Amazon's Jeff Bezos Day 1 Philosophy Can Transform Contentment and Attrition in Business

By Gina F. Rubel 

In a recent letter to his staff, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos outlines the proverbial “Day 1” landscape, while warning against the complacence of “Day 2.”

In Bezos’ view, a company never can stop being a start-up. He believes that company leaders always need to think as they did on the first day of their business. “Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1."

His letter is a powerful reminder of the importance of staying focused on your clients and their needs, every day. For instance, marketing of a company is not really about the company’s products or services per se, it is about how those products and services fill the wants and needs of the company’s particular customer.

Bezos makes some key points:

• Provide value. Like many of the successful consumer-facing companies such as Amazon and Zappos, it is client value and client service that differentiate thriving companies from their competitors. 
• Focus on the future. Always look ahead for your clients and your business. As markets and industries evolve, so must your products, services and delivery methods. 
• See the big picture. Understand that short-term decisions cannot be allowed to affect long-term success. Sometimes, in fact, difficult decisions, such as reorganizing staff, no longer providing certain services and changing product offerings must occur to ensure the long-term health of your business. 
• Make decisions quickly and learn from others. Embrace the process of “disagree and commit.” Not everyone will agree on every decision, but it's still possible for people who disagree to work toward the same goal. Those goals should be dictated by quantifiable client feedback. Remember, it is client service and client value that you ultimately should strive to be known for. 
• Focus on results and not just process. While process is important, it cannot wag the dog. Use it as a tool, not as the proxy. 

Daniel B. Kline, for The Motley Fool, asks, “Is it really always Day 1?” Kline says, “What Bezos is doing is guarding against the contentment that success can bring. He's creating a culture where past results do not guarantee future success so it's always important to strive, innovate, and be open to change.” This is the key takeaway.

This business advice is much like long-term relationships, whether it be marriages, commitments, friendships and the like. In order to keep a relationship fresh and interesting, to meet the wants and needs of the other party, and to keep the relationship alive, it serves us well to think of every new encounter as a first date.

Because, like Kline said, “past results do not guarantee future success,” and this is true in all relationships, business and personal alike.

What's in a Name?

View image | gettyimages.com

By Rose Strong

It’s been a tough year for companies and organizations that use the name ISIS.

When I was a youngster, Isis was the name of a deity in Egyptian mythology, the goddess of health and wisdom. As I grew up, the name also referred to Isis, the female superhero in the TV show, Secrets of Isis.

Today, according to CNN, ISIS stands for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The splinter group of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda is also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and just as Islamic State, and gained notoriety after videos were posted online depicting the group’s barbaric and gruesome killings of western hostages.

Given this political backdrop, executives at companies that share a name or otherwise use the acronym ISIS have scrambled to find ways to distance themselves from the newest appropriation of the name. It is a difficult predicament for any business to be in, considering this name / acronym usage isn’t something easily controlled by the business itself.

A condo development in West Palm Beach, FL changed its name from ISIS Downtown to 3 Thirty Three Downtown.

A Belgian chocolate company changed its name from ISIS Chocolates to Libeert after their international customers were unable to carry the chocolates because of the negative connotation associated with the name.

Even the animated television series Archer had to rename an organization within the show as the producers didn't want to associate with the violence and horror of the terrorist group.

A few companies using the acronym of ISIS are making a conscious decision not to change their name. A feminist group affiliated with Fordham University has decided to keep the name ISIS which stands for In Strength I Stand. "People know who we are. Nobody thinks we are in any way an Islamic terror nationalist group. So I really don't see a need to change it because of that," Wallis Monday, the group's president told New York Magazine.

Rebranding is a huge undertaking. Oftentimes, a new mission statement must be developed to coincide with the core values, which may change from time to time as the business changes with the times and its demographics. When you consider having to redesign stationery, packaging, logos, websites, advertising and any other collateral a company uses for its brand identification, a rebranding project can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as a potential loss of customers.

Of course, there are times when rebranding is needed. As a company grows over time, it may evolve to offer new products or services, or may be making a push towards gaining a new client demographic, or may want to keep up with a change in trends and fashions. Other businesses rebrand because the business name doesn't fit or it is easily confused with something else or is unpronounceable or in the case of ISIS, to change the negative connotations consumers may have.

Have you ever rebranded your business? Would you change the name of your company if it had unwelcome negative associations with forces you couldn't control? Let us know in the comments below, what you think about this predicament and how you’d handle it.

How to Set Yourself up for Success in 2014

By Kim Tarasiewicz

Goals, objectives, and resolutions are all things we hear at the start of a new year. But why are they important and how do we achieve them? Your specific industry may determine your corporate culture, but here are five tactics that will work to keep your company on track throughout the year when setting goals and business objectives.

• Set measurable goals – Be clear about what you want to accomplish; instead of “growing the tax side of the business,” define a specific goal such as “increase profits 30 percent in the tax division of our business by each team member acquiring one new client.”

• Share goals with the team – When your employees don’t know your goals, it is difficult to hold them accountable for business growth. Share your plan with them and ask them to commit to the ideas along with management, creating a team effort. Employees understand your business, so why not use their ideas when creating strategies for the year.
  

• Define employee goals – Business plans are not only for the corporation. Team and individual employee goals should match those of the corporation. Set attainable goals with your employees and have regular meetings to review those objectives. Google’s internal grading system  for employees and suggests setting four to six goals each quarter.

• Track goals – Creating objectives may seem easy until it is time to track those goals within your company. “More than 80 percent of small business owners surveyed said that they don't keep track of their business goals,” according to an Inc.com story on how to set business goals. Setting specific goals early on allows you to identify quantitative results each quarter.

• Review and adjust – Business climates change, and while most companies look at their “numbers” at the end of each year, it’s important to review your strategies, research your target audiences and incorporate new technologies to evolve within your specific industry. Taking an educated risk might be just what your company needs to kick start 2014.

As Stephen Covey said, "Begin with the end in mind." Motivate management and employees this year by setting clear goals, challenge them to attain those goals and then track and share achievements to enjoy a successful 2014.

How do you set goals for the year?