Dear Catalog CEOs: Visiting A Non-Competitive Brand

Dear Catalog CEOs:


Here's one thing I don't understand.  Why won't we ever go spend a day with a non-competitive colleague?


We're on LinkedIn, so we have this network of 1,148 professionals.  And LinkedIn tells us that this network is really valuable, right?


So why don't we use it?


Get on the phone this week, and call a CEO at a non-competitive brand.  Arrange a visit.  Then get on an airplane and visit your colleague.


It's even better if the colleague leads a non-catalog brand.


Set up a six hour meeting.

• 10:00am - 11:00am:  Business results over the past five years ... a review of the profit and loss statement, customer file counts, orders per buyer, items per order, retention rates, that kind of thing.
• 11:00am - 12:00pm:  Marketing strategy ... a review of the way that each brand acquires customers, retains customers.  Discussion of the strategies, effectiveness, return on investment, vendors used, etc.
• 12:00am - 12:30pm:  Lunch.
• 12:30pm - 1:30pm:  Merchandising strategy ... how are products sourced, how is the mix of new and winning products arrived at, how is product productivity measured?
• 1:30pm - 2:30pm:  Employee strategy ... where do you find talent, how do you retain talent, how do you balance outsourcing talent to vendors vs. hiring the best people.
• 2:30pm - 3:30pm:  The Future ... a discussion of what "the next big thing" is, and how each business plans on growing over the next five years.  What are the strategies and tactics that lead to a viable business in 2017 and beyond?  What are the threats faced by each business?
• 3:30pm - 4:00pm:  Takeaways ... what was learned by each business that will be implemented.  How will the takeaway be measured?  How will each business communicate with each other?

The goal is to find complimentary ways for each business to help the other grow.

What would stop you from getting on a plane and having a session like this?