Innovative ways in…Keeping the old new!

   You’ve  been in the business for a long time now. You’ve come accustom to things just as they are. The things that motivated you then lost their luster. Your business is just ‘another day at the office’, ‘business as usual’. How do you bring back the excitement that you begin with?

  Remember  the day you opened the company door. No matter what the weather may have been, you felt great. You awaited your associates at the door, hoping they were on time and that your choices were the best. You were the king-of-the-hill, the captain of your domain. Whether you’re a retailer or a manufacturer, the excitement that was there, somehow it got clouded, it can come back.

   You  do the same routine day after day. Back then you had nothing to take for granted, let’s face it, everything was new. After time we fall into molds, molds we’ve created unconsciously. It’s time to break the mold and make it new again. Let’s look into a few things that can help bring back that luster.

   First, change the order of things the best you can. Granted some things must come at the beginning of the day, but there is a lot that can be juggled around.

    Second, you start your meetings at 10:00am every day; make it a half hour earlier or later instead. It will get your meetings to become a bit more interesting if you change the starting topic as well.  If needed bring up the most crucial first, then change it up.

   Third, check e-mails at a different time slot. Maybe half in the morning and the other before you call it a day.

   Forth, take lunch at a different time; bring someone other than the same old people. And it doesn’t have to be about work all the time. Change the conversation like sports, the weather, etc.

  Fifth, take a pleasure tour of your shop; greet your employees with enthusiasm. That will wake them up. This is supposed to be a cordial moment.

   These  are just a few small steps to take away the hum-drum out of everyday at the office. Remembering why you started in the first place is the right and first place to start.

For more information on how we can help bring back that excitement visit our web-site:

www.agrpllc.com

A Lesson from Hot Wheels

A Lesson from Hot Wheels – What is your “added play value”?

Written by Lars Ray, CC, MCC, ESP

 

I’m a grown man, and I play with Hot Wheels. There. I said it. With just under a thousand cars in my own collection, I’ve been hoarding these little gems since they were first introduced in 1968 (I was nine then…do the math). I can’t help it – they’re just that cool. There’s the racing, the collecting, bragging rights, forums to talk about them, Ebay….need I say more?

 

 

 

And it’s not just me – there are millions just like me worldwide. So what is it that makes these cars so desirable to so many for so long? 

 

At the time, Matchbox cars from Lesney Products were the premiere collectible car – they were 1:75 scale, easy to play with, original, and many of the cars had moving parts or accessories. Their operative word was authentic. They looked like the real thing. To become a major player in the die cast car market, the creators of Hot Wheels had to come up with a powerful alternative to compete. They started by asking one question – from a child’s perspective, how can they add extra play value to their cars?

 

While Matchbox cars were fun and authentic, they were anything but fast. Hot Wheels built their cars as being “the fastest metal cars in the world!” They found the one thing that all other collectibles were not – racing fast. But being fast wasn’t enough – they looked for other play value that included Spectraflame paint colors, fantasy car and hot rod designs, mag wheels, and cool California Customs. Some cars had moving parts, some had accessories, and all were fast. The realm of possibilities for design concepts, applications, and accessories were now endless.  

 

 

 

Today, Hot Wheels proclaim being “the hottest cars in the world”, surviving all comers. Eventually Mattel, the makers of Hot Wheels, purchased Matchbox.

 

So what are the lessons we can learn from Hot Wheels and how can we apply them? Here are a few I came up with:

 

Hot Wheels is a simple and compelling brand. They asked questions from their target audiences’ perspective, and created a brand that would encompass what their audience desired.

 

Hot Wheels constantly evolve and remain relevant. By staying in tune with its audience, Hot Wheels not only follows trends, it creates them. They define what is cool and desirable to multiple market segments. They remain “in-touch”, allowing themselves to be reached and interacted with. With the advent of the internet, Hot Wheels created a child safe environment in which one can play with their cars on-line and hold virtual races.

 

Hot Wheels are innovative. Their patented axle and wheel system may have launched them, but they didn’t stop there. Hot Wheels are always experimenting with themes cars, paint styles, wheel designs, new accessories, track layouts, and equally collectible non-car merchandise. Only the Hot Wheels brand carrying case was good enough for my cars, and I had to have the Hot Wheels lunch box (preferably the one with my cars on it!). As early adopters grew up (namely me and those like me), Hot Wheels created cars and collectible themes that still catch my attention.

