Struggling through 2009-10 left some company leaders barely surviving (or gone); others thrived and came through with new strategies for growth.
Three of those leaders shared their insights at Business in Vancouver’s annual Black Breakfast.
The March 29 event at the SFU Segal School of Business followed the publication of the Black Edition, BIV’s annual supplement focusing on building profitability.
For Chris Briekss, director and co-founder of 6S Marketing, one of the hallmarks of of 6S’ success is being able to adapt and shift strategy.
“If it currently exists, it’s obsolete,” said Briekss. “We find that we have to constantly be innovating in order to stay ahead of the competition.”
When he started the company about a decade ago, it was “all about search-engine marketing.” The company has recently rebranded as a digital marketing agency.
Equipment for his employees are iPhones and iPads, and his goal is to invest in new technology every month to “try to give our employees the tools they need to be more successful.”
“Retention is extremely important,” said Briekss. “As our space gets more and more competitive, we have many new competitors coming to market and they are looking to take our employees – our highly trained, very-expensive-to-train employees.”
Jeremy Miller, owner of Houston Landscapes, was riding a high in the construction industry before the economy shut down.
“My biggest strategy for when we slowed down was making sure that the key people with my company stayed with my company,” he said. Sometimes it meant creating “make-work” projects, but it kept his company together until the economy picked up.
Now Miller focuses on exceptional service. “We didn’t want to be your stereotypical construction company,” he said. “It’s taken us years ... but we have built that reputation.”
The third panellist was Tara Landes, president of MRSI Benchmarking.
MRSI works with companies (of which 6S is one) focusing on the best methods, the best procedures and processes that will yield the best results.
“We focus on change, and sometimes change is really hard,” said Tara. “Sometimes people see it more about the cost side rather than the value side. And when they do, it’s not the right timing for them.
“So we focus on the results, we focus on certain returns and certain hurdles, but whether I can see it or not is kind of irrelevant. It’s only whether the client can see it that matters ’cause that’s the only way they’re going to stick with new behaviours.”
To read the Black Edition or a full transcript of the Black Breakfast, visit www.biv.com/colour/index.asp.
BIV’s next colour panel is the Green Breakfast, which focuses on issues of sustainability. It follows the publication of the Green Edition, due out in June. Visit www.biv.com for details on how to register.