Pattaya International Music Festival

Pattaya International Music Festival

This week I attended the Pattaya, Thailand International Music Festival. From a personal note, it was great to see so many local Thais and tourists sharing an event together. From a professional perspective, it was amazing to see their planning in action.

Pattaya has two main streets - one heading south along the beach and the other inland road heading north. The street heading south was closed for 3.5 km, meaning the usual busy traffic could be a nightmare. But the local authorities were able to accommodate the crowd with just half of it's major thoroughfares open.

The street that was closed had over 1500 vendors set up, in the street, allowing pedestrians to walk down the middle of this usually busy road with vendors on both sides.

I should add that the music festival was a three-day event and during the day, half of the vendors removed their stands allowing one lane of traffic. As darkness approached each day, the one-lane of cars was diverted and the vendors set up shop once again.

Now for the music. The festival included multiple concerts held simultaneously at multiple stages ( i think 4) set up along the 3.5 km road. So, as you walked along, there would be a stage set up in the road with hundreds, if not thousands, of people watching, singing and dancing. If you have never seen Thai dancing you are in for a treat. They have a fantastic time.

Imagine the planning and logistics involved in opening and closing streets twice a day, overseeing the traffic, organizing the multiple bands playing at multiple sites, providing security for the entire venue, designing contingency plans for the weather, getting the bands into the country, making hotel arrangements and even getting their equipment through the crowd. And then there are the logistics of clearing the stages and setting up for the next band. This is literally four concerts happening at the same time three times throughout the night.

The event (in it's 11th year) seemingly was nearly perfect. The weather cooperated, the traffic was manageable, the Thais danced and had a great time with minimal security required, the bands performed and while to the public it was a great time, knowing the amount of planning and preparation that is required for such an event, the organizers should be proud.

Rayong, Thailand

Rayong Thailand

I journeyed from Bangkok to Rayong yesterday. Rayong is an industrial city that is on the Gulf of Thailand and steadily growing.

Many find it surprising but 9 of the world's top 10 auto manufacturers now have plants in Rayong. It is referred to locally as "the Detroit of Southeast Asia". As the facilities continue to grow, employment has now risen to 25,000 people.

Look to Rayong to continue to grow as many look for I industrial port cities in the area.

S.A. Romeo
The Strategy Expert

Time to Layoff Some Employees

Time to Layoff Some Employees

Many companies in the United States have laid off some employees as part of their survival during The Great Recession. While the economy has not yet fully recovered (it may take a decade or longer to fully recover what has been lost) there are signs of a recovery in the works. That means it is time to conduct one more employee performance evaluation and lay off another 10% of your workforce.

Why would you want to layoff employees now, when the recovery is on the horizon?

Companies that plan strategically today and prepare for this next growth cycle are likely to be leaders within their areas for the next decade or longer.

The unemployment rate is high, meaning there are some great people out of work looking for jobs - your jobs. Many of these potential employees can be hired at a salary that is 20-30% less than you would have had to pay just 3 years ago. But in order to hire these talented individuals and build your "dream team" for the next growth cycle, you have to clean house one more time and get rid of some fine mediocre performers in order to make room for this new talent.

Feeling bad about laying off employees? These are the same employees who could give you a two week notice and go to the competition for a 20-30% increase in pay so don't feel too bad.

Not sure this model will work? Generation Electric Company does it every year. It conducts performance evaluations on all employees and dismisses the bottom 10% every year - and has for decades. Many believe this is one reason why GE remains one of the top 5 of the Fortune 500 companies.

It's not personal, it's just business.

S.A. Romeo
The Strategy Expert

Not in Time Manufacturing

Not in Time Manufacturing

For decades, Japan has been a leader in Just in Time manufacturing: the premise that a company can reduce inventory amounts because an order to a Japanese partner or supplier would deliver the product to you, just in time for it's use.

With the three disasters (thus far) that have hit Japan, the auto plants are shut down, electricity production is on a three-hour rolling blackout schedule and Sony has stopped production at six of it's northern plants.

Companies around the world who have depended upon Japan for it's Just in Time delivery schedule may have to revisit their strategic plan and move to plan B, or the contingency plan, as Japan will likely be using a Not in Time production timeline for the near-term foreseeable future.

S.A. Romeo
The Strategy Expert

It's Not Driving Me Crazy

It's Not Driving Me Crazy

The price of gasoline continues to steadily increase ($3.50 per gallon in many areas and $4.00 in California) and the experts are now predicting a national average of $4.00 per gallon nationwide this summer.

With many people still unemployed and others working part-time or underemployed, at some point, the amount of driving is likely to decrease. Airlines have already increased fare by $10 to $20 to account for the fuel increase. If the amount of driving is reduced, that is likely to occur this summer when many families take their annual vacation.

If driving is reduced due to the price of gasoline, less products may be purchased and the summer tourist season could experience a decline, thus negating any minimal growth the country has experienced this year as it mightily struggles to escape the grasp of The Great Recession. Thus, the crazy driving season that clogs the roadways of the northeast may not be driving us crazy this summer.

S.A. Romeo
The Strategy Expert

Best Buy: Reinventing Itself, Yet Again

Best Buy: Reinventing Itself, Yet Again

It seems like just a short time ago that Circuit City, Best Buy's largest competitor went out of business, creating a huge opportunity for the company. A strategic analysis showed that Best Buy then sold 16 times the amount of electronics than its closest competitor, Wal-Mart, which allowed Best Buy to streamline operations and release much of it's store-level middle management positions.

But that was last year. This year, the strategic plan has been updated and Best Buy is following the trend of other major box stores by decreasing its footprint. This year's strategy includes 150 much smaller Best Buy mobile locations that will only sell smart phones.

Online sales and the real estate market are causing big box stores to change their strategic approach for 2011.

S.A. Romeo
The Strategy Expert

Disaster in Japan

Disaster in Japan

As write this post I am watching the BBC's coverage of the earthquake in Japan and the aftershocks and the tsunami that has struck the coast of Japan.

My first thought is that I hope the tsunami does not hit my condo here on the beach in Thailand, which it does not look like it is going to do. My second thought is for the people of Japan. My third thought, as a strategic planner, is the hope and desire that Japan has created risk mitigation and contingency plans and continuity plans that will allow everyone with the ability to quickly respond. Japan is used to earthquakes, but the earthquake and tsunami are back-to-back disasters.

Let's hope the contingency and continuity plans are in place to make the people safe.