Be Different or be dead

November 5, 2016

4 breakthrough ways to get people to work together

Source: Unsplash

Unfortunately team dysfunction is a plague that affects many - in fact I would say most - organizations

And much has been written on how to build effective teams. But it’s much more than simply getting people to work well together.

After three decades of leadership, here’s my take on how to build remarkably productive teams.

1. Appoint a team leader who is emotionally invested — in the challenge the team is addressing. There may be a temptation to assign the role to an individual who is deemed internally (by HR in particular) to possess “expert” leadership skills, but don’t do it!

Results are produced when a crazy amount of emotional energy expended on solving the problem at hand not when sophisticated leadership skills are present.

Find someone to lead the team who is first and foremost the internal champion of the cause, and second, who has demonstrated experience in leading teams successfully in their past.

2. Provide the strategic framework for the team to work within — the team needs to know what is “within limits” and what is not. This is not an issue of containing creativity, rather it is a guidance mechanism to point creativity in the strategic direction of the organization. Unclear and vague strategic focus for the team’s work generally results in unusable output; an interesting answer to the wrong problem.

Test the team’s understanding of their terms of reference. Keep the conversation going until they have demonstrated an intimate understanding of what they are being asked to do and how their expected results relate to the strategic game plan of the organization.

3. Have the team present an update on their progress — to the team executive sponsor at least monthly. This will ensure the team stays on track and gives an opportunity to recognize team members on the points of their progress.

4. Build the team objectives into performance plan of each team member — regardless of whether the team is full time or part time, shared accountability for results must be assigned.

If members are not personally liable, the pressure is off and you can expected casual rather than focused attention on the team’s activity and results.

Develop functional teams by concentrating your efforts on making them effective - achieving strategic goals - rather than efficient - achieving internal harmony and busyness.

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

• Posted 11.5.16 at 09:56 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink

October 3, 2016

Why certain low value customers should be totally ignored

Source: Pexels

Why certain low value customers should be totally ignored.

This is why it’s really important to ignore selected customers. Who you ignore is just as important as who you pay attention to.

Peter Drucker said of leadership: “Most leaders don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.”

The same can be said of building an effective business plan.

It’s not just about what you take on as a new direction, its more about what you do to terminate your old ways that are no longer relevant.

And that includes deciding the customers you intend to serve — the WHO — and those you choose not to serve - ‘the Non-WHO’.

Whereas the WHO represent high revenue potential, the Non-WHO are those customer groups that don’t represent significant economic opportunity for the organization.

And as a result, they warrant minimal investment.

Choosing customer groups you want to invest your valuable scarce resources in is a critical matter. You don’t have an endless stream of time and money to be all things to all people; you need to target your efforts with a minimum amount of interference that can dilute your efforts.

The Non-WHO is the enemy that can attract your attention, take you away from your game, suck you dry and give you no strategic return.

Often the Non-WHO are existing customers who no longer warrant attention. They may have been attractive at some point in the past, but no longer should command strategic focus.

These customers need to be managed out of the organization. They need to be cut loose in a manner that doesn’t create any collateral damage.

Take concrete measured action to remove them from your investment portfolio.

As well, the Non-WHO can be represented in over-the-transom business that you end up chasing because of the urgency of the moment or because you feel you have no choice but to give chase.

This yummy incoming activity can be devastating for an organized and can impede any progress towards achieving its strategic goals.

Choose WHO to serve and stick to it.

Avoid the execution leakage that forces you off strategy.

Like a selfish lover, The Non-WHO will have their way with you, rob you blind and leave you high and dry.

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

• Posted 10.3.16 at 05:25 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink

September 26, 2016

Why a business plan that follows others can be a gigantic failure

Source: Unsplash

Why a business plan that follows others can be a gigantic failure.

Fuelled by the Internet and technological innovation, competition in every sector is increasing with blazing speed.

You would think that in the face of relentless competitive pressure, organizations would get more proficient at carving out a differentiated position in their market, creating a value proposition that is crystal clear and unique. But it’s not happening.

In fact, the opposite is occurring.

‘Un-differentiation’ seems to be the norm.

Business is infatuated with copying. Best in class and best of breed are targets for emulation. Benchmarking is the key driver of improvement and innovation.

Follow the leader is played with the belief that somehow a standout competitive claim will evolve and resonate with customers. It just does not happen.

Products and services end up on most organizations’ infatuation list. Me-too features and capabilities are pushed on the market with the hope and prayer that a miracle will happen and their version will end up being the winner.

Product features and benefits are stressed as the panacea to the customer’s wants and desires. What the technology can do is given the limelight over the value it creates for people.

