Category: Business

Monday, 19 July 2004

Pushing the Envelope of Business Requires a Strong Identity

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Pushing the Envelope of Business Requires a Strong Identity

“Hardball involves playing the edges, probing that narrow strip of territory—so rich in possibilities—between the places where society clearly says you can play the game of business and those where society clearly says you can’t.”

An exerpt from the Harvard Business School’s The Hardball Manifesto.

The article’s examples of Hardball companies – Wal-Mart, Southwest Airlines, Toyota – are examples of companies that have clearly defined their identity and by-proxy their reputation. Once a compelling and engaging identity is defined, it provides a framework for making decisions. Without that framework, you can’t stand firm in a decision and can’t play ‘hardball’.

Thanks to Rob at Business Pundit

Sunday, 18 July 2004

Faster Big Macs Through Outsourcing

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Faster Big Macs Through Outsourcing

2 minutes 36 seconds is the industry average for a McDonald’s drive-thru transaction. How does Steven Bigari keep his 12 franchises under half that?

Outsourcing.

All the drive-thru orders at his Missouri resturants are taken by a call center in Colorado Springs – increasing his capacity 15%.

Brilliant.

Original Article: New York Times, 18 July 2004.

Thanks to Brand Autopsy.

Monday, 12 July 2004

Changing the Government

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Changing the Government

Government agencies are some of the most notorious change resistors. In 1999, the Mint started to change that reputation – receiving a customer satisfaction rating second only to Mercedes Benz.

“In the old days, we shipped fewer than 50% of our orders within eight weeks. Today, if it takes two weeks for customers to receive an order, they complain. When you change expectations, it’s very hard for an organization to relax and slip back into old patterns of behavior.”– Philip N. Diehl, Director of the United States Mint

If the Mint couldn’t survey its customers officially, Diehl himself would do so unofficially. A few weeks after joining the Mint, he embarked on his own personal fact-finding mission. He went to coin conventions, talked with the hobby press, found situations in which he could interact with collectors. He shunned the ceremonial role that the director of the Mint usually played at these functions (collectors would line up to ask for Diehl’s autograph), and did what any smart politician (and change agent) would do: He worked the room.

Continued in Mint Condition from Fast Company

Thanks to Frank Patrick for the tip.

Monday, 28 June 2004

Repeating the Same Action and Expecting a New Result?

by Garrick van Buren 3 Comments on Repeating the Same Action and Expecting a New Result?

Engagement at meetings and excitement about projects is down. A number of key people are leaving. The passion that sparked our initial conversations is waning. One of our clients is at a turning point with their organization.

A number of never-been-tried-by-us suggestions were thrown around in a recent strategy session. Most of them immediately dismissed with a quick “that may work for some organizations, but not us.”

We talked about a number of approaches that could provide more value to their customers and more energy to their organization – from repositioning their offering to bringing on some lower-level individuals to assist management to really fulfilling on their unique selling propsition.

The resistance to change – when survival is most in question – is not unique to organizations. BusinessPundit struggles with the issue of a resistance manager and Seth Godin discovers the same issue when offering suggestions on improving presentations .

We at Working Pathways offer 2 suggestions for approaching a new strategy:

  1. Have you and your team answer this question, “What’s the worst possible outcome?”Answer it for your current situation and any potential strategy. New directions are never as forboding as existing strategies.
  2. The most successful, maintainable strategy is doing as little as possible

Tuesday, 1 June 2004

Hotel Room as Showroom

by Garrick van Buren 1 Comment on Hotel Room as Showroom

Hotels are now leveraging their experience comforting weary travelers and giving their guests the opportunity to take the hotel experience home.

Marginal Revolution points to a Forbes article documenting the Regency in Manhattan’s addition of price tags to their bath mats, pillows, and bath robes.

In a related development, Selelect Comfort recently announced a partnership with Carlson Hotels to replace 90,000 guest beds over the next 2 years with a custom-designed Sleep Number Bed.

As much as it’s a excellent way for “consumers to get a better night’s sleep away from home” it’s also a great way for consumer to have more experience with Select Comfort’s products. With the lifetime of matresses in the decades, capturing one more household is definitely benefical.

Monday, 31 May 2004

Defining On-Stage & Off-Stage

by Garrick van Buren 1 Comment on Defining On-Stage & Off-Stage

On-stage; where employees are likely to bump into customer.
Off-stage; where they are not.

It’s one of my favorite ideas from The Experience Economy is that of on-stage and off-stage.

Preventing off-stage behavior from occuring on-stage is the key to a good customer experience.

My wife has a recent example of where the two collided for a poor customer experience:

The Starbucks was busy when I got there. As I was standing in line, I overheard the barista on the phone:

“It’s real busy right now, I know I scheduled you for 6pm, can you get here by 4?….Hey, I don’t need that kind of attitude from you – especially over the phone.”

She hangs up, turns to me and smiles, “How may I help you?”

How large is “on-stage”? Big. Pine and Gilmore relay Jury consultant Robert Hirschhorn’s advise that law counselors to drive minivans because, “You never know when a juror is going to see you getting in or out of your car.”

UPDATE: Perception Analyzer has also noticed inconsistencies in the Starbucks experience.

Thursday, 26 February 2004

Many Conversations Converge

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Many Conversations Converge

After a number of recent conversations with my good friend Chip, where he concisely and articulately restated my thoughts on entrepreneurship and quality of life, I’m directed to this section of Tom Peters’ website, where he declares – as only he can – how offshore outsourcing is not a new problem or something we should be concerned about.

I’d like to personally thank both Chip and Tom for asking the hard – What do you want to do with your life – questions this week.

Thank You.