I recently came across this post that talks about the University of Missouri seeking to make the Apple iPhone a requirement in some of their classes (specifically for the journalism students).

I love the idea – as long as it is thought the whole way through.

I am involved with a Secret Evil Plan in order to make class something OTHER than dead boring and at the same time actually TEACH something so that others can go out and create their own Secret Evil Plans.  I have some collaborators who are also working on this plan with me and one day (hopefully soon) we’ll be able to reveal all, but for the moment we are still building…

Anyway, my point is that in the process of reassessing the way in which I teach my classes, and through asking my students to engage in the design process with me I have learnt a few lessons about good educational design:

• If you include ‘new technology’ it had better work.
• If you include ‘new technology’ it better have a purpose
• If you don’t have a good reason for doing something, don’t do it.  The students deserve more than half thought-through attempts at ‘being relevant’
• Most students are bored.  They don’t engage because they can’t be bothered.  This is Not Their Fault – it’s up to us to earn their attention and keep it.
• If you are thoughtful about what you teach and challenge students to be deliberately creative with the material, most will rise to the challenge.
• Learning is not remembering.
• Knowledge is not power.  Knowledge + Creativity + Desire to Change Something + Action = Power.

So while I applaud the University of Missouri for trying to be ‘now’ when it comes to the introduction of technology into their classrooms, if they haven’t thought all the issues through (including pedagogy – the how of teaching and how that relates to the what of teaching) then the iPhones are unlikely to help much.

We’ve moved from blackboards to whiteboards, to electronic whiteboards, to screen projections, to laptops and now to iPhones.  A new technology is, undoubtably, just around the corner.  The real trick is to be thoughtful about how and what we teach; to consider the students as co-learners and co-creators of knowledge who are HUNGRY to make a difference.

Examples of bad teaching are everywhere.  Let’s reshape the discussion.

If you have had a positive experience with a teacher/lecturer/professor/educator who has really worked hard to help you to achieve your best, write in and let me know.  We want to hear these stories.  Who knows, maybe we’ll let you in on our Secret Evil Plan.

JD

This morning I logged on to find that TED had uploaded a presentation that Seth Godin had given at a recent TED conference.

For those of you who don’t know Seth, I suggest that you look at his blog.  He constantly puts up posts that make me think abut what it is that I am doing and how I can interact with my world.  Most of his blogs are ‘business’ focussed, or they have something to do with ‘marketing’, but only if you read them literally.  Often his wisdom is applicable in many ways.

This presentation leverages off of his recent book:  Tribes.

I was lucky enough to download a free audio version of his book when he first released it (Yes, it is a legit copy.  No, I didn’t steal it.  Seth released some copies for free as part of a viral marketing plan).  I’ve listened to his book twice now, and even though I’m not surprised by it’s content, I was inspired by what it was that he had to say.  Now, don’t get me wrong:  if you haven’t been studying leadership for  years and years (as I have – I have  Masters Degree in Business Leadership that “proves” it!) you are likely to come across a lot of new (updated) material that will help you to think about leadership for the new century.  If, though, you have a good grasp on the ‘theory’ then you are likely to enjoy the new spin that Seth brings to this old discussion.

Ultimately, I think, despite everything else, it comes down to the ability for people to commit to WANTING to be a leader.  At the very end of his presentation, Seth leaves us with what he sees as the dimensions of good leaders:

• They challenge the status quo
• The build a culture
• They have curiosity about others, about how things work ‘out there’
• They connect people, and
• They commit.

He also leaves us with a challenge.  A challenge that only takes 24hrs to complete.  ”Begin a movement”.

What are you passionate about?  What woul it take for you to begin to build your tribe?  Let me know.  I want to hear about it.

“What’s your vision?”

Silence.

“C’mon, what are you passionate about?  What’s your vision for your life,  your work?”

More silence;  just louder this time.

These are some of the opening questions that I ask of my senior classes – the ones undertaking Strategic Management in their final year of their undergraduate degrees.

