ZOMBIES ATE MY BUSINESS
How To Keep Your Traditional Business
From Becoming One Of The Undead
By Jamie Gerdsen
Publisher: River Grove Books / Greenleaf
Publication Date: October 2015
Price: $16.95 trade paper / $22.95 hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-63299-060-0 / 978-1-63299-070-9
TRADITIONAL BUSINESSES MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN GROWTH OR DECAY
Zombie-Proofing A Business Is Essential To Continued Success
Unproductive employees – zombies – can suck the life out of a company without the owner being aware, warns business expert Jamie Gerdsen in his new book, ZOMBIES ATE MY BUSINESS: How To Keep Your Traditional Business From Becoming One Of The Undead.
Gerdsen defines traditional business as mainstay businesses: “Dry cleaners, auto parts supply stores, gas stations, HVAC companies, plumbers, and electricians. Even some manufacturing facilities fall into the traditional business category,” says Gerdsen. “You know these companies. They live where you live.” These businesses have stood the test of time, been bastions of the community, and are – in most cases – doing business in the same way they always have, often leading a stagnant existence.
Keeping a traditional business growing, or shifting it back into growth mode is difficult enough without zombies sabotaging hard work. One zombie can undo everything. In order to promote growth, it’s necessary to zombie-proof one’s business. Understanding the various stages of the business lifecycle and how zombies take advantage of them can spell the difference between a mature traditional business sliding into decline or rising into growth.
“Traditional companies – because they’re repetitive businesses – get into a rhythm, that rhythm becomes a routine, and that routine becomes a religion,” says Gerdsen. “Because traditional businesses are so repetitive – with each year a virtual carbon copy of the last – I believe we’re more susceptible to people and events that can quickly truncate the growth curve.”
Offering case studies and business-saving advice sandwiched between zombie examples and a caring yet irreverent tone, Gerdsen slices through problems that traditional businesses face, including:
- Business and personal life cycles that affect growth and the bottom line
- Meshing generational attitudes and work styles
- Breaking the mold and blasting the comfort zone to invite innovation and growth
When Gerdsen bought Apollo, an HVAC company in Cincinnati, from his father, the business was cresting. On the business life cycle, Apollo was a plateaued mature business, trending slightly toward decline. “The biggest difference between the Apollo of today and the Apollo of years past is that we made the pilgrimage and drank from the fountain of youth,” he says. “Thanks to that magic elixir, this is not an old company any more, stuck in its ways and unwilling to change. This is now a young company that believes it can fanatically deliver a better core experience and that is constantly looking on how we can improve how we serve our customers.”
ZOMBIES ATE MY BUSINESS is a strategic motivational handbook about transforming traditional businesses, revitalizing this vital segment of the economy, and bringing new life to companies, families, and Main Street.
Contact: Lori Ames, lori@theprfreelancer.com, 631-539-4558