160 beers on tap!

There’s this area in a town called Bellevue where there are 2 Breweries/Ale Houses next door to each other. When you think about it not much separates these places they both serve typical brewery food plus a couple ethnic offerings, their pricing is fairly similar, as well as both having more micro-brews on tap than one can safely drink in 1 sitting.

How is it both are able to survive right next to each other when there offerings are so close?

The answer they’re not. Lets take a look at the “packaging” and branding and see what you can do when you have an offering that could get lost in the crowd.

The Tap House

Offering they lead with: 160 Beers on tap (variety)

Description: “Tap House a contemporary restaurant and bar”

Tagline: Give Beer the respect it deserves

Presentation: Upscale, fancy table clothes/chairs, buttoned down, professional

Food: More formal fewer burgers, more entrees.

The Rock Bottom

Offering they lead with: Fresh, handcrafted beers and a diverse menu.

Description: “Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery”

Tagline: Serious about our food. Crazy about our beer.

Presentation: Wooden tables, large bar area, televisions peppered throughout the building, brew vats visible in bar.

Food: Many Appetizers, burgers, some steaks. More like a pub than a formal restaurant.

My Take: In the end these two restaurants are right next to each other, but yet seem miles away. They each have their own specific clientele that gravitate towards them. I find myself somewhere in the middle with little things making the decision on where I go (Happy Hour, Beer Specials, friend’s wanting to go to one or the other). Definitely a great example of how much space you can create with the parts of the offering outside of the core product can impact your business.

It may also be interesting to note given there are people like me who find themselves open to either establishment that there is an opportunity for one to poach from the other (although neither one seems to hurt for business).

John and Paul are having a fight. Ringo hears the noise and comes over to see what is going on. At this point Paul punches Ringo in the face, unprovoked.

Whose side do you think Ringo is now on? This example is what stakeholders feel like when unions strike.

Throw down those signs people.

Me personally I’m not a fan of unions, I don’t see the value the same way they do. I do comprehend the logic behind collective bargaining and various other aspects of their arguements though, but this post isn’t about my preference for unions or not.  What I’m absolutely opposed to is unions striking, boy do I hate that with a passion.

So on my way to work I see striking teachers (and this is supposed to be the first week of school). I cannot express how absolutely disgusting it is to see teachers on strike, especially given the fact I live in a more disadvantaged area.

I understand their beef they don’t have a contract signed, guess what people neither does almost every other worker in Washington State (it’s an at will employment state). Your grievances seem petty compared to the fact at risk kids are going without the education, those in richer neighborhoods get by default. The idea that you would further jeopardize the future of a segment of population which will already find difficulty achieving success for your own personal gain is disturbing.

I encourage unions everywhere to consider the impact they have on their stakeholders and then consider is their gain really worth the pain of these people? Sure I’m asking you to pull a tool out of your arsenal, but keep in mind in the US you now have many new protections that your forefathers didn’t.

Take-Away: If you want someone on your side of the fight you should stop and consider the impact your actions have on them.

I’ve begun compiling a list of common business words I come across (especially buzz words) as I’m finding it quite common to interact with contacts that are not in on the language. Hopefully some of these will be of use to everyone reading the blog.

Circle back: used in the context of getting back to someone on a decision or syncing with them later when data is available.

Often used for avoidance of addressing an issue in a meeting or conversation.

End around: this is when someone cuts out the responsible party by going around them “behind their back” to achieve their desired result.

This is gamesmanship. The idea that they can get what they want regardless of the impact to the relationship with the party being removed from the equation. Often seen as sneaky or an underhanded tactic.

Boil the ocean: Used as a cautionary warning about focusing too broadly on a problem and the enormous amount of effort that may as a result be needed.

I’ve seen an offshoot of this word’s definition as now being one to beg out of an activity. This was quite amusing for me to see someone turn a warning “buzz word” from a manager into an excuse not to do work; it was definitely a unique approach to positioning one’s needs.

Whether its in relationships, or in business management there’s one falicy that tends to trip people up: Group Think.

One of the most textbook examples of group-think is the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

The idea behind group think I believe really stems from a preference that is ingrained into people. We just want to be with people who are similar.

My belief system is to seek out complementary groups of people not necessarily people who are the same. The idea that 2 people who believe different things but can both be right is very important to me (yes I’m a relativist).

I’m amazed at the amount of time that I spend having to defend the idea that I accept someone’s position as plausible without sharing it.

But back to the business impact……

People have a tendency to want to have someone with the same goal-set, someone who believes the same things, and someone whose motivations are alike with there own. This is an unfortunate trait though as diversity in thought is really a huge driver in creativity within an organization.

Take-aways: Challenge yourself. Try and understand differing ideas and embrace the differences rather than fear them. Understand that success may lie on a different path than you would lead, and be willing to change paths if there is more potential for success down a different road.

You know some people have a hard time grasping Supply and Demand theory. Its one of those theoretical concepts that most people have a hard time grasping.

The idea is that consumption/pricing is determined by the intersection of the supply and demand curves. The idea is that there is a fixed point that is supplied at a certain level of consumption desired. Anyone whose reservation price doesn’t align with the intersection doesn’t take the deal.

This is a bit complex. So lets simplify with an example.

Its halftime at a football game, you’ve had 2 beers, and there is a fixed number of toilets. Here’s what supply and demand looks like in that occasion:

Yes that is about 50 people in front of me waiting for the bathroom

While this isn’t a supply and demand curve, it does ground the concept in people’s minds. In this case with a fixed supply, and no real substitute its obvious there is an insatiable demand to use this restroom.