More silence.

I’ve been puzzled by the seeming inability of bright, wonderful students to be able to tell me what it is that they hope for themselves, for their world.  It’s not like they are inarticulate, if we can get them talking about their favourite topic, it is often hard to keep them from taking over the class (which, sometimes is what happens- with my blessing.  These can often be the best classes!)  but ask them a question about what their vision is, and they seem to struggle.

Part of the problem, it seems, is the bad press that vision statements get.  When quizzed, my students often tell me that their life experience with vision statements is that they are statements that are written and stuck on a wall somewhere.  The other problems is that they are often written in such terrible language that they lose all meaning.  There is no soul in them.

I believe that people want to have a mission.  I also believe that in Australia that we often beat that willingness to dream out of them; that we convince the dreamers that it is daggy  or uncool to have  vision statement.

A vision statement can live within you.  It doesn’t necessarily need to be written down, but it does need to be communicated.  It needs to be communicated in the meetings that you have, the actions that you perform, the speeches that you give and the life that you lead.  I have been looking around for some time now for good vision statements, or for people who live their vision.  It takes a real leader to be able to live their life in line with their vision.

Earlier today, I stumbled across THIS TALK  on TED.  It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best talks that I have seen.  Although recorded in 2002, the central message about vision and what you do for a ‘living’ rings loud and clear.  We all need people who have vision.  No, the vision does not need to be written down. Yes, amazing things can come from having a vision and acting in accordance with it.

So, what’s your vision, and how are you going to go about achieving it?

I have just finished viewing a great 20 minute presentation about what it can mean to be positive, uplifting and supportive.

Go to this video. It’s awesome.

As a teacher I am always looking for ways to connect with my students – to help them to connect with their world.

1. Spend 20 minutes or so watching this video of a Master Teacher at work.  You’ll be glad you did.
2. Think about how you interact with people around you.
3. Do better.

You know you can.

I love it when companies try to sell me stuff.  Especially those companies that I seek out first.  Invariably, they end up  getting it horribly wrong and I end up buying elsewhere.

In this post I’m going to share with you the list of things that piss-me-off (and a lot of other people – I’m not alone here) about salespeople who don’t know/care enough about their job and, what you can do about it if you happen to be one of these people.

(This is back-to-basics stuff.  However, it surprises me how many salespeople either forget it or never think about it.  If you have trouble selling, or getting your salespeople to sell, then these few things might help.  I sincerely hope so – I’m sick of you guys wasting my time.)

First up:  The Customer.

I’m not a difficult customer, but I’m no push-over either.  I’ve got the cash to buy whatever it is that you are selling.  I’m in your shop (or on your website, or at your office, or on the other end of the phone line - whatever) and I’m ready to pay good money.  All you need to do is explain to me “…the reason that I should buy from you.“

You see, I’ve already done my homework about whatever it is that I’m buying.  I’ve been to all the websites.  I’ve read all the reviews.  I’ve scanned all the blogs.  I’m informed.  Educated.  Aware.  There’s precious little that you can tell me about your product that I don’t already know.  This is especially true if it is a big-ticket item.

The thing is:  most of your customers are like me.  We know about the internet.  We know how to search.  We are tuned in.  If you forget this, then you are in deep, DEEP trouble.

So, chances are that before I ever meet you I have already decided to spend the money.  The rest, dear salesperson, should be simple.  All you have to do is convince me that I should spend it with you.

Second up:  It’s about service, stupid.

The one thing that you can do to make me feel comfortable about spending my hard earned cash with you is provide me with good service.  I don’t necessarily mean being a fawning sycophant, but at least listen to what I want/need.  Sometimes I am going to need stuff from you that I can’t do myself.  Sometimes I am going to want something from you that I can’t provide for myself.  Sometimes all I need is for you to reassure me that everything is going to be alright.

