The principle of keeping meetings small and made up of smart people is deeply woven into the religion of electronics behemoth Apple and is key to any organization that wants to nurture quality thinking. The idea is pretty basic: Everyone in the room should be there for a reason. There's no such thing as a mercy invitation. Either you're critical to the meeting or you're not. It's nothing personal, just business. Apple co-founder, the late Steve Jobs, actively resisted any behavior he believed representative of the way big companies think -- even though Apple had been a big company for many years. When he called a meeting or reported to a meeting, his expectation was that everyone in the room would be an essential participant. Spectators were not welcome. This was based on the somewhat obvious idea that a smaller group would be more focused and motivated than a large group, and smarter people will do higher quality work. For a principle that would seem to be common sense, it's surprising how many organizations fail to observe it. How many overpopulated meetings do you sit through during the course of a year? How many of those meetings get sidetracked or lose focus in a way that would never occur if the group were half the size? The small-group rule requires enforcement, but it's worth the cost. Related: Seven Ways to Kill Your Meetings and Unleash Productivity One reason why large, unwieldy groups tend to be created in many companies is that the culture of a company is bigger than any one person. It's hard to change "the way we do things here." At Apple, because quality is stressed over quantity, meetings are informal and visible progress is made on a weekly -- if not daily -- basis. In one large technology company with which I worked, I found a framed sign in every conference room designed to nudge the employees toward greater productivity. The headline on the sign was how to have a successful meeting. The content read like it came right out of a corporate manual, which it likely did. It featured a bullet-pointed list of things like "State the agenda at the start of your meeting," "Encourage participation by all attendees," and "Conclude your meeting with agreement on next steps." Related: 10 Things to Thank Steve Jobs For If big companies really feel compelled to put something on their walls, a better sign might read: How to Have a Great Meeting 1. Throw out the least necessary person at the table. Whatever your motivation, what you're really saying is that you don't have the right people on the job. So fix that. When populated by the smartest people, small groups will give management more confidence, not less. Apple's advertising agency -- Chiat/Day, before it merged with TBWA Worldwide -- succeeded by the same philosophy. I was a creative director, and our small group matched up well with Apple's small group. Limiting the size of our group helped us produce work quickly, get information fast and have the agility to react to unexpected events. Related: Four Tools for Improving Office Collaboration The agency's founder, the late Jay Chiat, had set a similar tone decades earlier. Jay and Steve had a unique relationship in the days of the original Macintosh. I had the pleasure of being personally ejected from a meeting by Jay during one of my several stints at Chiat/Day. Surveying the room before the start of a meeting, Jay took one look at my art director partner and me and said, "What are you guys doing here?" "Beats me," I said. "We're just responding to the invitation." Jay told us to get out and "go create something." The working styles of both Jay and Steve have stuck with me over the years. I can think of no better examples of leaders with a talent for keeping their teams focused on the mission and focused on producing great results. And both built spectacularly successful businesses. It's not a coincidence. This article is an edited excerpt from Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success (Portfolio/Penguin, 2012) by Ken Segall.
