Simple Business Observations:

1. Lack of Imagination often masquerades as DOCTRINE.

2. People speak of " Outside the Box ", but many do not understand the term
    (and secretly don't want to, the freedom it compels frightens them )

3. The most overlooked quality of a business decision is subtlety. I will never forget the moment
    George Bush Sr. made the mistake of looking at his watch during a debate with Bill Clinton. It was to many, a seemingly
    innocuous moment, but it led to a huge shift in perception. Perceptions are often thin vapors that seep out of our message
    and unintentionally color the outcome. I often hold " Perception Dynamics " meetings where we explore all the possible
    clicks of the gears and how they may alter perceptions.

4. EGO is a negative constituent in the decision making process - it is ulterior in nature and it corrupts motivations! It leads
    to willfulness over the truth - the clean, clear and right choice. It slams the door on open ( free ) discussion and ideas while
    fostering personal agenda over the decision making process. EGO is not objective, it is subjective. EGO is not an expanding
    quality, it is a contracting quality. Do not confuse EGO with drive, ambition or hard work - they are virtues. EGO is emotional -
    negative emotion destroys authority. Check your ego at the door and come into the process with a clean
    sheet of paper.

5. Help anyone you can, in whatever way possible. If they need advise, give it freely. If they need direction, take them in tow.
    Keep in mind there is no one on this earth you can't learn something from. Give everyone their dignity. Be honest and
    correct in your dealings with everyone you come in contact with. Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) said it was his job to make
    everyone look good. He passed the ball often and taught other players the rewards of teamwork. If you want to be a leader,
    be a Good one.

6. Never practice contempt before discovery - freely use your imagination.

7. Salespeople are not simply salespeople, they are business people - first and foremost. Open your mind and
   dream. Do not create limitations in your mind or see yourself in a box. You are at the forefront of business decision
   making.          

Relevance

   Whether a company or an individual, your first and foremost responsibility is to remain relevant. Companies and individuals
   become irrelevant on a daily basis and are left asking themselves a well worn question, " How did this happen?"  If you have
   any doubt about this, recall names like Digital, Wang and Data General or ponder the plight of your neighbor/co-worker who
   has lost a coveted management position because he was a good manager (  just about anyone can manage ) but had let
   his/her true skill sets get rusty and outdated. In the Marine Corps you are vehemently informed that no matter what your
   MOS ( pilot, mechanic, etc. ) you are first and foremost a rifleman - grunt. So it is with your career... you can never stop
   learning and you must stay current - relevant. We must always "embrace change" ( a phrase so verbally bleached-out that
   it has become mindless-marketing mantra and hackneyed ) and see ourselves in another light - Individual as Corporation.

Individual as Corporation

   If a company is responsible for its success or failure, so is the individual - Business Existentialism 101. We can no longer
   expect the company we work for to "take care of us."  Those days are gone. You may work for a company but you are
   really working for yourself. Yes, you do a great job for your company, but you are doing it for you. You are the product!
   You are the corporation and you are ( unless you work for the Post Office ) responsible for updating your skills, staying
   current with changes in your career field and most of all, you are responsible for the creation of your opportunities.
   Your best weapon against job loss, career loss and failure is to remain relevant - and that is on you. ( Introduction to
   "Individual as Corporation" Seminar )
 

Business Consulting Examples

   I use the basketball expression, "push the ball upcourt" constantly when I am speaking with marketing and sales people.
   For me, it embodies all of the elements of winning. It is high energy, thought-out, focused and wholly offensive. It screams
   "attack." It abandons second thinking and it is willful. I don't go to work, I go to war. I don't want a fight, I want a battle.

   The art of image, positioning and sales is more important today than ever - clique...yes, but true. I have seen business cycle
   back and forth for over twenty years. In the end, many of your business issues can be seen in the following example

   1. Your a plastic injection molding company in Leominster, Massachusetts which has been in business for 40 years. Global
       Sourcing (LCR - Low Cost Region Out Sourcing ) has stripped away your oldest and largest customer, say...Kodak.
       You can't find experienced employees who will work for minimum wage ( no high school kid in Massachusetts or
       New Jersey will work in a factory pulling parts out of an injection molding machine - they have no historical context for
       (that ) and your only real option is to hire Cambodians or other third world workers. OK, that's one answer - lower wages,
       reliable workers. But that does not help you with Chinese imports or those from India, 40+% below you on part costs
       and tooling is, for all practical purposes, free! By the way, we're not talking about volume ( 100,000 parts ) that's for short
       runs! Moreover, business taxes, energy and environmental regulations are costing you a fortune. You have changed
       your medical insurance provider 3 times in the last 5 years and you can only think about Workman's Comp with a glass
       of Jack Daniels in your hand. Last but not least, your local business base is contracting and you will, for the remaining
       life of your company, no longer enjoy a regional status ( low, predictable sales and marketing overhead ). You are now
       traveling the country looking for new business opportunities, hiring reps, entering trade shows...spending that
       recommended 2-3% of gross annual sales for marketing that you never had to expend before. You preach daily about
       NBO's ( New Business Opportunities ) to your sales staff. Did I forget to mention that injection molding is really a
       regional venue? Here's the wrench through the window: your largest customers are quoting your jobs through
       online auction! Your 45-60 and need this company to last another 15-20 years...Your company, product or service
       must remain relevant.