Now hints and clues about what it is that I need from you will come thick and fast – if only you would listen to what I am saying.  They might not be obvious, but you should be looking for these hints and clues.  Remember, I can get whatever it is that you are selling from lots of other places.  What I can’t get is peace-of-mind on whatever the issue is that I want solved.  You can provide that.  I’ll buy it if you do.  In some cases I’ll even pay a premium.  All you have to do is identify what it is that I need.

Third up:  Is that an unmet need in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?

The good news:  if you ask thoughtful, intelligent and sensitive questions, then chances are I’ll tell you exactly what it is that I need from you.  But if you ask stupid, inane, irrelevant questions then I’m going to get bored and think: “This person isn’t listening to me – why should I think that they are going to do a good job?  I’m off to find someone who will listen to my needs.“

The trick (if you can call it that) is to listen to what I am saying and to let me do most of the talking.  Eventually, I’ll run out of things to say, and that’s when you can ask a clarifying question.  Keep it relevant and then shut up and listen to the answer.  You’ll learn what I really need/want and then you can go about providing that.

Fourth up:  Don’t forget to do what it is that you say you will.

I recently went to a high-end audio place to buy a new amplifier (surround sound!) and to get them to come and install it and all the other stuff I had been buying for the past few weeks.  This was no small job.  It was gong to take a full day.  I needed wiring put through my walls, surround speakers installed and my new TV put on the wall.  I wanted it neat.  Tidy.  No wires showing.  This was a job for a professional outfit – it was waaaaayyy out of my league.

Now I know that this is no easy job, so I went in to ask if someone could come and give me a quote.  (Like I said earlier, I’m no push-over.  I know how much this should cost, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to get the best deal that I can.)  After a bit of negotiation I am able to convince someone to come to my house and give me a quote.  I even offer to drive them there and drive them back again.  The guy who comes informs me that he is in charge of the installation team and that he has 10 years experience in this sort of thing.  He also tells me that his team are professional and that they have never had a complaint about the quality of their work.  So far, so good.

We get back to my house and the installation guy walks around, taps walls, says “hmmmmm…” a lot and then gets down to the task of writing out a quote.  No explanation.  No clarification.  Just one piece of paper with a number on it.

“This covers everything?”  I ask.

“Everything” he says.

“Ok“,  I say.  ”When can we book it in?“.

“How about this Wednesday?” he asks.

“Sure“, I say, thinking that I can work from home that day.  ”Cool.“

********

So Wednesday rocks around.  I am expecting the installation team to arrive at 8:30am.  I’ve got the coffee made and I’m expecting them to walk through the door any minute.  Fast forward to 11:00am.  Still no installation dudes.  Still no phone call from ANYONE letting me know that they will be late or even if they are coming at all.  So I make the call:  ”Where are they?  What’s going on?“

“I‘m not sure – I’ll find out and get back to you.“

I do get a pone call about 15 minutes later:  ”They’ll be there at 12noon.“

Fast forward to 12 noon and the guys arrive.  No apologies.  No excuses.

Time for me to check that they know why they are even here…. So I begin asking questions.  It quickly turns out that they don’t know why they are here.  They haven’t been told anything about the job.  I show them what they need to do and I show them the quote.  That’s when it really turns to crap…

“There’s no way we can do that amount of work for that amount of money.  I don’t know who gave you the quote, but we can’t o it for that.  It’ll cost you about $600 more.“

It’s about then that I lost my tiny, little mind and kicked them out of my house.  I’ll get someone else.  I’ve wasted too much of my time and these guys are not even in the same galaxy as professional.  Sorry.  You lose.

Fifth up:  Don’t follow up bad service with even worse service.

I thought that would be the end of it.  I arranged for someone else to come and do the work, and except for telling everyone I knew the story of the bad service people, the whole episode began to fade from my memory…

…until I got the follow-up phone-call.

The guy who originally gave me the quote rang “…to see why the job hadn’t been closed off.”  