2. Walk out of this meeting if it lasts more than 30 minutes.
3. Do something productive today to make up for the time you spent here.
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The good news: International opportunities are growing, with the U.S. Export-Import Bank having increased small business financing by more than 70% since 2008. But breaking into the global marketplace takes careful planning. Here is a look at three major export regions and the strategies of some U.S. entrepreneurs doing business there. China Today, the 10-person company generates 75% of its sales from exports to Hong Kong, its distribution point for Asia. Total sales surged from less than $1 million in 2008 to $7.5 million last year and are expected to approach $15 million this year, Hudson says. Biggest Challenges: Contracts and standby letters of credit are standard practice in the U.S., but they aren't so common when selling commodities in China, Hudson says. And without a standby letter of credit attesting to the amount of business he had in the pipeline, Hudson couldn't obtain a loan from the Ex-Im Bank. "It almost prohibited us from doing any business there by preventing borrowing significant amounts of money," he says. Ultimately, Hudson found a way around the problem by setting up his own intermediary company in Hong Kong. He then sold his pecans to the intermediary and used it to issue the necessary papers to secure a loan. Hudson's advice: Because deals are sometimes based on personal honor rather than a formal contract, small businesses must be cautious. "If you are doing business with a Chinese businessman for many years, his word is as good as any contract," says Hudson. But until you develop a relationship of trust, "you have to be extremely careful." Hudson advises small-business owners to visit prospective customers in person to get to know them and require a larger initial deposit for the first few business exchanges. Related: How Online Retailers Can Ride the Exports Growth Wave
For Ocilla, Ga.-based Hudson Pecan Co., the need to start exporting became clear more than a decade ago. The problem was simple. "We had more pecans being produced than we consumed domestically," says Randy Hudson, president. But it wasn't until 2008, after reaching outside for financial assistance, that the company penetrated the Asian market in a substantial way. The Southern United States Trade Association, a federally funded program, offset half the cost for Hudson to travel and begin selling abroad, while the Ex-Im Bank provided a $2 million lender loan guarantee that ensured the company would be paid for goods sold oversees.
South America
Signature Systems Group LLC, a New York-based specialty flooring manufacturer, shows what a difference an export strategy can make. Before it started exporting to Argentina six years ago, it was generating $10 million in annual sales with a staff of 10. Today, it operates six offices, including one in northern England, and employs 50 people. About a third of its annual sales of $45 million come from exports to 45 countries.
The bulk of the company's export sales come from South America, where it does business in seven countries and has learned some important lessons--from overcoming cultural challenges to dealing with bureaucracy and red tape. Along the way, Signature Systems' senior vice president of sales, whose family is from Buenos Aires, has provided an insider's perspective and valuable local connections.
Biggest Challenges: Even with that inside connection, Signature Systems still had plenty of legwork to make sure it complied with local regulations for everything from fire ratings to safety standards. Adjusting to differences in negotiation styles also took time. "In South America, the best business deals are done face-to-face," says Arnon Rosan, president and CEO of Signature Systems. "More than any region, they want to … size you up in person."
Rosan also had to be mindful of potential legal trouble in some countries, such as requests from government-paid employees for a commission in exchange for more business. While questionable practices aren't rampant, he says, small business owners still should become well acquainted with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and understand the kinds of transactions to avoid.
Rosan's Advice: To build a reputable distributor network, Rosan suggests that small companies explore websites of similar businesses for distributor information. For example, Rosan looked for businesses distributing products for the oil and gas industry who were not only more likely to buy his oilfield rig mats, but also had already been vetted by another company. "It's a nice trick to getting an established dealer network fairly quickly," he says.
Related: Startup Initiatives Sprout from Global Entrepreneurship Week
Europe, South Africa and Mexico
Theoharris Christo (known professionally only by his last name) opened his Christo Fifth Avenue hair salon in 2002, but now does business well beyond the bustling streets of midtown Manhattan. The Cyprus native used his understanding of the Greek culture and market to start his hair-care products export business in Greece in 2006. Since then, he has expanded to South Africa, as well as Russia and Mexico, his two largest export markets. Christo's five product lines focus on curly hair and include shampoos, conditioners and styling tools.
Christo says his hair care and styling classes and demonstrations at international beauty shows have generated valuable word-of-mouth promotion in expanding export sales. He works only with distributors willing to export products themselves so that he doesn't have to deal with the complications of customs and shipping. "They know their people and their market better than me," he says.
Biggest Challenges: Regulations regarding product ingredients and packaging information demand close attention because they vary from country to country. For example, when Christo broke into the Russian market last summer, he had to find substitutes for prohibited ingredients and ensure that the information on the bottles satisfied the Russian Federation for Hair and Cosmetics requirements. Because developing new products to meet local requirements can be expensive, ranging from $6,000 to $20,000, Christo requires distributors to cover the cost.