 

Hot Wheels remain authentic. From the beginning Hot Wheels mimicked real cars (i.e. The Beatnik Bandit), but that’s not what I mean. Hot Wheels are authentic to themselves and to their customers and audience. They sponsor forums to collect feedback. They sponsor collector clubs for kids and adults. They hold conventions. But more than this, they remain authentic to the brand.

 

They consistently provide added “Play Value”. Whether it’s a moving part, an attachment, a collector button, or a race track, not one car leaves the store shelf without some added play value to go along with it. It may not be obvious to the nine year old, but they instinctively know it when they see it! Every customer does.

 

On the surface these may be simple to understand, but it takes time and effort to create a winning combination. Ask yourself these questions in the following order:

 

• How do I provide “added play value”?
• Am I innovative? How?
• Am I evolving and remaining relevant?
• Am I authentic?
• What is my simple and compelling brand?

 

 

Question: What is your added play value?

Your company’s culture is dwindling.

Your company’s culture is dwindling. What can be done; how did it get this way? Maybe it was never really there to begin with, or just lost in the shuffle of everyday life. Whatever the case…

Written by Jack Arnold and William Gibbs

  When a company has no set values, motives, mission, and goal you’re looking to produce failure not production in the long run. Without these you’ll have radicals in the organization tearing out the fiber of your very existence.

 What is company culture anyway? Culture:

Webster’s dictionary says it this way:

(The shared set of attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization;

The set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic.)

 Is everyone in the company on the same team oriented mind –set? Are you all reaching for the same goals with the same attitude? Not many companies are. Granted some are more-well to do than others, at least they have the appearance they do. A few that do have it together are Southwest, Virgin, and Apple. They have built their organizations on culture first, production second.

   One may feel it’s too late to change now; we’ve been on this road too long to turn back now. It’s never too late! If your doors are open today you still have the chance to change. You need to take the first step. That would be linear adjustment in attitude, character, values, company motive and goals. Without these key ingredients you are destined to fail.

  * Everyone knows his skilled primary function, cross-training applies.

  *All employees need to have a positive attitude about their job/career. You don’t need negativity in the work place; and don’t make room for it.

  *Character is built on non-compromise. If you compromise even the little things, the character of the organization is flawed.

  *Don’t waiver on true values. Your production level of quality should be at its very best.

  *Everyone should be on the same page with a common goal.

  We want to strive for a common goal and the betterment of the company; not just customer satisfaction but also employee satisfaction, from the CEO on down the line to the very last person. The up-side to all of this is:

Vender satisfaction- they know exactly what and when you have a need,

Customer satisfaction- they know they’ll have quality parts in a quantifiable time,

Self (company) satisfaction- the ROI in progress is monumental.

For more info on how you can grow your company e-mail us at:

info@agrpllc.com or visit our web-site:

www.agrpllc.com

Innovative ways in…Keeping the old new!

   You’ve  been in the business for a long time now. You’ve come accustom to things just as they are. The things that motivated you then lost their luster. Your business is just ‘another day at the office’, ‘business as usual’. How do you bring back the excitement that you begin with?

 

  Remember  the day you opened the company door. No matter what the weather may have been, you felt great. You awaited your associates at the door, hoping they were on time and that your choices were the best. You were the king-of-the-hill, the captain of your domain. Whether you’re a retailer or a manufacturer, the excitement that was there, somehow it got clouded, it can come back.

 

   You  do the same routine day after day. Back then you had nothing to take for granted, let’s face it, everything was new. After time we fall into molds, molds we’ve created unconsciously. It’s time to break the mold and make it new again. Let’s look into a few things that can help bring back that luster.

 

   First, change the order of things the best you can. Granted some things must come at the beginning of the day, but there is a lot that can be juggled around.

 

    Second, you start your meetings at 10:00am every day; make it a half hour earlier or later instead. It will get your meetings to become a bit more interesting if you change the starting topic as well.  If needed bring up the most crucial first, then change it up.

   Third, check e-mails at a different time slot. Maybe half in the morning and the other before you call it a day.

   Forth, take lunch at a different time; bring someone other than the same old people. And it doesn’t have to be about work all the time. Change the conversation like sports, the weather, etc.

  Fifth, take a pleasure tour of your shop; greet your employees with enthusiasm. That will wake them up. This is supposed to be a cordial moment.

 

   These  are just a few small steps to take away the hum-drum out of everyday at the office. Remembering why you started in the first place is the right and first place to start.

 

For more information on how we can help bring back that excitement visit our web-site:

www.agrpllc.com