Paper or Plastic?

Last week I was conducting a kick off meeting for a project team. As an objective, outside 'voice' it's my job to open the eyes of the participants, and to show them that it is quite easy to think in Large Format.

One of the examples I went though was the Peters/Collins concept of Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Set a goal that is huge, and worth striving for. The point is a) you might accomplish it, or b) you will accomplish something better than the basic...

To add to this little discusion, I like many of you... happened to watch the Apprentice last night. In my opinion, the key to victory was the involvement of the target audience. As often as I see it, you are far more likely to come out on top if you spend a certain amount of time involving you 'customer' in the development of your product/service...

So, to bring the two points together, I happened accross a wonderful example of a) a true BHAG and b) involving (or at least not hiding - which most companies do...) customers in a 'private' aspect of a business..

On DIAGEO.com, their About Us section is the best I've ever seen. Without question, there has (yes, HAS) to be a thriving culture at DIAGEO, otherwise they are risking some serious credibility blows based on their exclamation of their goal - EVERY ADULT ADORES ONE OF OUR BRANDS. Yes.. adores.. talk about a Lovemark.... check it out yourself here.

To sum it up.. don't hide, be passionate, and to develop something that you want someone else to love... ASK them... then deliver.

If you can accomplish this ...it's in the BHAG...

It's a rental...

So this morning, I dropped my car off at the dealership for some warrany repairs.. something about leaking and urgent.. so I complied.. the other bonus was the fact that the warranty covered a rental car.. perfect...

Let's step back a couple of days to Tuesday... I was late coming home from the office, and decided the best thing to do was to treat the family to a pizza.. from Canada's #1 Pizza chain...

My point? These two incidents were brilliant examples of the EXTREMES of bought in front line staff.

First, let's start with Tuesday's pizza... Somewhere in corporate pizzaworld someone decided that 1:1 marketing was a great idea.. so they decided to dedicate an area on the pizza box to allowing the 'chef' to sign their name exclaiming that this pizza was made for me... in the 10 times I've ordered.. it's never been signed...

Another innovation in the pizzasphere is a new delivery bag with a digital read-out... pizza is a million degrees, or it's free... I was so excited to see the bag, to learn how it works.. when it arrived.. I wasn't even shown the read-out.. now that I think of it.. it didn't seem all that hot... ;)

Fast forward to today.. I drop my car off at the dealership to be greeted (immediately) by the local Enterprise car rep. I was certainly excited, as this was my first glimpse into the Customer Obsessed world of Enterprise that was illustrated (to a tee) in Frederick Reichheld's Loyalty Rules! And to say that every 't' was crossed and 'i' was dotted was an understatement. I guess Enterprise's strategy of structuring their bonuses on Customer Satisfaction Scores is working.

So, my point is simple, train your front line staff religiously. In fact, get them to believe in your product/service as much as you do. Otherwise, all of your efforts will be wasted, and I will call someone else who hires and trains believers...

Gary Bettman You're my hero...

What?? Gary Bettman - Commish of the NHL - a ROLE MODEL??? The man who was recently named one of the worst managers - anywhere, by BusinessWeek??!!?? Even more recently.. the man who cancelled the NHL season???

Yes, Gary Bettman is a role model.

Ok, ok.. yes, I will admit that I am disappointed about the recent turn of events in the NHL, however, you have to give the guy SOME credit.

What Gary did was think of the league. The whole league. His decision to hold out with the owners and eventually put an end to the season is a commendable business move.

What am I talking about??? Well, consider it this way, the players were (theoretically) arguing that their earnings were more important than the sustainability of the league. The players were acting selfishly.

This fact is something I talk about with organizations frequently. At some point, you must stand back and realize on one hand, your contribution is vital to the organization, however on the other hand, the organization is the ultimate reason you do what you do. Therefore your efforts must be combined the the efforts of others in the best interest of the organization. No ego, no agendas, just effort towards the success of the organization.

