Be Different or be dead

August 25, 2014

Why being different is urgent for survival and success

Source: Unsplash

Why being different is urgent for survival and success.

Never has it been more important to carve out a distinctive and unique place for your organization in the market than it is today

The economy is unpredictable.

Competition is intense as new competitors are entering the market at a blistering rate.

New technology disrupts organizations relentlessly.

Markets are cluttered with sameness; products and services are undifferentiated and competitive claims are lost in the crowd.

Customers are more empowered than ever before, establishing relationships with suppliers that deliver distinctive solutions and ignoring those that don’t.

Which organizations are successful and survive this challenging business environment, and what separates them from the others that struggle, hang on and eventually fail?

Those that are able to win this battle are different from their competitors. They survive the scrutiny of the discriminating customer by providing relevant, compelling and unmatched value.

Those that have no distinctive identity simply don’t make it.

They die.

How can organizations stand-out from the herd and distance themselves from it?

Business plan — It starts with reinventing how strategy is developed. The emphasis is shifted from strategic direction to execution. Many plans look good on paper but can’t be executed. They are theoretically pristine but worthless as they fall short of delivering results.

The strategic game plan — business plan —  in common lexicon, is designed for execution and is created by answering 3 questions:

1. HOW BIG do you want to be? - growth goals;
2. WHO do you want to SERVE - target customers to achieve growth;
3. HOW do you intend to compete and WIN - the value proposition that gives the WHO reasons to buy ONLY from you. Being the best of the best is ignored; being the ONLY ones that do what you do is coveted.

Marketing — Marketing is focused on creating experiences rather than flogging products. Investing in current loyal fans is given priority over providing special promotions and deals to acquire new customers.

Mass markets are ignored in favour of concentrating on the individual and discovering their secrets that will unlock economic value. The world of ME gains momentum.

Customers are looked at holistically; experiential packages are designed for each of them to satisfy their broad life desires. Creating happiness is the marketer’s end game.

Customer Service — Customer service the way it has been traditionally practiced is out; SERVING customers is in with the end game to dazzle the customer and take their breath away. Internal rules and policies are re-vectored to make customer engagement a friendly process.

The customer is brought in to the organization to get their fingerprints on how they want to be treated.

Leadership —  Leadership is practised by serving around is the new culture. “How can I help you?” are the words leaving leaders’ lips not “Do this.”

To Stand-out from the Herd you need to provide VALUE that people CARE about and that is UNIQUE. Failure to deliver and you’ll be IgNORED, InVISIBLE, CoMMON and DeAD (sooner or later).

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 8.25.14 at 02:36 am by Roy Osing
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August 18, 2014

Why is technology something people in business want to dabble in?

Source: Unsplash

Why is technology something people in business want to dabble in? Technology seems to be the ‘sexy’ part that people love to play with.

Sure, the technology of business has changed.

Virtually every business function is inundated with new ways to enhance the PROCESS of conducting business.

This is a good thing.

But the ‘noise’ of the new tool set at times seems to drown out their real purpose.

Efficiency seems to be the trump card; effectiveness is the deuce.

Businesses chase new AI technologies to serve their customers. They really want to manage (reduce) costs but they claim the personalized service actually improves. Chatbots start to pervade the customer engagement space.

But hey, technology is sexy and people love to dabble with it.

It’s cool.

But what about the basics of business?

What about the end game?

It hasn’t changed at all.

Offer uniqueness to people. Be special. Stand-out in a crowd. Get noticed. Attract attention.

Provide value that people care about. Experiences they cherish.

Strum a note that resonates with people; makes them regress to their child state and be happy. Even if it is out of tune.

‘Sexy’ attracts too much attention these days.

The basics are often forgotten.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 8.18.14 at 02:32 am by Roy Osing
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August 11, 2014

Why success is doing lots of imperfect stuff fast

Source: Unsplash

Why success is doing lots of imperfect stuff fast.

How do you consistently move the yardsticks forward in an organization? What actions are predictors of success?

Here’s my experience. Success has a really simple formula.

Success = (Doing) (lots of) (imperfect) (stuff) (fast)

Let’s break it down.

(Doing):

Acting not pontificating;
Not too much analysis;
Risk taking;
Gut and heart motivated;
Passion fuelled;
Making tries.

(lots of):

Don’t look for the silver bullets;
Be ok with making a ‘nano-inch’ of progress;
Failure is at the heart of successful ideas, so fail a lot;
Innovation doesn’t come in big chunks, it comes in bits and pieces;
Engage everyone in the organization because they all have ideas;
Shoot more than the other guy.

(imperfect):

Accept the fact that there’s no such thing as perfection;
Perfection seeking = no action; nothing is accomplished;
An imperfect idea successfully implemented beats an intellectually pristine notion that never gets off the ground;
Perfection cultivates innovation rigour mortise.

(stuff):

Make weird choices;
Look for DiFFERENT solutions;
Take contrarian positions on issues;
Unique;
Unleash the ’special’ in you and your organization;
Avoid copying at all cost.

(fast):

Know that speed is a competitive advantage;
Accelerate past the failures and try something else;
Avoid dragging, it robs you of your nimbleness;
Beware of your competition because they’re watching you.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 8.11.14 at 03:11 am by Roy Osing
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