ENERGISING BUSINESS: All Whites kings of SLAM

THE ALL WHITES' performance at the World Cup football is simply superb. Our expectations of them were to do us proud.
Well, they are doing much more than that as they are energising the spirit of the World Cup and the New Zealand public.
I believe the team are able to demonstrate my new business model - SLAM. Yes, they are slamming the foreign armchair experts, they are slamming the form books, and they slamming the cocky coaches who consider them their banker game to progress to the second round.
Of course, they are also slamming into central defenders and putting the fear of failure into the minds of their opposing teams - so far Slovakia and Italy.
No, SLAM stands for skills, leadership, attitude and mistakes (overcoming them). All businesses need to consider this business model. Because it will change their fortunes.
The All Whites are valued at about 8 per cent of the value of the combined player-transfer values of the Italian team. New Zealand is about 78th in the world pecking order, Italy is fifth and has won the World Cup four times. But on Monday New Zealand slammed Italy.
The moral is that small businesses (as can small football nations) can compete against the big boys in their markets, providing they have certain skills, leadership capability, the right attitude and the ability to learn from mistakes and keep going.
Skills or talents or abilities or competencies are the things that enable the business to compete. With skills, the small business will be able to manufacture, invent, market and exploit market opportunities. The New Zealand wine market is a good example.
The US is being targeted by a consortium of premium-producing wine manufacturers. attract quality-seeking wine customers.
 New Zealand has the skills to make high-quality wines. The key, though, will be to ensure that they do the research first to identify the wine taste sought by the upmarket US wine customer.
It would be wrong to simply say here is the wine stock we consider to be of high quality, what do you think?
The All Whites also have skills, not the type of silky dribbling and passing skills of the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Spain, but the skills of physical presence and scoring goals from set pieces to lever off the abundant height in the team.
Leadership is also an important component of SLAM. The small business must be led by a leader, not a technically competent manager who is now the general manager.
Managers are fine and ensure that things are done right, leaders do that and more ... they ensure the right things are done.
Leadership is a delegated skill. Leadership style needs to be adjusted according to the situation.
Traditionally, leadership comes from the top. Not any more. I bet BP's chief executive right now is hoping for some engineering leadership in his business.
The small business must have leadership across the team, just as the All Whites have vested leadership in the more senior players - Ivan Vicelich (72 caps) and Simon Elliot (70 caps) - to assist captain Ryan Nelsen. But all the team are demonstrating a leadership role in terms of making sure they excel at the jobs they are required to do.
Attitude gives belief that a business can succeed, grow its market and take market share from other, bigger, more well-known companies.
A good example of this is new online accounting provider Xero, set up by the IT entrepreneur Rod Drury. He is a paradigm buster. His company is changing the way accounting/booking is done.
 Using cloud technology, companies do not have to invest in ongoing upgrading of accounting software. Xero does that.
Attitude means a small business has self belief through a collective team or value chain approach.
I am a fan of Michael Porter's value chain because it reinforces the fact that all business activities (for football: read defence, midfield, attack) must work together to achieve results.
 Nelsen's attitude of aiming to get past the initial round is an example of positive attitude.
Mistakes do happen. If a small business is not making mistakes, then it is probably not setting high enough objectives, or it is not innovating and developing new products and services.
The challenge is not to make calamitous ones or repeat the same ones, and to recover from them. Will BP recover?
Well, that will require SLAM. Businesses make mistakes. The key is to minimise these in the start-up year of operation.
A truly well-crafted business plan executed well is essential. The All Whites made mistakes in the first two games. But they never let their heads go down and they recovered.
I shall never forget the ashen, white faces of the Slovakian and Italian management staff when held to draws by the All Whites. Real Roy of the Rovers stuff.
Is your business SLAMMING the markets you compete in? What have you got to lose? The All Whites, through SLAM, have just doubled or tripled the transfer value of the team.
Ricki Herbert is reported to be the worst-paid coach at the 2010 World Cup. He won't be for much longer.
Cliff Osborne and Associates is based in Tauranga. He can be contacted by email: cosborne@watchdog.net.nz, or view: www.cliffosborne.com