Mass markets are catered to, driven by a one-size-fits-all marketing mentality. Individuals take second seat to plurality.

Product corners are rounded, believing that incremental changes will make the product appeal to more people. The problem is, this strategy results in the product appealing to no one.

Businesses rush to offer lower prices than their competition, believing that this price position will engender customer loyalty and gain competitive advantage. Everyone is in this game to a degree. It seems to be that the herd races to the bottom on price rather than enduring the gruelling work to race to the top on unique value creation for people.

The bottom line: the world is burning with a growing competitive flame yet organizations are not good at establishing a clear, relevant and unique claim that distinguishes them from their competitors and that makes them stand out from everyone else.

What’s the solution?

If the competitive herd is copying products and services, features and benefits, the right long-term strategy is to be different, to stand out from the herd.

How do you stand out?

By creating and delivering value that is relevant (something that people really care about) and unique - something that only you provide.

The end-game is to create an organization that consistently creates distinction, uniqueness, remarkability, gasp-worthiness, indispensability, memorability and unforgettability for the people it chooses to serve.

These are the key strategic concepts that should drive how we innovate and shape our organizations.

These are the characteristics that attract people to buy from an organization because it makes them feel good. Yes, feelings are a hard-core business concept that drive repeat purchases and long-term customer loyalty.

On the other hand, if you can’t be gasp-worthy to people, be prepared to be common, ignored, invisible, dispensable and dead (sooner or later).

You choose.

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

• Posted 9.26.16 at 05:47 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink

September 5, 2016

9 subjects that will make you a better business student

9 subjects that will make you a better business student when you venture out into the brave new world of business.

The gap between school teachings and what is really needed for organizations to thrive and survive in the new markets that are unfolding is wide and is getting wider.

As an executive leader, I made it a priority to engage with business students and graduates on a regular basis. I needed to know where the talent was; who I should keep my eyes on for employment.

Based on my experience, my conclusion is that students coming out of business school are not ready.

Straight out of school they are ill-prepared to add the value required to enable our organizations to be remarkable, compelling, indispensable and unforgettable.

They are not being taught the right stuff.

They are getting traditional pedagogy jammed down their throats by professors who often have a minimal amount of experience running businesses in the real world of aggressive competition, unpredictability and biased employees.

These principles should be espoused by business schools if graduates are to be relevant to business in today’s markets.

1. Execution is the key to winning - a business plan without flawless execution is worthless. It’s one thing to define what has to be done, but without a detailed implementation plan and accountability, nothing happens and strategic intent remains a dream.

2. Customer learning is a competitive advantage - we need more than periodic market research to keep pace with how customers are changing; we require a continuous process of learning to monitor minute by minute what people desire.

Organization’s today succeed by providing what makes people happy; what they want, covet and “lust for” in their lives. Satisfying what they “need” is no longer a recipe for sustainable competitive advantage.

3. Serve people don’t service them - you service computers; you serve people. Amazing and remarkable organizations put the customer ahead of themselves; they exist to serve others.
They build operations system to make engagement easy; they create policies and procedures that enable transactions not control customer behaviour.

4. Perfect solutions don’t exist - the business world is too complex to be formularized. Flawed solutions that excite people beat those that may be theoretically pristine but don’t meet the practical realities of the specific organization and the market it serves. Imperfection rules and be imperfect fast is the guiding mantra.

The more failures with a heathy dose of learning from them = more successes. Punish failure only if you want compliance, policy-pushers and order takers.

5. The frontline is the boss - people who control the customer experience are the really important people, not the executives. Build your hierarchy to serve them.

6. Screw-ups create customer loyalty - a successful WOW! service recovery from an OOPS! results in a more loyal customer than if the screw-up never happened.
And when someone is screwed over, “I’m sorry” is the most strategic phrase ever and is the heart of a mind-blowing service recovery.

7. Erect barriers to customer exit - Ignore the competition and creating barriers to competitive entry. You can’t control the competition; if they want to attack you they will.
The right strategy is to prevent customers from leaving and you won’t have to worry about the hordes entering.

8. Lose a sale (but keep the customer) - the immediate transaction should not be the number one priority; building a long term relationship with a client should be the ultimate mission and focus of all sales activity.

So if you find yourself unable to satisfy a short term need your client has, suck it up and help them find a solution elsewhere. Be the problem solver, preserve the relationship and earn the right to sell another day.

9. Storytelling ignites the passion - every organization needs a cadre of amazing storytellers who are able to make a vision or strategy come alive for people. It makes the organization’s purpose real to employees in a way that excites them to play an active role in the chosen future.

Build a business curricula around these subjects; old school teaching gets a failing grade.

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

• Posted 9.5.16 at 05:26 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink