I've just returned from a 3 week trip to the US, where myself and 4 close mates traveled around the south east part, looking at businesses and meeting with business owners and learning as much as we could.

In Nashville, and quite by chance, we met with Matt from Imogene and Willie. (www.imogeneandwillie.com)

Matt (and his wife Carrie) are designers and manufactures of "blue jeans" or denim jeans as we might call them here. He has worked for all the top labels and trained people all over the world in how to get those "wear marks" in the print. A bit over a year ago, he and Carrie set up Imogene and Willie as their own label. Working from an abandoned gas station in Nashville, they now design, manufacture and sell designer jeans direct to the public and online, as well as through a growing distribution chain. Nothing different here right?

Well no, not in what they do, but definitely in how they do it.

Whats different about this operation is Matt and his wife have "outsourced" the management of their company to an "Agent" on the west coast. Not a professional business management company but an "Agency" that managers rock stars, sports stars and the like. All management decisions including supply deals etc, are handled by their "Agents", just as you would expect the sports stars agent to manage their business dealing.

When Matt started with the "our management arrangement is a bit unique" speech, I immediately though "here we go again", but when he explained the situation, it really made sense. And of course, it is unique, I've never heard or seen anything like it.

By not getting involved in the negotiations and bogged down in the day to day of running a successful company, Matt and Carrie get to focus on the designs and on growing the label. Clearly the areas that are their strengths. All the other decisions are handled but their "agent".

With an unemployment rate of below 5%, participation rates as high as they have ever been, and huge competition in the market place for both skilled and non-skilled labour, perhaps its time to "think different" about your workforce. For years we've been outsourcing lower skilled jobs to places like India and other 3rd world countries (even I have two employees off shore working for us at CPE), but what about other roles. Now I get that you cant "off shore" the driving of a tractor, but what if you could? What it there was an agent, or a call centre or a something, a little left of field, a little outside the norm, that could make something like this possible.

All businesses are looking at how they can deliver more value and enter new markets, to increase shareholder value, so it makes sense, (some) people might be open to your crazy advances.

If we're going to continue to be competitive into the future, we are all going to have to Think Differently about our whole of business operations.

BTW - I purchased a pair of blue jeans, and I love them!!