Christo's Advice: Christo advises small businesses to seek export experts for guidance. He works with both a lawyer and chemist familiar with regulations in his export markets. He also stays focused on quality, sticking to U.S.-made ingredients and resisting the temptation to buy cheaper materials from other countries. "The Europeans like American products," he says. But "they don't like mass production. They like quality."
Related: Six Tips for Taking Your Franchise Global
Apple Stores provide three key lessons that business owners in any industry can benefit from. These lessons combine technology with the latest neuroscience research to appeal to the customer's "buying brain." 1. Create multisensory experiences. Every product in an Apple Store is working, loaded with content, and connected to the Internet. Customers are encouraged to touch and play with the products. More than anything -- more than the patented spiral staircase or the iconic glass entrance -- these multisensory experiences are the key to what drives the Apple Store experience. By encouraging customers to experience its products, the Apple Store is satisfying a deep subconscious need. Companies across all categories can increase purchase intent by creating a multisensory context for the shopping experience, says A.K Pradeep who founded Berkeley, Calif.-based NeuroFocus, a neurological testing firm for consumer behavior. Related: 10 Ways to Green Your Retail Store 2. Educate and entertain. The Apple Store is educational and entertaining. That's the way Steve Jobs wanted it. Jobs and Ron Johnson, the former head of Apple Retail, started with the vision of "enriching lives." Their vision led to the creation of a unique program to help people understand and enjoy their computers: One to One. The $99 one-year membership program is available with the purchase of a Mac. Apple Store instructors, who are called "creatives," offer personalized instruction at the stores. Customers can learn just about anything, from the basics about the Mac operating system to website design. The One to One program was created to help build customers for life. It was designed on the premise that the more you understand a product, the more you enjoy it and the more likely you are to build a long-term relationship with the company. Instructors are trained not only to provide instruction, but also to inspire customers by giving them the tools to become more creative than they ever imagined. If your company can inspire customers to feel better about themselves and their abilities--and to discover abilities they didn't even know they had--they are going to be loyal to your brand and evangelize your products. Related: Lighting Up Your Store -- and Your Sales The Apple Store is fun, too. You might see parents and children learning to create songs together or kids playing games on iMacs in the store's "family room." Pradeep believes the buying brain is engaged through a combination of touch, education and entertainment. "Superior shopping experiences are those that enable consumers to walk away not only having absorbed a lot of information, but having extracted insight that becomes part of an education experience," Pradeep says. "A huge benefit of modern life is also the luxury of being entertained while we shop. This is such a compelling feature of the experience that we seek it out whenever we can. The combination of shopping [which the brain more or less equates with hunting and gathering] and entertainment is enormously powerful." This powerful combination is one that any entrepreneur can replicate with his own customers. 3. Mix high-tech with high-touch. Apple Store employees "showcase the technology." Walk into one of the stores and a friendly employee will check you in with an iPad. The notebook computers are positioned at 90-degree angles, forcing you to touch them to adjust the viewing angle. If you want to learn more about a computer, you will find an iPad nearby containing detailed specs. When it's time to pay for a product, a sales associate will swipe your credit card with a device attached to an iPod Touch. And the Apple Store is experimenting with a new service called Easy Pay that allows customers to use the Apple Store app on their iPhones to pay for purchases and leave the store without speaking to anyone. Easy Pay is designed for customers who want to get in and out in a hurry, but it also creates a deeper connection between customers and Apple's technology and products. Any entrepreneur can create a similar stage to showcase a product or services's best features and help customers appreciate and connect with it. Apple has turned the boring sales floor into a playground for kids and adults. Jobs and Johnson didn't just "reimagine" the retail experience, they blew it up and started from scratch. Ask yourself how you can shake up the customer experience in your own business to surprise and delight your own customers. Showcase your products, educate and entertain your customers, and outsmart your competitors. If you do, customers will take notice, and the shine of Apple will rub off on your company. Related: Six Design Mistakes to Avoid in Your Store
The more you engage the senses, the more likely it is that the brain engages with the product or service on an emotional level. This stimulates information retention and the willingness to buy.