Free guide to the 24 dimensions of business

From the

Never Look Where They Point series

…giving you total control of your business

Warmus Consultingwww.warmusconsulting.com

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http://www.warmusconsulting.com/

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Warmus Consulting Group The Warmus Consulting group is:

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This is a brief survey of how we approach the sometimes daunting task of analyzing a business.

Using the 24 dimensions and asking the right questions at the right time will get you to the root cause of a problem.

Warmus Consulting – The 24 Dimensions

Understanding a business, not just focusing on a problem, involves looking at four key elements that tell a story. This story further unfolds as we develop six categories of concern within each key element. This approach forms what we call “The 24 Dimensions of Business.”





The 24 Dimensions of Business - Introduction

Here’s how this works…

It is important to focus on revenue as the leading element in success or failure of a business. This is the first key element.

However, getting operations right involves controlling costs that can balloon and stress an enterprise. This is the second element.

Quality comes in third as the market judges the value of a company’s products and services. Poor quality tags a business with the “loser” label.

And last, but certainly not least, counting profits provides an acid test for the viability of an enterprise. If you are losing money on each item you sell, the last thing you need is a bigger truck to take your product to market.


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The 24 Dimensions of Business – Part One

Revenue - the leading element in success or failure of a business





The 24 Dimensions of Business

Dimension 1 – Marketing Marketing is communicating the value of a product, service or brand to

customers, for the purpose of promoting or selling that product, service, or brand.






Dimension 2 – Advertising Normally, advertising falls in the realm of marketing. Treating it

separately, however, allows you to focus on the specific goals of getting your message out and getting the best bang for your buck in the process.






Dimension 3 – General Sales Sales addresses issues such as cold calls, lead generation, sales

negotiation, closing the sale and sales follow up. In most businesses, any improvements in these areas will have a positive impact on a company’s total sales volume and revenue.






Dimension 4 – Products and Services In this dimension, rather than dwell on problems, it is more productive

to take a wider view and consider the new directions that are possible for a company. Every company needs to increase revenue. The trick is to find the best way to broaden the flow of revenue. Usually, this involves adding more streams of income.






Dimension 5 – Retail Sales Improving retail sales often involves analysis of sales methods and

techniques, new procedures and training. The two key elements in successful retail sales are product knowledge and understanding the customer.






Dimension 6 – Retail Store Design Retail store design has two functions: it must appeal to the customer

and it must optimize the profitability of the enterprise. It is this second function that often goes begging when doing design analysis. This is where businesses often have problems and why franchises are so popular.





The 24 Dimensions of Business – Part Two

Operations - getting operations right involves controlling costs that can balloon and stress an

enterprise.






Dimension 7 – Management The science of management is extensive. In fact, if you read most of the

books on management today, they assert that the manager is responsible for everything, top to bottom. To a certain degree, this may be true. However, if that is the case, what can you do about it?






Dimension 8 – Business Systems “Business systems” is a broad category, which includes not only

computer systems and networks but also the methods and procedures to keep the business humming. This dimension takes some time to cover well. Making changes to a company’s processes and procedures can sometimes meet with interesting challenges.






Dimension 9 – Planning Poor planning is actually one of the most common business problems.

It is difficult to identify all the problems a company can get into because of inadequate planning, so we will give you the list of the steps that cause the most trouble, and you can judge for yourself whether the problems you are seeing are planning-related.






Dimension 10 – Employees Every employee is different. Each comes to work with a unique set of

values and expectations. And as such, each employee takes away something a little different from his or her job than the next person. Experience shows that there is about one chance in four that the right person will be selected for the right job during hiring. Your goal is to increase those odds all you can.






Dimension 11 – Facilities and Equipment People get a feel for a business. When a store, shop, or office is run

down and looks bad, business drops off and people stop coming in. Employees treat the business shabbily and dread coming in to work. When facilities and equipment are clean, well designed and welcoming, both customers and employees have a better sense of purpose. They have more fun.






Dimension 12 – Human Resources If a company has more than a dozen people, it needs to invest in the

Human Resources (HR) function. As an organization grows, depending on the particular business model, a full-time organization will be a requirement if the company is to perform this function well.








send in the clowns (and mime)

Ok half-way there…



The 24 Dimensions of Business – Part Three

Quality - the market judges the value of a company’s products and services.