       This does not look good. You're not alone. If you think the worst has happened - you are only now seeing the clouds
       before the storm. I have been through this scenario and there are ways to win. Call for your free audit.

  2. You have developed a system and associated chemistry ( expendables $$ ) to automate PAP SMEAR samples which will|
      increase lab through-put by 400%. Samples have traditionally been individually screened by hand. This screening process
      will save many women from the ravages of cervical cancer via early detection on one hand while cutting cost, enhancing
      sample accuracy and drastically reducing process time. The test system and expendable chemistry require complete FDA
      approval, investor funding/venture capital and a complete PR campaign directed at all pertinent media editors, doctors,
      hospitals and independent labs. You require a complete marketing package: market analysis, branding, logo, sales
      literature, web site, product updates - a comprehensive battle plan complete with progress markers - which must be met if
      venture money is to continue inbound while testing and certification are still ongoing...before you have turned one nickel
      in profit or return.

This looks good. However, timetables must be met and the message has to be tuned and compelling. This scenario is fraught with capitalization, design/manufacturing engineering, market window and security issues.

3. You have opened a self storage business in the Boston area. You are going up against the national " big boys " who are entrenched, market savvy and work all of the media outlets: papers, mailings etc. Just as you open your facility, a less than desirable word pops up on everyone's web pages and print ads: " DISCOUNT."  Discount means tough competition and more important, diminishing margins. You have a good location, Rt. 128, your facility is sparkling new and your staff is more than competent and customer tuned, excited and true to the company mission - they believe it and they see it as an avenue for advancement.

This looks good. The ability to position this company is very promising. Effective use of media outlets, industry journals
( Editors ), local print media and radio ads offer high percentage gains. You need a web site that is effective and
memorable - most sites look the same. Distinction is everything in this situation. Have some fun! Your literature cannot be market worn - Blah, blah, blah... Your message can't be annoyingly "market stream" ( I'm like them and they're like me -
you better know there is no one like you! ). Personally, when I go on sales calls with salespeople and I hear this I get
vexed. Jordan's Furniture is a good example of taking an everyday product offering and making it into something memorable,
fun and unique. The message - for that matter the whole identity of your company - needs to be " happening." I don't care if your making screws or Coronary Angioplasty disposables, you can make yourself truly distinctive within the ranks of your competition.

4. You are increasing sales by double digit percentages: 20-30% annually. Your factory is "asses and elbows" and you could hire 20 people on the spot if you could find them. In short, you are "kicking ass and taking names." At the end of the year,
you walk into your accountant figuring there will be a pile of money for bonuses, dividends etc. There's a problem. "Yeah...
your up 25% and things are crazy in the warehouse, but your profit was up 1%." There is a discipline about taking profitable business, unless you want to sell the business. I have seen several companies come to this conclusion and restructure
for profit instead of low-to-no profit volume. LM76 ( www.LM76.com ) Linear Motion Bearings is one such company and the
result is this: profitable business, lower overhead and fewer heart attacks. Big is only beautiful if your are making money.

Whether you are a mature business or a new idea, Quinn Design Works can tailor a plan for success. Quinn Design
Works will not offer you suggestions that you cannot implement. QDW is critical, focused and real. Moreover, our fees are
the most competitive in the industry. Lastly, we only deal in one commodity, the truth.

I once saw an interview with Dr. Jonas Salk ( polio vaccine ) and he was asked the following question, " Out of all the millions
of possible vaccine combinations that could of been tried, how did you possibly find the right combination of antigens to fight
this horribly crippling disease that terrified parents and children from 1921 - 1955? " Dr Salk's answer was simple, yet
profound, " You have to keep in mind that the answers to all of Man's problems, past, present and future, have always
existed...you just have to ask the right questions."

And so it is with all things, including business.

Best regards,
Mike Quinn