“I decided to get someone else” I said.  I wasn’t going to elaborate.  I wasn’t going to tell them how bad their service was and how they could fix it.  Oh no.  I wasn’t going to waste my time on THEM.  I was going to tell all my friends to tell THEIR friends how bad it was.  I was going to get all my friends, colleagues and acquaintances to avoid them like the plague and I was going to get them to add this latest chapter of “The most inappropriate phone call in the world”.

“Oh.  Ok.  Thanks.  Bye.”

That’s it?!?  They didn’t even WANT TO KNOW why I chose someone else?!??  They deserve all they get.

Finally:  Want to know who they are?

These guys don’t know how to do any of the positive things that I have outlined here in this post.  My recommendation:  Don’t buy from them.

If you have a similar story, let me know.  I’d love to hear it.

I’m sorry it has been such a long time since my last post.  I’m back in the saddle again now.

In my strategy classes I often use the example of a “Noodle Joint” as a means of trying to get students to think about how, if they were in the noodle restaurant business, they would go about beating the competition.  (This exercise works really well in places like Hong Kong and Singapore – but it translates well here in Australia too).

I ask them to imagine that they are running a Noodle Joint and that competition in the area is fierce.  How would they compete?  What strategies would they use?

Usually I get a swag of responses that include:

1. More advertising
2. Cheaper Prices
3. Better decor (more attractive)
4. Faster service
5. Happier staff (friendlier service)
6. Special promotions (get in a movie star to promote!)
7. Different flavours 
8. Begin another business – get into DVD sales!
9. etc.

What now?  What strategies will you use to compete now?  How will you maintain sustainable competitive advantage?

It’s usually at this point that the class goes relatively quiet.  Even when I get them to break into groups and try and solve this problem, students seem to have a problem coming up with a workable solution.

Well, here’s a solution: Take what you normally do and get very good at it.  Make a big fuss about it.  Involve your customers in it.  Get emotional buy-in.

In my last trip to Singapore, I was lucky enough to be taken to a Noodle Joint in Smith Street (also known as “Food Street”).  My colleague took us from our hotel, down into the train system where we changed two lines, and up into “Food Street”.  We were then hustled along past rows and rows of Noodle Joints and other food places – many of who had touts out the front trying to solicit our business – to number 19.

My first impression was that the restaurant was unremarkable to look at:  although it had many photos of customers on its walls.  It wasn’t until I looked closely that I saw that all the customers were dong the same thing:  they were standing in the kitchen with the same man and they had what looked like a large spool of rope between their outstretched hands.

We took a seat and waited for someone to come over and we duly ordered.  The menu wasn’t all that remarkable, and the prices weren’t all that special – I was seriously wondering why we had bothered to trek such a long way in the heat and humidity of equatorial Singapore in July.

Then came out the Master Chef.

I’ve never seen noodles made by hand before.  All I can say is that it is this magical process of taking the dough and by ‘throwing’ it around and stretching and kneading and playing it gets turned into long, silky noodles.  It was fascinating to watch.

And then came the good bit:  I was invited into the kitchen to have my photo taken with the Master Chef and my very own noodles. 

I’LL INSERT A COUPLE OF PHOTOS HERE ONCE I GET PERMISSION FROM EVERYONE THAT THEY ARE HAPPY TO HAVE THEIR IMAGES ON THE INTERNET

Not very long later we were eating the very noodles that we had seen being made in front of us.  We were involved; we were thrilled; we were keen to tell others about it so that they could also experience it!

After lunch we were talking to the Chef about how he did it and we asked him how business was going etc..  One of the most interesting things he said was that he would love to open another restaurant – even though he was doing very well with just one.

“Do you think you could compete in another market?”, we asked.

“I love the competition” he said.  ”Of course I could make it work”.

Now, here was a man that was competing in one of the most cut-throat industries that you can imagine and was-doing-very-nicely-thank-you-very-much.

It goes to show that all it takes is a bit of imagination, a flair for being able to exploit a capability and to involve customers in the experience to be different.

