Weโre in the sales and marketing business but we really see ourselves, and our clients, as being in the manufacturing business. Because at the end of the day, we need to make what we do repeatable and scaleable.
We at Lone Beacon have about 500 separate actions to conduct to create a successful outcome in our business. And if we miss just ONE element, our outcome will be a failure, much like an auto assembly line. We all can relate to that in one way or another.
So then, who better than Elon Musk to learn from when it comes to creation, design, and manufacturing in our businesses? Before you create your next initiative, take the time to think about Elon Musk’s manufacturing principles.
Step 1: ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐. Is the process of replicating your idea simple enough to be duplicated over and over again? The design or creation of one great thing, idea, or system is special…but not nearly as special as having the ability to scale that same outcome.
Step 2: ๐ฆ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. Figure out how you can reduce the number of steps to achieve your outcome. This will save time, and money, and cut down on errors.
Step 3: ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. We work specifically in the financial vertical, and so many systems and products could and should be automated. This cuts down on the risk of human error, saves time, and creates a better user experience.
Step 4: ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ. One of our favorite expressions at Lone Beacon is “๐๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด.” Our world, our industry, consumers, and technology are constantly changing…so we need to change to just keep pace.
Step 5: ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป. This is unsexy and it requires the discipline of a โmind the storeโ mentality. Donโt let dust get into the gears of your process. You can NEVER โset and forgetโ anything. So, there they are. The five logical and very tangible things that we all should practice if weโre running any kind of business!
About theย Author: John grew up in Schenectady, NY & received a scholarship to Norwich Academy. He began his broadcast management career at WOR, learning spoken word marketing from the best in the business with a specialty in financial and long form. John managed broadcast sales for some of the best known sports teams in the world, at the most legendary stations. However his true passion is in the world of direct response advertising to baby boomers and their parents. In this space he has worked with some of the best brands in America. John lives in Boston with his wife, Melissa who is also a broadcast executive, and French Bulldogs Lou and Sal.