It might hurt, it might take a huge gut check, ultimately it isn't about you. I know, it's harsh.. but it's true..

Are you experienced?

We often ask organizations we work with a simple question - who owns your brand?

The answer? They do.. your customers.

We also make a simple point about organizations' brands. To use the term coined by Pine and Gilmore.. we are in (please note - we are IN, not approaching, not coming soon.. IN IN IN IN IN) the Experience Economy.

If you aren't aware of the concept, pick up the book, or better yet.. contact me...

The bottom line.. your customer offering has to leave each and EVERY customer with a lasting, memorable, remarkable - experience.

Don't believe me? How about this.. the kind folks at brandchannel.com have published the 2004 Readers' Choice Awards for the brand with the most global impact. The results are as follows:



Get experienced.

You're so vain...

I know.. for the longest time, I've been a huge Carly fan. Yes - it's that easy, Carly. There was Herb, Jack, Sam, Bill and Carly. The larger than life CEO's that were the figureheads of their organizations.

She, (other than Bill Gates) is the last of the crowd to leave. Well, in her case - forced to leave.

You have to give her credit. If for nothing else than to have the courage to spearhead the merger that started it all for her... Well, hold on.. that was the last truly brave thing that she did. What she didn't do was step aside soon enough when her leg of the race was over. Alas...

It was a long ride, and she certainly made a name for herself.

It will be interesting to see what the next generation brings as far as celebrity CEO's?

Anny Mulcahy? Steve Jobs (again)?? Bob Nardelli???

Charmed I'm sure...

Alright.. it's late on a Friday afternoon, and knowing how busy Monday's are I won't have time to post.. I also know that I can safely post this, and my wife won't read this until late on Monday..

So, there I was, being buzzed into a jewelry store... to drop 9 bucks. Overkill? I think so..

To add insult to injury, as I sat at the counter to pay, I noticed a receipt that was left out amounting to $940... yes... one hundred times my purchase...

So, by now, all the female readers are cringing at my lowly purchase... but wait, by the time I'm through, I will have spent close to 900 bucks.. you see, I just bought my wife a charm bracelet.

What a brilliant concept, create a product that is infinitely customizable by the consumer, and get them started for 9 dollars... little do we (the husband) notice that we are spending hundreds of dollars over time...we think - it's just another charm..

So, obviously, I'm not posting to tell you about my purchases. My point - how hard is it for your consumer to get 'hooked' on your product? Is there a 'need' for your consumer to continually modify their original purchase? Think video game console. Think Honda Civic.

Bottom line - think long term. Think modification. Think Customization. Think REPEATED customization.

What it is, is not what it isn't.

This morning, I received the latest edition of Strategy + Business. The lead article was discussing the re-invention of analog television distribution. Yippee. I hope they bring UHF back next.

Seriously, the point of the article was that this 'new?' medium would help in locations where there was no access to cable or satellite. Sounds great, however, it went on to say that the new service would help bring 'on-demand' retailing. Now, I'm no genius, but if these areas have no access to satellite or cable, will there be much demand for on-TV retailing?

This past weekend, I was at a red light behind a truck emblazoned with the logo of a 'satellite installation' company. I had to recall the giant 12 foot dishes that were only available to those who could afford the thousands of dollars price tag. I looked to a house across the intersection, and there on the roof were 3 mini dishes. Things change, there is no going back.

So, I wonder why it is that so many companies are looking to the future with the past clouding their view. Think about it, cell phones are called wireless. Why is it called what it no longer is. For the first generation of automobiles, they were commonly referred to as horse-less chariots. Progressive? Not really.

So, my guess is that faster than companies can jump back on the analog distribution network a nimble, forward looking satellite company will beat them to the punch.

Just a guess.

My point, is that the world is forward looking, in favour of progression, and to quote Hugh MacLoed "people like watching Dinosaurs die".