Has it made a difference?  Of course it has.  There were hundreds and hundreds of photos on the wall of happy, smiling customers, and of they are anything like my colleagues and I, each of them will have been just as thrilled as we were.  I personally know that I have recommended this particular Noodle joint to hundreds of students in Singapore, hundreds more in Hong Kong and Melbourne and when a friend told me that he was off to Singapore with his family for the Grand Prix, I said he just HAD to go there for lunch.

Now I am recommending it to you.  Even if you don’t et there – go and watch how it is done.  Think about what you do in your business that is ‘normal’ to you, but would be really cool to someone else.  See if you can find a way to exploit it.

Being different can make all the difference.

Jason.

ps.  I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Margaret Heffernan AOM who guided us to this fabulous restaurant and Dr. Alan Montague  for being such a fantastic lunch companion.

]]> http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/being-different-can-make-all-the-difference/feed/ 0 JD http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/being-different-can-make-all-the-difference/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wordpress/Dcje/~3/zcI7btwF3Sk/ http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/how-to-think-an-approach-to-solving-difficult-problems/#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:48:58 +0000 jasondowns http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/?p=45 ]]>

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately.  I have to: my PhD is in ’strategic thinking’.  So what is the best way to solve difficult problems?

Well, that depends on the nature of the issue, how much information you have, how familiar you are with the problem, how quickly the problem changes – a whole host of things…

But, let’s assume for the moment that you have a particularly tricky organisational problem that you want to solve.  Let’s also assume that you are not looking for a quick fix to some symptom, but that you want to solve the root cause of whatever issue it is that you have.

One approach is Concept Mapping.

Concept mapping is an approach that combines both cause and effect thinking and also allows for expansive ‘brainstorming’.  Think Mindmapping – but on steroids.

Concept mapping relies on the scientific method of thinking: reductionism and relativity.  Its real advantage is that you can start with a problem and begin to break it down into its component parts.  You can then look at the component parts and see how they relate to each other.

It might be easier with an example:

 

The above concept map was whipped up by my class to try and understand the relationship between an organisation’s environment (both internal and external) and what might cause an organisation to suffer from a lack of innovation over time.

The important thing to remember here is that they only had a very short period of time to draw this up – and even though it is incomplete and that it could do with some revision, the process encouraged a lot of discussion which was extremely valuable.  The map helped them to learn not only the “what” but also the “why” of the problem.  The result: the students were able to see how some of the dynamics were self-reinforcing and propose tentative solutions to problems that were yet to manifest.  They were engaging in strategic thinking.

When creating a concept map, often the hardest thing to do is NOT jump ahead to the solution, but to slowly, meticulously and patiently STEP your way through the problem.  By slowing down, and mapping the relationship between various factors you actually are forced to consider the assumptions that you make in your decision making process.  This can be really valuable.  By slowing down, you can actually consider all the issues, not just the main one.  You might find that by looking at the relationships between components that you can solve a much larger organisational issue with much less effort and far more elegantly.

The secret is to think:  ”If this, then that”.  

Example:  Let’s say you want to lose weight.  Even though you know what it is that you need to do, (exercise more/eat less) you still can’t get around to doing it.  Why?

This is where concept mapping can help.  The stating point is “Overweight”.  That is the ‘what’.  Overweight (leads to) less energy.  Now in a Concept map, you would draw this as follows:

This is a cause and effect relationship.  It shows the way in which you begin to construct a map.  You start off with a problem and you move forward to see what the effect is.  Your next branch would emerge from “Lack of Energy”.  It could looks something like:  ”Lack of Energy” (decreases) “Motivation”.  From “Motivation” you might have another branch that changes the problem.  E.g. “Motivation” (can be increased by) “Outside forces”.  ”Outside forces” (can consist of) “Motivational speakers”"Personal trainers”"Friends”"Inspiring videos” etc.  The important thing to remember here is that you can have multiple branches coming off of a single node.  See below:

This is by no means a finished map – you should be able to see how it can continue to be expanded as you look for issues that can lead back to helping you solve the original problem. 

