43 days to launch a new product range. 103 days to launch another. All while tackling the headwinds that every other retailer has faced in the last 12 months AND while successfully securing new private equity ownership.
Want to hear how?
Women’s Wear Daily featured francesca’s CEO Andrew Clarke last week which you can read here:
If you aren’t subscribed, Yahoo covered the news here:
It’s been a pure delight working with Andrew Clarke and the francesca’s team for the last year.
Never before have I seen a company innovate more while going through a financial restructuring.
Yes eComm and direct to consumer channels matters and there is rapid growth there beyond anyone’s wildest dreams that will come, but THIS insight from the WWD interview is also crucial as NASDAQ: FRAN moved into private equity ownership:
“The new owners are committed to stores. We are excited the new ownership supports the future growth of francesca’s as an omnichannel business. Boutiques and stores matter — clearly. Having just brought in a new leader for stores, strategic partnerships and real estate is very much an indication that we see stores being very important as we move forward.”
It is easy to chase NEW. It is easy to be dazzled by the bright shiny object that is the next opportunity.
But while you are doing that, don’t loose focus on your core customer, your key channels, and your critical revenue streams. That is what will distinguish you from everyone else.
When I first started working with Andrew and the executive team I tried a quiet challenge. - Could I only wear francesca’s clothes for work? —because I had a wardrobe full of suits for all of my on stage speaking events which were clearly not required for my virtual events and calls! - so I went shopping and I will soon make it 365 days!
...if you haven’t heard of francesca’s until now, they have the best possible clothes for endless Zoom and Teams meetings as they are forever updating their ranges to meet with the latest fashion trends - the latest Bridgerton Collection and Loungewear included!. - Their new tween brand Franki is also a big hit in our house! (No these aren’t affiliate links- just sharing a recommendation)
Now as for the francesca’s story, that is certainly Rapid Growth Done Right!
Dedicated to growing your business,
Val
P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Five Ways To Quickly Increase Your Technical Prowess
In my work with leaders of all disciplines, this is the area I hear the greatest resistance to because of the hidden concern about intricate details. Technology has become more complex, and the grandiose promises of artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced robotics can overwhelm even the most technically curious.
Here’s how to overcome that fast:
Ask for a metaphor when a technology genius is giving an explanation. ‘It is like someone changed the locks to our house and only they have the master key’ is how a chief information security officer explained a highly complex situation for me. Before then he spent far too long giving me the intricacies of the security breach, which simply went over my head.
A picture explains a thousand technologies. Sometimes you just need a drawing, so ask for a visual representation of how all of your systems talk to each other, or how they are disconnected. Stand together in front of a whiteboard with a technology peer and draw it out together and it will help you see the dependencies and opportunities for how your work may become symbiotic. You’d be surprised how many companies have a technology map that looks like someone threw a whole plate of spaghetti at a wall! Far more complex than it needs to be!
Find a technical mentor. You don’t want to be in a board meeting or an important customer meeting asking how one system works or what a particular company buzz word means. Identify a technical expert who can be your mentor on technology areas and whom you can feel free to ask any questions. Ask them for a glossary of terms with simple definitions.
Sit in on a technical product design review or product development meeting so you can hear the language they use, or the areas they are debating. You might figure out a way your teams could work together to solve a mutual challenge.
Shadow your technical peers. Put your endless empathy into practice. There is no better way to appreciate another colleague’s life than to literally walk in their shoes for a day. Ask them for a day that would give you the most insight and increase your understanding of their world. Attend a CIO or CTO conference. Ask them where they get their industry technical news from and ask them to send you articles that might be interesting. Join a ClubHouse room that covers technical experts from your industry.
Too often business leaders don’t dive deep here or fail to surround themselves with people who can translate the technical realities and opportunities in clear ways.
This is the third and final part of this mini-series of VAL-Uable Insights which has now covered all three parts of the Trilingual Executive:
How you can unlock your creative understanding, How to increase your business understanding. It is important to realize you won’t always get it right, and sometimes translation fails. You can read more in Chapter Three of Rapid Growth, Done Right.
Meanwhile I’d love to hear what has worked for you or answer your questions.
Here’s to your increased Trilingual Understanding!
Val
P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Five Ways To Quickly Increase Your Business Understanding
Can you immediately translate your work to show measurable impact? With specifics, dollar amounts, efficiency gains, market share, customer metrics, meaningful data that matters, and can you share it in a concise manner?
If not try these five ideas:
Immerse yourself in the business metrics that your company or division reports on. Create a glossary for your team of metrics that matter to your CEO and leadership team.
Read your annual report, earnings report, S1 filing or quarterly financial updates. Ask your finance leader to check your understanding or to answer questions you have.
For every single business and personal goal, extrapolate a financial impact. Connect your work to revenue, profit, market share and customer metrics that have a dollar sign. This exercise alone will help you attract the right attention when you are seeking to influence investment or prioritize decisions.
Watch CNBC’s Squawk Box each morning and take note of the global, industry and competitive news stories. Also pay attention to the executives interviewed and observe how they frame their soundbites and answers so that listeners can rapidly absorb their message.
Go back to the floor and shadow every key function, including customer support, supply chain, sales, finance, operations, marketing and so forth, and identify where there are profit, revenue and efficiency gains.
If you follow each of these five ideas, you will set the context for your work and be able to answer what I call the ‘so what?’ question, which is: “So what is the point of your work in business outcomes?” Master this and you will transform how your message is understood and acted upon.
If you read this and thought this is just too obvious, then I can relate. But...Please share it with those you work with as it is not as commonly understood as you might assume.
Last week we looked at how you can unlock your creative understanding and improve relationships with your creatively minded colleagues...Next week we explore how you increase your technical prowess. That will cover the trilingual elements that you need to master if you really want to make rapid growth happen in the right way. Or, if you are as impatient as I am - you can find out more in Chapter Three of Rapid Growth, Done Right.
Finally...did you see how Reddit won the Super Bowl? Simply. Brilliant. Marketing. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Look here.
To your continuous rapid growth,
Val
P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/