Dimension 13 – Quality Quality to a business organization means meeting the needs of the

customer. If a product or service meets the needs of the customer, businesses would be foolish to sell anything else—the customer is happy. This is true regardless of the array of materials used, the workmanship, construction, appearance or any other element of product or service composition.






Dimension 14 – External Factors An external factor refers to those items that are mostly outside of a

company’s control. When someone is pointing to a competitive business down the street, some adverse weather conditions or a nationwide economic recession, they are usually not pointing to themselves to see what they can do about their problems. They are pointing to external factors supposedly beyond their control. Occasionally, however, the process of considering external factors does yield some insight into how well the business operates.






Dimension 15 – Customer Loyalty Businesses that do well always find ways to reward their best

customers. In greeting customers by name, knowing what they buy or just being friendly, a business can build customer good will, reward profitable behavior and inspire their customers to be loyal patrons of the business, all at the same time.

Customer loyalty is the stuff that builds a business, validates the business model and puts a stamp of approval on management’s abilities.






Dimension 16 – Customer Service “What is the key element that allows you to compete with larger

businesses?” If the answer to this question is not “customer service,” it is an indicator of some potentially serious problems. Larger businesses always seem to have an edge on price and volume, so one of the few avenues open to other businesses involves customer service.

Regardless of the size of the business, good customer service always plays an important role in a company’s ability to generate adequate sales volume and maintain good will.






Dimension 17 – Retail Many types of systems come into play in a modern retail operation. The

list starts at the supplier and ends with the customer who will consume the product or service. Make sure you consider the entire path of items and related data the business must deal with.






Dimension 18 – Customers Working with your customers can take many forms. Good customer

knowledge holds the key to making any customer-centric approach successful. Gathering customer information, and spending some time to understand what that information means to your business, forms the underlying principle at the root of this dimension.





The 24 Dimensions of Business – Part Four

Profit - the amount of revenue gained from a business activity which exceeds the expenses,

costs and taxes






Dimension 19 – Profit Leaks Once you become sensitive to what constitutes a profit leak, you see

them everywhere, in every business, including your own. This is by necessity a negative perspective. The subject of leaks is probably the least understood of all and deals exclusively with losses. Just as profit can come from different sources, so too can money fly out the door from a variety of different leakage points in your business.






Dimension 20 – Owner’s Perspective The reason to zero in on ownership is that ownership means more than

just operating a business for profit. Pride and a sense of accomplishment factor in, as do a level of respect and standing in the community. Moreover, many business owners strive with a specific purpose in performing services or offering products.






Dimension 21 – Overall Business Although similar in many respects to ownership, this perspective is

separate from the previous dimension because it involves the company’s ability to execute. There must be enough good and detailed documentation to guide management in the effective operation of the business.

Management’s control in a business comes from an ability to organize, design and implement business processes that work for the environment in which the business operates. The resulting set of instructions becomes the roadmap management follows.






Dimension 22 – Financial Realistic budgeting, accurate financial data and solid advice from a

certified public accountant go a long way toward getting a business under control and on the right financial track. Once a solid accounting structure exists to reflect the reality of the business, management’s decisions may begin to reflect wisdom and rationality, rather than chaos and knee-jerk reactions.






Dimension 23 – Innovation In many businesses, innovation is a big issue. If the public does not see

fresh ideas, they stop buying and go elsewhere to find the next big thing. Stick to evaluating the process associated with bringing in new ideas, rather than the merits or style of any particular innovation.

There is a sequence to innovation that must be honored in order for the process to be effective. This is where you must focus your time.






Dimension 24 – Opportunity Costs An opportunity cost centers on the sacrifice of an alternative to a

particular chosen path or activity. For example, if you pursued a business deal worth $10,000, while you ignored a deal that would have netted you $25,000; your opportunity cost would have been $15,000. That is what it cost you to make the decision to go after the $10K deal. You could have made more money, but you chose another, lesser opportunity.





The 24 Dimensions of BusinessConclusion

This is a brief survey of how we approach the sometimes daunting task of analyzing a business.

Using the 24 dimensions and asking the right questions at the right time will get you to the root cause of a problem.

Download the E-Book Outline Guide to the 24 Dimensions of Business at www.warmusco.com for a more in-depth look at specific issues, checklists, questions, and case studies designed to analyze and make your business stronger.