Most people only think of problems linearly.  Of course problems are usually a lot more complex than that.  Often relationships exist that are hidden from plain sight even though they are in ‘plain sight’.  For example, one of the issues that our overweight friend might be facing but doesn’t ‘realise’ is the lack of safe lighting in their area – so they don’t exercise after dark.  Once something like this is mapped out, then they can start to think about ways to solve that issue (join a  gym, exercise at luchtime, join a group etc).

Concept mapping is a good way to sit down and begin to think through all the issues of a particular problem.  It forces you to consider all issues.

HINT:  I do all my concept mapping on paper.  I use a Moleskine diary and pencil.  Maps can become messy, and often when you begin considering relationships, you may begin to edit those relationships as you gain more insight.  Nothing beats pencil and eraser for this.  Computer programs are cool-and-all, but by taking your problem ‘analogue’ (I often go to a favourite cafe to do all of my SERIOUS thinking) means that you are not trapped in the same environment that causes most of your problems.  Get a fresh perspective.  Go ‘offline’ and take a pencil, paper and eraser with you.  Go somewhere different.  The beach.  The mountains. The park. You’ll be surprised at what a difference it makes.

Let me know if you found this post interesting and that you would like to hear more about different thinking approaches.  Also, if you are interested in the software that I used to create the maps in this post – let me know.  I can point you in the direction of the website where you can download it for free if you are and education provider/charity etc etc..

Jason.

 

]]> http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/how-to-think-an-approach-to-solving-difficult-problems/feed/ 2 JD CM of organisation\'s External Environment Click to enlarge etc... http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/how-to-think-an-approach-to-solving-difficult-problems/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wordpress/Dcje/~3/mFbS1pp9zpE/ http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/the-basic-building-block-of-value-efficiency/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:00:00 +0000 jasondowns http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/?p=19 ]]>

It’s been a bit over a week or so since I’ve written, so it’s definitely time to get back to it.  Sorry, if you have been wondering where I went.

A while ago, I wrote about the need to be focussed on what the customer wants – to be responsive to their needs.  Today, I want to talk about why it is also important to be efficient in everything that you do – and it’s not just about saving money!

The reason that you are in business,or you are thinking about gettting into business, is to create value for your customer.  

I know, I know…  the ‘real’ reason that you are in business is to ‘make-a-heap-of-cash-and-to-quit-working-for-the-man-and-live-a-life-of-luxury-on-the-French-Riviera’ right?

Wrong.

Unless you come up with the next big thing chances are it’s going to be a lot harder than you think to get to that life of luxury. The good news, though, is that there are few things that you can do in order to do well.

Being efficient in everything that you do can be a really good way to gain an advantage over your competitors – but it can be short lived if your competition notices what you are doing and tries to copy your methods.  That doesn’t mean that seeking to be efficient is a bad thing, or a waste of time:  it isn’t.

Consider this:  You are manufacturing widgets (or some other thing that your customers value) and you find a way to be more efficient in the process.  Let’s say that you find a way to re-organise your office so that information flows more evenly through the office and there is less chance of important messages being lost.  Because you are getting messages more quickly, you are able to deal with problems faster.  Recovery from mistakes is faster; and you can improve your communication with your important suppliers, customers and others.  Since you are now able to get in contact with your customers in a more timely manner, they like you more – and feel more comfortable with either keeping their business with you, or maybe even recommending you to their contacts, friends and family.

It can work for service organisations as well.  I recently instituted a policy where I only look at my email twice a day – at 11am and 4pm.  Since I get to work at 8am, I have three hours of uninterrupted time to get the most important things in my day out of the way – the things that I absolutely need to do in order to get me closer to my goals.  At 11am, I fire up my email client and I answer ALL of the emails that are there.   Normally I have about 25 or 30 emails waiting for me, and I can burn through them fairly quickly – typically in less than 1/2 an hour.  If there is one there that requires a lot more work, I shoot an email off to whoever wrote to me to tell them that I’m working on it offline and that I’ll get back to them later. I then schedule that task into my day and I close own my email client.  

