Saturday, November 22, 1997

Failure to focus and communicate is downfall of many businesses

By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News

It's funny, but also sad, that in this age of so many fancy gadgets for communication -- many major businesses can't even begin to communicate clearly.

"Based on my studies of thousands of enterprises all over the globe, I believe that failure to have a clear and consistent vision is the single greatest cause of failure of large enterprises," Gary Hoover told more than 600 cattle feeders.

Hoover spoke to the recent Texas Cattle Feeders Association Convention in Austin. The cattle feeders chose "Visualizing the Future" as this year's convention theme.

The entrepreneur told the TCFA leaders that having a clear and consistent vision for your company isn't all that hard.

But first, you need to get rid of the gobbledygook jargon and learn to speak English.

An example

"If you drop in on a marketing meeting at some of the Fortune 500 companies, you will hear: "We are re-engineering to reflect the new paradigm dictated by the emerging upscale consumer base contained in our data warehouse,' " Hoover said. "It's no wonder these folks can't think clearly about the challenges before them -- they can't even speak English!"

Gary Hoover has practiced what he preaches.

Back in 1982, he founded the nation's first book superstore, Bookstop, Inc., in Austin with $350,000 in capital raised from 35 investors.

In 1989, Barnes & Noble purchased the company for $41.5 million in cash, and it became the cornerstone for the Barnes & Noble Superstores.

Since that time, Hoover has founded Hoover's Inc., a printing company, and he currently heads TravelFest Superstores, Inc., in Austin.

See things in two lights

Hoover told the cattle feeders to look at the vision they have for their businesses in two lights -- the clear vision and the consistent vision.

In his mind, clear vision must stem from clarity of thought and communication.

Hoover said one of the greatest weaknesses in America today is our frequent refusal to say what we mean and say it quickly and effectively.

He offers a simple test for cattle industry leaders and other businessmen.

"The next time you have a meeting, tape record that meeting," Hoover suggests. "Play back the tape for any reasonably bright sixth-grader and ask them: 'What did we talk about and what should we do?' Unless your enterprise is rocket science or brain surgery, they should be able to understand."

Southwest Airlines is positive example

Hoover said Southwest Airlines is an example of a company with clear vision.

"Open up their annual report and you will quickly see that even a third-grader could understand their vision," Hoover noted. "Having a third-grade vision like this means that really smart people like Herb Kelleher, the head of the company, can really grasp the vision -- and remember it -- and communicate it. And everyone he comes in contact with can understand it as well."

And the benefit of having a clear vision in your business?

"Southwest has made a profit every year for over 20 years in an industry best known for multimillion-dollar losses," Hoover said.

Consistent vision is second key

Hoover said consistent vision, the second part of his equation, is simple.

"It is simply a matter of figuring out what is important to you -- what really matters -- and sticking with it, through thick and thin," Hoover said.

Here, Johnson & Johnson is a prime example of staying focused -- even under incredible pressure.

During the Tylenol-tampering crisis of the early 1980s, J&J was consistent in its vision and survived an awful situation that would have put most pharmaceutical companies in America out of business.

Everyone at J&J -- secretaries, factory workers, sales reps, executives -- knew the company existed to make people healthy and keep them healthy.

"Every single J&J employee knew what their company stood for and they knew they had to take every penny they could find and use the money to get the problem fixed," Hoover said.

And they did.

All Tylenol product was pulled from the shelf, bottles were redesigned to make them tamper-proof, and the company got the word out of the changes, sparing no expense.

Did it work?

Last year in the United States, Tylenol sales alone were $800 million -- way ahead of the nearest competitior.

By being true to itself, J&J not only survived, but went on to expand its leadership position.