Recommended reading… Benchmarking Strategies: A Tool for Profit Improvement http://www.amazon.com/Benchmarking-Strategies-Profit-Improvement-ebook/dp/B001QXDU98 This manual is a must read for those looking to up their game.  At Vizness Solutions, we love benchmarking, analysis, improvement and transformation. “Both the diagnosis and the cure for an out-of-shape organization, benchmarking is one of the most effective regimens available for transforming any …

Wikipedia defines benchmarking as, “…the process of comparing one’s business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. In the process of benchmarking, management identifies the best firms in their industry, or in another industry where similar processes exist, and compare the results and …

For sailors and Boy Scouts, tying knots is a right of passage.  It’s about securing a sail, pitching a tent or locking something down to something else.  During the learning stages of both of these groups, experienced sailors and Boy Scouts occasionally refer to a similar phrase when teaching their young apprentices: “tie a knot …

We are pleased to add two new partners to the Vizness Solutions community:     CoralBridge Partners provides experienced-based consulting services focused on connecting people, performance and results.  In addition to their 70-years of collective experience, they also offer a powerful set of human capital analysis solutions, Human Asset Inventory® and the Leadership Pipeline® Dashboard. …

Most companies don’t really have a competitive advantage to maximize.  Few are innovative with their products or technology.  Few have the right, sustainable alliances.  And even fewer have the operational execution to leverage into massive advantages. So many firms today are “me too” companies, or fast followers in the marketplace with products lumped together as …

When analyzing companies, there are many methodologies and frameworks.  Below is a link to an article by John Scully, PhD of Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.  Dr. Scully provides an Excel template as well. http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2011/12/financial-swiss-army-knife-a-user-friendly-tool-for-facilitating-financial-analysis-and-due-diligence/ If you are conducting due diligence prior to investing, this is a nice tool for you to …

Signs of growth in the US are there in certain areas of the economy, however a seldom talked about situation also exists = skyrocketing student loan debt.  In a recent article by Rick Palacios he states, “Student loan debt now totals $865 billion, which is greater than all credit card debt outstanding, as well as …

Yes, the last few years have been challenging.  Executives have had to make tough decisions to cut expenses across the organization.  Some have utilized robust methodologies, others have delegated cost reductions to divisional leaders and others have slashed/burned based on gut feel.  Regardless, spending cuts happened in order to preserve margins and many companies have …

Pretty much every time we help clients conduct operational assessments, we are asked, “How do we look compared to others?” In some cases, large varianes in SG&A are easily apparent (Company A = 75.3% of Net Sales, Competitors = 68.2% of Net Sales), however at times the differences can be subtle, at the expense line …

We’ve all heard the phrase said plenty of times – “There’s a lot of room for improvement”.  As leaders charged with improving business performance, we love this phrase because we enjoy fixing stuff.  Eliminating waste and improving productivity is what we do.  We strive to make things better.  However, with business improvement, one of the …