I now have another 4 1/2 hours before I get interrupted again.  With such a big chunk of time, I can get a lot of work done.

The results have been astounding.  I am getting a lot more done in my day and I am focussing on each task individually which means that each task gets done to a higher quality.  My customers (the people who are paying the bills) like it more.  They enjoy the fact that things are getting done.  Progress.

It hasn’t been easy, but my colleagues (those that have noticed anyway) have come to learn that if they email me after 4pm that they won’t get an answer before 11am the next day.  My students, similarly so.  In fact, it has been such a success that I have set up an autoresponder to inform anyone who emails me on a Friday that I won’t get back to them until Monday at 11am.  I don’t even check my emails on Friday or over the weekend and since I don’t physically have to be present in my office to do my job, I often work from home on Fridays where I can get complete uninterrupted time to focus on my research.  I get so much more done this way.

The result?  Research gets done.  Work gets done.  Everyone knows that they will get an answer from me as soon as it turns 11am or 4pm and they are happy.

Competitive advantage through being efficient.

What efficiency measures do you put in place to ensure that you have a competitive edge?

]]> http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/the-basic-building-block-of-value-efficiency/feed/ 0 JD http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/the-basic-building-block-of-value-efficiency/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wordpress/Dcje/~3/ok6kJGVcYHE/ http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/smash-the-competition/#comments Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:21:39 +0000 jasondowns http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/?p=40 ]]>

I am constantly surprised by the fact that most people (and this includes businesses) don’t continually invest in those things that give them a sustainable competitive advantage.  What do I mean by sustainable competitive advantage?  I mean smashing the competition and while they are down, making sure that they don’t get up again without you having something to say about it.

At a personal level, this means being better, faster, more effective than your co-worker.  At a business level it means being the leader in your industry and always two or three steps ahead.

Today I want to talk about being better than your co-worker, and I don’t mean just a bit better, I mean significantly better and better in measurable ways.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Decide on what is important to be good at and focus on that.  Ditch all the rest.
2. Do a quick search on the net to find out how others who are experts at whatever it is that you want to be like got there, and what tools they used.
3. Buy and read the book/download the tool/ get the DVD/do the course/whatever-it-takes to understand how to do it.
4. Apply.
5. Keep Applying.
6. Apply again and again and again until it is a habit.
7. Keep applying some more.

Chances are, when you first start learning a new skill, or breaking an old habit that you will be VERY uncomfortable about it.  That’s to be expected.  Relax.  It will get easier – the secret is to stick at it.

Below is a scan from some notes that I took the other week when I was attending a colleague’s lecture.  The lecture went for an hour and was on the historical perspective of Scientific Management (not the most interesting of subjects to me, but I wanted to see how my colleagues were presenting in class in case I could learn anything about how to improve my own style).  I sat in the last row, furtherest from the lecturer and tried to keep a small profile.  

As the class filled up, I found myself surrounded by students, some of which had printed out the notes beforehand, and others who had not.  During the lecture I found it interesting to watch who was taking notes and what method they used….

What did I find?  Most just flipped along with the lecture slides on the PowerPoint Presentation and some jotted down a few points: most did nothing.

(click image to make larger etc)

I first learnt about mind-mapping about five years ago, and have been using the tool somewhat sporadically over that period.  Last year, though, I decided to get serious about it to see if it was really useful, or if I was wasting my time.

Here is what I found:

1. Mind-mapping increases my concentration on the topic at hand enormously
2. Mind-mapping increases my ability to recall information faster and more accurately than any other method that I know
3. Mind-maps are personal – it is very difficult for anyone else to read them and understand them – this means that you are an important part of the mind-map.  Without you, the data can’t be easily de-coded (this puts you at the centre of the information dissemination game; a valuable place to be).

