Are your irresistible forces providing tailwinds, crosswinds, or head winds?
Begin by listing all of the irresistible forces that are influencing your organization. Then evaluate how they are affecting your progress. Forces that are helping you are tailwinds. Those that are pushing you off target are crosswinds. Those that are holding back your progress are head winds.
You will probably find that the list of irresistible forces and their impacts on you will change over time, so you should update your answers to this question from time to time. One consumer products company that has done this updating finds that its list changes very rapidly, and the list of which irresistible forces are head winds, crosswinds, and tailwinds changes even faster.
How can you turn all of your cross- and head winds into tailwinds?
At first, most people think that developing advantages from many of their organization's irresistible forces is impossible. However, with a little prodding, they are always able to find a solution that enables them to do so.
For example, a food manufacturer was finding itself squeezed by unfavorable trends emanating from retailers and competitors. There seemed to be no way out.
On further reflection, the company realized that if it viewed other companies who were experiencing the same problems as possible allies, the companies could combine in new ways to support each other and become much more effective. Also, relations with retailers could become tailwinds if the food company spent the time to establish a carefully-designed, win-win relationship with the retailers. And since the competitive disadvantages were caused by not having enough capital available at a low-enough cost, changing the way the company was financed would quickly improve that situation.
With a new understanding of the opportunities, the company quickly benefited by using the irresistible forces to its advantage. The usefulness of this question was amply demonstrated when a similar company faltered badly soon thereafter in response to the same irresistible forces, due to being directionless. The other company sought to serve too many interests in too many ways, and collapsed from the financial and managerial strain of trying to resolve the irresolvable during a crisis brought on by a sudden shift in irresistible forces.
As one example of this crisis, the second company had focused its growth plans for years on adding new products mostly made with new, less expensive ingredients. This expansion had left the company financially weak, even though it had shown good sales and profit results. When raw material costs of the highly-preferred, base ingredient unexpectedly melted down, the company's whole product line became vulnerable to new competitors who emphasized a more "pure" product using more of the higher-quality, base ingredient at a very attractive price.
To respond successfully, this other company would have had to add dozens of new products overnight with a different mix of ingredients. The firm had neither the vision, nor the management skills, nor the relationship with retailers, nor the financial resources to do this. At the same time, shareholders were in revolt as sales and profits plunged, which further distracted the management team. The company tried to do a little of all the things that might help in this situation, and simply saw its situation deteriorate due to its prior inattention to irresistible forces.
If other enterprises have taken the same path to success that you plan to use to adapt to these irresistible forces, how have they fared?
The answer to this question will help you determine the odds for success with your approach, and how they compare with other approaches. Let someone else's mistakes and successes help build you a road map for traveling with the irresistible force winds at your back.
This can be especially helpful in newly-emerging markets. For example, when consumer products companies begin selling into third world countries, they usually think in terms of the product sizes used in their home countries.
In third world countries, consumers may not be able to afford to buy so much at one time (as is the case with razor blades where people often buy them one blade at a time, instead of in packs) or may have a spoilage problem (as is the case with perishables in countries with hot temperatures and limited refrigeration for poor people). Plan for those issues, and you'll soon be making faster headway in these rapidly growing markets.
No, we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto, but we are at the scene of a whirlwind of activity along the southern margin of the Athabasca Basin, where Tribune Uranium Corp (TSX.V:TCB) has just begun drilling for uranium at its Botham Lake property. The company is working right next door to Cameco's recent Centennial Zone discovery, which reports 18.3% U3O8 over 5.3 meters. The property is just south of Tommy Davis Bay (Cree Lake), approximately 254 km north-northwest of La Ronge and 53 km west of the Key Lake Uranium Mine.
The company has five projects altogether? three of which are strategically located within the Athabasca Basin: Botham Lake (19,099 ha), Dufferin Lake East (18,790 ha), and North Shore (117,853 ha). Rounding out a well-diversified portfolio are its recently-acquired Quartz and Green claims, in the Reed Lake Mining District of Manitoba, and its Potonico gold/silver project in El Salvador.
