Get buy-in. What you have to
do is find some quick successes that you can execute
on and then show people.
Nothing makes people
believers like success.
It’s trying to find some quick
wins and then reminding people that we got them. So if we
set these goals, we can go get
them, and here’s the goals that
we’ve already achieved.
It’s constant communication
because when you get mired, as people ultimately do in
their day-to-day grind of whatever it is they’re focused on,
they may feel like they’re not
moving the ball forward. I
think the CEO’s job is to
remind them, ‘Here’s what
we’ve done so far. Here’s the
period of time we’ve done it
in. Here’s where we’re headed. We’re not all the way there
yet, but let’s understand that
we’ve made progress along
the way.’
Gauge whether the plan works. It’s
about the bottom line. It’s
about meeting the profitability
goals. If the strategy is delivering to the bottom line, then it’s
working.
Sometimes there’s a balance
between delivering to the bottom line and, at least on our toy side, buying market shares.
As long as you understand
where that is going, then you’ve
measured it appropriately.
Not everything pays back the
month you invested it. You just
have to acknowledge that going
in. If you’re beyond that point in
time, you need to investigate is
it either the right strategy, or
[are] the tactics that we used to
support it the right ones?
I think that’s sometimes where
companies fall astray. They say,
‘Well, I don’t see any returns yet;
let’s move on to the next thing.’
I think you have to be disciplined, and say, ‘When did we
think this would pay back?
When did we think we would
see these gains? Are we there
yet? If we’re not there yet, let’s
understand that.’
HOW TO REACH: K’NEX Brands LP, (215) 997-7722 or www.knex.com
