Avoiding Business Failure

obmar · Avoiding Business Failure

1. Fear—Whether it is the fear of success or the fear of failure,
fear of stepping out of one’s comfort zone to try something new,
or the fear of trial and error. Fear can freeze a person dead in his or her tracks.

Too much thinking of failure is bad.

obmar

2. Failure to plan.

Failure to Plan is a Plan for Failure

Business Intelligence
Jonathan Wu

http://www.dmreview.com/news/3362-1.html

DM Review Online, April 27, 2001
There are two adages I think of regarding planning and launching a business intelligence project. They are: "Failure to plan is a plan for failure" and "Each hour spent planning is worth two hours saved during implementation."

Implementing business intelligence applications can be straightforward—but projects can also fail. If senior management isn’t fully briefed and backing the information technology department’s plan, the project may never see the light of day. In addition, IT managers, MIS directors and chief information officers must take great care in assembling the right implementation team and selecting the right business intelligence product. So, what’s a blueprint for success? What steps can your company and department take to ensure that your business intelligence project planning and implementation come off without a hitch? Here’s a checklist for doing the job right:

Define the project.
Identify the users.
Develop a formal project plan.
Assemble the project team.
Assess all information and technical needs.
Select the software.
Configure the business intelligence application.
Deploy a support strategy.
Train all users.
There must be a compelling need for developing a business intelligence application within your organization. In addition, management and the business community must have a general understanding and an appreciation of the value that BI applications can provide. Without these essential ingredients, there is no project. Individuals use BI applications to access data because they have a compelling need to obtain specific information and use it to solve serious business problems. That’s why thorough planning is extremely important for getting your project off the ground and completed by the established deadline.

In fact, developing a formal project plan is critical to managing expectations and fostering understanding both within your development team and by senior management. The plan should contain the following items: business requirements, scope, deliverables, critical success factors, user acceptance criteria, tasks, timeline, roles and responsibilities. Your plan is a living document that must be updated throughout the life of the project. Your plan is a reference document which individuals can read in order to learn about the details of the project and to help manage expectations as to what will be delivered.

Goals and aspirations are rarely achieved without a plan.

Without a plan, you and your project team may wander aimlessly—hoping to complete the project in a successful manner, but not having the resources and the timeline to really do the job right. A successful BI project is one in which all of the organization’s expectations are met or exceeded. User expectations can not be managed without following a course of action and formally documenting and communicating the scope and deliverables of the project. Remember that failure to plan is a plan for failure. So, I hope these steps will aid you in planning your next business intelligence initiative. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step—and in this case your first step begins with proper project planning. Good luck!

obmar

3. Lack of funding.

Another common reason for small business failure is a lack of adequate funding, especially during the critical start-up period. Inadequate funding severely limits your capacity and threatens your ability to grow beyond the initial stage of life. If you have done your homework properly, you should know how much money it will take to launch your business. Resist the urge to start until you have obtained all of the funding you know you need to do it right.

obmar

4. Procrastination

http://www.visionsbusiness.com/procrastination-success-killer/
Procrastination - Success Killer

I was going to write a great article on this, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. You can tell because it has been weeks since I last came here to write.
Isn’t that the story of procrastination?
No, that is the result. The story is more complex than that for most of us.
Procrastination is the act of not acting productively. Procrastination substitutes busyness for action. Procrastination is a behavior and habit of not doing what needs to be done.
I procrastinate in more ways than I care to list. Most times because the task at hand isn’t “fun”. Other times, it’s because I get distracted and chase shiny objects. And other times, I never get my day started right, and I just react to random inputs instead of focusing on what needs to be done. I rarely pay attention to my list of things to do. I’m GOOD at procrastinating.
Most deadly is an unacknowledged fear that if I start this project, I will not succeed, so why start? Or, worse, that I WILL succeed. And if I succeed, I’m afraid of the unknown results and consequences. Those consequences might bring tasks or situations that will be beyond my ability to handle, and it MIGHT end up in me failing after all.
So why start?
I have to convince myself that failure is OK. Well, I know that! I’ve failed plenty of times in my life. Some have been pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself. It hasn’t killed me yet. I know that failure is only a state of mind, not a condition of life. I know that failures teach me things so that I will be less likely to fail in the future. I know that I am not defined by my failures, but by my actions and attitudes as a result of them.
Success brings a new set of problems and more opportunities for failure. Falling from a higher ledge only makes the landing that much more painful. Why subject myself to an increase in pain and dejection? Because from that higher ledge, I can see so much more opportunity for fulfillment and success.
Because success brings good things, too. If my goals are related to helping other people learn and grow, I get the joy of seeing that happen. I get happiness from their joy. I might even get wealth and respect. I certainly will get a personal sense of satisfaction and an increased sense of capability. I am a Winner!
So, procrastination is a mental battle between me and my destiny. I might like the thrill of working under pressure and deadlines. I might like the attention it brings when others are reliant on my success. I might just hate doing what I need to do. It is boring or I am not good at it or I don’t even know how to do it. These attitudes and rewards from procrastination are habits that I’ve cultivated over the years.
These are simply mental issues. They are conditions of my mind that I have to wrestle with and overcome. It is I that has the responsibility to manage Me. It is My task to stay on task. It is Me who holds the key to productivity and success.
I have to develop the habits and discipline to get started, to continue, and continue until I reach the end.
And that is the secret to success: Start. Continue. Finish.

obmar

5. Excuses. Especially making an excuse for any
and everything that causes you to stumble.

obmar

6. Doing busy work. Keeping busy doing unimportant tasks.

obmar

7. Inability to delegate tasks.
Sometimes delegation saves your business.
If you have a weakness, hire someone
who could turn that weakness into a strength.
Use others to complete simple time
consuming tasks so that you can do other things.

obmar

8. Failure to Research.

obmar

9. Failure to Market.

obmar

10. An inconsistent advertising campaign.
It is better to have a ton of small ads on a regular basis
than one large ad on a monthly or yearly basis.

obmar

11. Your pricing is too low,
thus resulting in a negative cash flow.

obmar

12. Bad accounting practices.

obmar

14. Dishonesty.

obmar

15. Not fixing mistakes.

obmar

16. Not completing tasks in a timely manner.

obmar

17. Inability to follow-up.
You should always follow-up by email,
snail mail, or phone.

obmar

18. Not listening to client or customer. Talking too much.

obmar

19. Spending too little. It takes money to make money.

obmar

20. Spending too much.
Purchasing items when you don’t need them,
upgrading when the older version will do,
letting suppliers talk you into things you cannot afford,
and not budgeting.

obmar

21. Being unprepared for fluctuations in business.
Boom times when demands are high as well as
slow times when you are struggling to get by.
(Put money away during boom times to prepare for slow times.)

obmar

22. Lack of diversification.
If you only offer one product or service,
losing it can destroy your business.

obmar

23. Reputation. While a good reputation
will gain you tons of business,
a bad reputation could close your business.

obmar

24. Cockiness. There is nothing wrong with feeling great
about your products, services, or accomplishments.
Just don’t let pride and arrogance destroy your customer relations.

obmar

25. Discouragement. Giving in to your feelings of discouragement,
when things do not work out the way you planned
or succeed as fast as you thought.
Also allowing others to feed on any discouragement
you may already feel.