MGroup™ Keys to Relevancy and Success
Successful companies in the business world know that the definition of "success" continuously changes and they have to constantly reinvent themselves to meet whatever the definition is at the time. MGroup™ is no stranger to this process.
Two weeks of reflection in the mountains has helped Patti and I to regain our focus on how MGroup™ will survive and prosper in the coming years. We realize that while both our careers may be in the third quarter of a four quarter game, we still have some value to offer our young leaders and help shape the next years of success. We have nothing but total confidence in the next generation of leaders that are part of our company now and those other young leaders that will be developed or brought on board to continue this legacy.
While new investigations of potential products or adding products to the MGroup™ mix might seem to some team members as taking our eyes off the target, I see it as the key to survival. The world is littered with companies that defined their targets too narrowly and lost their relevancy when new technology or new definitions or new barriers, i.e. pandemics, entered the scene.
Look at Kodak, Blockbuster and others as what can happen to companies that did not move with the markets and became irrelevant.
We cannot let that happen to MGroup™.
Think where we would be if we just sold granite today . . . Irrelevant.
Please do not take these requests to develop new products and explore new options in the hospitality market as distractions. They are not. They may define our company in the years ahead. Also be cautioned that not every new opportunity is going to pan out or become the next big thing. But to find gold, you have to pan a lot of sand and gravel. We have seen product ventures before that were not the success that we imagined them to be and have survived. Some of that lack of success may have come from not investing in a Product Manager.
Looking at what has happened when a Product Manager owns a product, like Scott with shower kits and Ultracera®, Brie with rugs, Tim with architectural millwork and Bob with LVT, should make it clear that we need to invest heavily in the Product Manager concept that McKinsey, the noted management consultant group, is a major proponent of. This person then educates and supports the rest of the company as we begin to create sales. This is a solid foundation to build our business on.
This is where having a VP of Product Development and a GM in China like Doris Lee is such an incredible advantage that we have as a company. And our team in Europe has found us incredible new opportunities to explore and grow, playing with the cards that we have been dealt.
Thanks for reading and thinking about this. My only strong direction is that we keep an open mind regarding new opportunities and develop a structure in our organization that continues to grow on the concept of a Product Manager bringing new products to market and owning them.
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