So far, nine anomalies at Botham Lake have been identified from the results of an 826 line-km MEGATEM airborne survey conducted in 2006. The work program for the summer and fall of this year involved additional ground prospecting and analysis to identify potential drill targets. So far, 20 high-priority drill targets have been identified on the anomalies. Plans are for a total of 4000m of drilling over four of the nine anomalies (B1, B2, B4, and B9). The company is following the recommendations laid out in its 43-101 report, which states that ?additional work is recommended for the Properties, but the work should be focused on drill testing the areas containing the four strongest conductor anomalies, B1, B2, B4, and B9, detected during the airborne GEOTEM survey and the anomalies detected during the ground magnetics and HLEM surveys on the Botham Lake claim block. Secondary (and tertiary, on B1) conductive trends were identified using ground magnetics and HLEM surveys along grids B1, B45, and B79, which were not apparent from the airborne geophysics surveys. Eight to nine diamond drill holes to depths of 600 meters would be recommended to drill test the identified conductor anomalies.?
Saskatchewan is the world leader in uranium production? home to the biggest uranium mines in the world, with resources sufficient for over 40 years at current rates of production. There are three uranium mines currently in production in the Athabasca? Eagle Point, McArthur River and McClean Lake. In 2005, these mines produced 28% of the world's uranium. As of December 31st 2006, the province's uranium reserves stood at 673.6 million lbs. of U3O8, with new deposits being continually discovered? with an energy potential estimated at 5.7 billion tonnes of coal or 20 billion barrels of oil.
According to the most recent Uranium in Saskatchewan, a fact sheet produced annually by Saskatchewan's uranium mining industry, ?uranium production from the high grade deposits of the Athabasca Basin began in 1975 at Rabbit Lake. The richest uranium deposits in the world occur at or near the base of the Athabasca Basin sandstone sequence, near the erosional unconformity with the underlying crystalline rocks?. Today, all of Canada's uranium production is from basement- and unconformity-related deposits such as Key Lake, Cluff Lake, Rabbit Lake (all now depleted), and the McClean Lake and McArthur River deposits. Other large, exceptionally high-grade, unconformity-related deposits currently being developed include Cameco's Cigar Lake (averaging almost 20% U3O8 with some zones running over 50% U3O8). Interestingly enough, due to flooding, production has been delayed at Cigar Lake until 2010? with some analysts suggesting that this setback is an important factor in keeping uranium prices high.
This decade has seen the price of uranium skyrocket from around $15/lb. at the beginning of 2001 to a high of $135/lb. in July of this year before settling back to its current plateau of around $90/lb. This phenomenal rise is a reflection of mounting concerns about pending supply shortages. Already, eighteen nuclear power plants provide about 15% of Canada's electricity. By 2030, world electricity demand is expected to double? making nuclear an increasingly attractive option to help meet the growing demand for clean, affordable power.
Tribune stands a particularly good chance of achieving success in the Athabasca for several reasons. Management has built a solid property portfolio in the area? with key claims right next door or close to Cameco's proven deposits. It has successfully negotiated agreements with joint venture partners who are experienced in the Athabasca; namely, Fission Energy on its North Shore property. Mining-friendly governments, a much wider public acceptance of nuclear power than in previous years, and voracious global uranium demand do much to pave the company's way to production.
The next few weeks will be exciting ones for the company's investors, and some positive assay results should have them saying? in a twist on the old classic? lions and tigers and bulls? oh my!
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Both Donald Mitchell & Sylvia Young are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Donald Mitchell has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Donald Mitchell is an author of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist, The 2,000 Percent Squared Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantag. Donald Mitchell's top article . to your Favourites.
Sylvia Young has sinced written about articles on various topics from Investments. Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more m. Sylvia Young's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.