, in my opinion, is the best ever written about how consumers act and react in retail environments. Underhill uses videotaping and observation to track how consumers in retail stores view, try and, ultimately, buy products. Among his fascinating findings: Men are far more likely to purchase a pair of jeans after trying them on in a fitting room than women are (65 percent to 25 percent). That nugget of information may not directly be interesting to you as an electronics professional, but I think it might imply that, for men, touching and using a product is important.
Additional research on the importance of displays and the impact of the interactions between employees and shoppers is extremely well-documented.
After reading this book, I was in a large British department store with the sales manager of one of the largest providers of loudspeaker systems in the world. We went through the audio department of this store and I was amazed how poorly items were displayed on the shelves. This sophisticated department store certainly was making it difficult for its customers to get familiar with these products. I sent the speaker company’s sales manager a copy of Underhill’s book; he was amazed by the research and the help it provided his distributors in displaying his products properly.
I guarantee that the department store heads have probably read this book and have implemented many of its suggested practices. You should, too.
Underhill’s company, Envirosell, offers a newsletter called Field Notes, which is available at www.envirosell.com. Also available on the site are case studies that review the recommendations for change that the company has given to several companies.
A postscript: Underhill’s subsequent book, Call of the Mall: The Geography of Shopping, does not meet the same standards of excellence of his previous work.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Published in 2001, this is one of the most successful business books ever written, with hardcopies sold in the millions. Collins, who developed many of his research techniques during his professorship at the Stanford Business School, backs his theories with real specifics on how companies perform.
Collins and his staff researched almost 1,500 companies, looking for the traits that took them from “good,” or middle of the pack, to “great.” He identifies these traits and then goes into great detail on why 11 companies he examined have achieved high levels of success—Circuit City among them. The big points in the book are the importance of people—their habits, their leadership, their vision.
Collins’ web site, www.jimcollins.com, includes his “laboratory,” which features sections on leadership, vision, and “confronting the facts of your current business reality.” The site also includes an interesting diagnostic tool that helps you evaluate just where your company is on the road to “greatness.” This is useful, because analyzing where you are can always help you in determining where you should go.
HR Matters E-Tips Newsletter
In my consulting business, I find many companies are unknowledgeable about good human resources practices. There’s not only the “right” thing to do with employees; there are also legal issues of which all employers must be aware in their hiring practices. This free e-newsletter covers many topics all companies should follow when dealing with employees. All business owners and managers must understand and use this knowledge effectively.
Some recent topics included in HR Matters include “Sexual Harassment Training: The Right Policy & Compliance Mix,” “Termination: Timely Pay & Vacation Issues,” and “FMLA Intermittent Leave and Workweek Calculation.”
Go to www.ppspublishers.com/ezsignup.htm to sign up for HR Matters. CR
Over the years, I’ve encountered numerous books, web sites and newsletters that offer layers of detail on how ideas can work in your business. Unfortunately, many of those ideas are just that—ideas—and really haven’t been tested. I tend to learn more from ideas that are derived from market research and investigation.
The following recommendations, then, outline ideas that are proven quantities. These ideas come from analytical investigation, research, and even sometimes just recording how people act in retail locations.
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill
Published in 2000, this book, in my opinion, is the best ever written about how consumers act and react in retail environments. Underhill uses videotaping and observation to track how consumers in retail stores view, try and, ultimately, buy products. Among his fascinating findings: Men are far more likely to purchase a pair of jeans after trying them on in a fitting room than women are (65 percent to 25 percent). That nugget of information may not directly be interesting to you as an electronics professional, but I think it might imply that, for men, touching and using a product is important.
Additional research on the importance of displays and the impact of the interactions between employees and shoppers is extremely well-documented.
After reading this book, I was in a large British department store with the sales manager of one of the largest providers of loudspeaker systems in the world. We went through the audio department of this store and I was amazed how poorly items were displayed on the shelves. This sophisticated department store certainly was making it difficult for its customers to get familiar with these products. I sent the speaker company’s sales manager a copy of Underhill’s book; he was amazed by the research and the help it provided his distributors in displaying his products properly.
I guarantee that the department store heads have probably read this book and have implemented many of its suggested practices. You should, too.
Underhill’s company, Envirosell, offers a newsletter called Field Notes, which is available at www.envirosell.com. Also available on the site are case studies that review the recommendations for change that the company has given to several companies.
A postscript: Underhill’s subsequent book, Call of the Mall: The Geography of Shopping, does not meet the same standards of excellence of his previous work.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Published in 2001, this is one of the most successful business books ever written, with hardcopies sold in the millions. Collins, who developed many of his research techniques during his professorship at the Stanford Business School, backs his theories with real specifics on how companies perform.
Collins and his staff researched almost 1,500 companies, looking for the traits that took them from “good,” or middle of the pack, to “great.” He identifies these traits and then goes into great detail on why 11 companies he examined have achieved high levels of success—Circuit City among them. The big points in the book are the importance of people—their habits, their leadership, their vision.
Collins’ web site, www.jimcollins.com, includes his “laboratory,” which features sections on leadership, vision, and “confronting the facts of your current business reality.” The site also includes an interesting diagnostic tool that helps you evaluate just where your company is on the road to “greatness.” This is useful, because analyzing where you are can always help you in determining where you should go.
HR Matters E-Tips Newsletter
In my consulting business, I find many companies are unknowledgeable about good human resources practices. There’s not only the “right” thing to do with employees; there are also legal issues of which all employers must be aware in their hiring practices. This free e-newsletter covers many topics all companies should follow when dealing with employees. All business owners and managers must understand and use this knowledge effectively.
Some recent topics included in HR Matters include “Sexual Harassment Training: The Right Policy & Compliance Mix,” “Termination: Timely Pay & Vacation Issues,” and “FMLA Intermittent Leave and Workweek Calculation.”
Go to www.ppspublishers.com/ezsignup.htm to sign up for HR Matters. CR
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