The map above covers all the main points I would need to be able to know in order to feel confident in answering a question on that topic in, say, an assignment or exam.  It is contained in one page and not spread out over 60+ slides that were designed by someone else.  Most of all, though, it was created by me using both hemispheres of my brain and as such, the data is locked inside – not forgotten.

I pinned this map to my wall when I returned from the lecture, and didn’t look at it again until this morning.  Upon pulling it down and glancing at it again, all the information came flooding back and I feel super confident that I GET IT!  

What does this mean in terms of efficiency and effectiveness?  It means that I don’t have to spend hours slogging over old notes in a hope that I will remember them when it is important.  It means that all the time that I don’t spend trying to decode someone else’s work (the original  PPT slides) I can spend doing further research or study on another topic to vastly increase my knowledge in this or another related area.

What does this ultimately mean?  It means that because I learnt a skill that makes me far more effective and efficient at understanding new material that I can use these gains to skip even further ahead of the competition.  It means that the competition has to work more than twice as hard – just to keep up.  It means that I have a competitive advantage that is sustainable, and that eery day I practice developing this skill, is another nail in the coffin for the competition.

So, I have a question for you – what is a key skill, competency or capability that you, or your business needs to develop that will give you sustainable competitive advantage?

Find out what it is; learn it; apply it consistently, conscientiously and continually and watch yourself smash the competition.

 

]]> http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/smash-the-competition/feed/ 1 JD My Notes http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/smash-the-competition/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wordpress/Dcje/~3/HWES6IJuGxY/ http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/gurcharan-das/#comments Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:50:28 +0000 jasondowns http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/?p=37 ]]>

One of the things I love about working at a university is that sometimes we are lucky enough to get world-class people come and give us their time, experience and wisdom.Today, we were fortunate to have Gurcharan Das speak to a small group of us and give us his thoughts on strategy and customer service.

 

Gurcharan Das is probably best known from his time as CEO of Proctor and Gamble in India and as VP and MD of Proctor and Gamble world-wide.

One of the most important things that I gained from his talk was to ask this question:  ”Who is paying my salary?“ 

This question was answered time and time again by stories that he shared that all had a common theme - the customer pays the salaries.  

Now, for those of you who have a strategy background, or who can remember your Strategy 101 class, you won’t be surprised by his claims that there are basically three ways in which you can gain competitive advantage in your market:

1. By having a superior price
2. By having a superior product
3. By having superior service

You can’t do all three well; but you can excel at one of them.  Gurcharan’s argument was that in a globalised and interconnected world where 70% of the economy is service based, that it doesn’t really make sense to concentrate on price or product.  Of course, you have to be good at all three, but it pays to be excellent at service.

 

The problem that we often face is that although you can learn the skills of customer service, it is much harder to learn the attitude.  It’s the attitude of customer service where the real value lies in an organisation.

 

Having a price that is cheaper than your competitor only works if your costs are lower.  This is a strategy that is hard to sustain and is counter-intuitive as cheaper prices (including those that are the result of price wars) come straight off the bottom line.  That’s expensive.

 

Having a product that is superior than your competitors is desirable, but ultimately copyable.  Ask those ‘elite’ companies that licensed their brands to be used in handbags and luggage and fragrances how their overall brand value has been destroyed by cheap copies from places like Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia.  You might have a technology that gives you an advantage today, but in 6 months time, your competitor probably will have it too.  When you are investing millions of dollars on R&D to invent a new technology, a 6 month advantage seems an expensive way to spend your money.

 

So, to gain an advantage, you need to develop a capability in something that is inexpensive yet difficult to copy.  Service to the rescue.

 

Gurcharan was  an engaging speaker, and we were lucky to have him talk to and with us for an hour and a half.  If you would like a copy of my notes on what we covered, send me an email, or drop a comment at the end of this post, and I’ll send you a PDF.

 

Jason. 

 

 

 

]]> http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/gurcharan-das/feed/ 2 JD Gurcharan Das http://managementisacontactsport.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/gurcharan-das/ nonadult