Over the past several weeks a certain topic has appeared on several blogs that is worth mention. Paul Allen recently submitted the following:

…Ultimately we have to produce revenue. That always comes down to distribution…For new companies, it’s distribution, distribution, distribution. Must be big, fast, easy. We always asked “Where is the money.”

On September 21st Guy Kawasaki posted the following:

To old fogies like me, “distribution” meant Ingram/Micro D physically distributing software. This was in the days when “partner” was still a noun; companies wrote software manuals; and customers paid with money, not clicks. Moderntrepreneurs focus on “virality” and “eyeballs” and have made it necessary to redefine “distribution” to:

Getting companies with a lot to lose to help companies with a lot to gain

The underlying and important assumption in modern day distribution is the asymmetry of the arrangement. For most entrepreneurs distribution involves piggybacking on another organization with much greater momentum. This reality affects many decisions and actions, so come to grips with it.

I recently attended a Connect Magazine Business Ignitor event with Tom Stockham, the former CEO of MyFamily.com who is now at 3point5.com. In speaking about how his new venture got off the ground he stated that the individual that approached him with the 3point5 concept currently held channel relationships with the target market of the new product and that now, 1+ years into the venture, they already had millions in revenue.

While attending a class lecture at BYU a representative from Dentrix Dental Systems, based in Lehi, Utah, spoke concisely about the acquisition of Dentrix by the Henry Schienn Company. Henry Schienn leveraged existing client relationships, the distribution channel if you will, in order to gain economies of efficiency and therefore to push the Dentrix product to a larger market.

Speaking specifically to Guy Kawasaki’s comment that ‘distribution involves piggybacking on another organization with much greater momentum’ distribution could also be conceieved as the creation of strageic, albeit money-making, partnerships that enable both pig and piggybacker to mutally benefit from an increased business stature. This may include the fact that both companies are able to make more money off their core competencies while enjoying the (BUZZWORD ALERT!) synnergies of mutual momentum, a shared but non-competitive target market, or a Good to Great hedgehog concept that leads pig and piggybacker toward a focused end.

Greg Butterfield, the CEO of Lindon-based Altiris, recently made a presentation on how to build a successful team. One opinion which he expressed is that the leading cause of business failure is not poor strategy, but poor execution of good strategy (good team or no). BUSINESSES FAIL BECAUSE THEY DO NOT PROPERLY EXECUTE ON THEIR STRATEGY.

One of his suggested remedies is to check the progress of strategy execution with specific benchmarks. If those benchmarks are not being met then the strategy itself may need reevaluation. The focus, however, should be placed on specific goals related to execution. In order to keep those goals grounded and realistic, he related a simple acronym:

Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound

Last night my wife and I joined Steve and Bette Gibson and a room full of other amazing individuals at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. Steve and Bette have founded the Academy for Creating Enterprise in the Philippines that teaches LDS return missionaries the skills necessary to start, own, and operate a small business. Around 1,000 return missionaries and former mission presidents have passed through the 8 week course; there are now over 1,600 individuals employed through the efforts of those academy graduates.

I came back from my mission to an education, job opportunities, and plenty of food on the table one way or the other. A lot of the elders in Brazil where I served went home to nothing, and that is not an exaggeration. Their homecoming included no income, no educational opportunities (which is why Brazil is not the powerhouse it should be), and typically a sparse to non-exsistent support structure to help get them back on their feet. I have pure admiration and quite a bit of love for the efforts of Steve, Bette, Andy, and Tony. What an amazing organization. You can visit their website at http://www.creatingenterprise.com/.