My BU deals with a commodity product day in and day out. Although we do as much as we can to differentiate ourselves, customers including the sales themselves take it as a transactional product. The main theme sometimes the only theme is price.
BU invests a lot of money trying to implant the value selling concept into sales head. But in reality, how much the concept is incorporated into our daily sales activity? I guess less than 10%.
I don't want to blame sales. As always, anything in our life has two sides. On the one side, sales might to work hard enough to implement the value selling; on the other side, do they have to do so or are they able to do so? The market is Oligopoly with few players. As the market leader, we have our advantage to penetrate the market without paying too much effort. In addition, customers don't appreciate the value selling so heartedly. The purchases manager only cares to get the product at possibly lowest price.
The pictures looks quite gloomy. But the answer is not hard to grasp. First, from sales end, they must be trained to use the value selling concept continuously and in long term. It would never be possible to change customer's paradigm overtime. The idea needs to be percolate into their heads little by little. It takes time and stamina to do so. But it will be paid off once the idea is getting through. Second, we need to build the "value selling" into the target setting and performance evaluation. The one who is doing it should get rewarded, who is not should get "punished".
People's mindset is always hard to change. Not mention to change both sales and customer's mindset. The right incentive and management force must be in place to make it happen.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Weather from financial crisis
It has been a long time since I posted my last blog. Although moving to Beijing made a big change of my life pace, it is not the only reason I drop the blogging. Simple put, blog is out of my mind and I am pushed around by all kinds of meetings,tasks and projects, therefore, it is not my focus anymore.
Today,I received a phone call from an old time friends, she told me that she got the notification to leave her job by the end of March. She also mentioned that she read some of my blogs. In combination of the two, I re-start my blog, for how long? I have no idea.
Back to topic, in the past months, not a day passes without bad news coming up. If you are a frequent Financial Times reader, you can see all the headlines are gloomy. Job cutting, bail-out, fund-injection, bankrupcy etc. In our company, we also receive a vague message which implies the overall cost cut by 5%.
I have heard about the big scale lay-offs in China, Like Intel, Dell, Sony and so on. My company's top management was also reshuffled. 4 our of 7 management board members left the company. Although CEO tried to comfort the employees with the statement of no play to cut the workforce. However, employees are very realistic and nobody would take that as a parachute to get off this unprecedent crisis.
What we can about it? Almost nothing. It is not the prolblem we create and it is not a problem we can avoid either. The surviving tactics I can conceieve is first, cut your expense, don't make any big spending under such a circumstance, like buying a house or a car. Cash is the king, you never know whether tomorrow you will have have the income you get today. Second, be a nice and dedicate employee. Don't arrive late and leave early. Become the last one your boss can think of to be fired. Securing your job is your top priority. Third, if you already lost your job, don't get devastated. Pull yourself together, you will have someone counting on you. On the one hand, unremittingly to make yourself re-employeed. In the meanwhile, you can also try to get some new skill training. So when the economy bounce back, you are prepared to snatch the new chance.
Today,I received a phone call from an old time friends, she told me that she got the notification to leave her job by the end of March. She also mentioned that she read some of my blogs. In combination of the two, I re-start my blog, for how long? I have no idea.
Back to topic, in the past months, not a day passes without bad news coming up. If you are a frequent Financial Times reader, you can see all the headlines are gloomy. Job cutting, bail-out, fund-injection, bankrupcy etc. In our company, we also receive a vague message which implies the overall cost cut by 5%.
I have heard about the big scale lay-offs in China, Like Intel, Dell, Sony and so on. My company's top management was also reshuffled. 4 our of 7 management board members left the company. Although CEO tried to comfort the employees with the statement of no play to cut the workforce. However, employees are very realistic and nobody would take that as a parachute to get off this unprecedent crisis.
What we can about it? Almost nothing. It is not the prolblem we create and it is not a problem we can avoid either. The surviving tactics I can conceieve is first, cut your expense, don't make any big spending under such a circumstance, like buying a house or a car. Cash is the king, you never know whether tomorrow you will have have the income you get today. Second, be a nice and dedicate employee. Don't arrive late and leave early. Become the last one your boss can think of to be fired. Securing your job is your top priority. Third, if you already lost your job, don't get devastated. Pull yourself together, you will have someone counting on you. On the one hand, unremittingly to make yourself re-employeed. In the meanwhile, you can also try to get some new skill training. So when the economy bounce back, you are prepared to snatch the new chance.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Key learnings from my second project
I got a new “boss” and temporarily I report to him. I don’t know him before and he leaves quite positive impression by a looking-judgement. He looks integrate and trustworthy.
I had very unpleasant experience from my second rotation project. No matter how hard I worked, I just feel unaccepted by the team. And the suggestions and ideas I brought up were usually ignored or unwelcomed. I have been frustrated for quite a while and I really don’t want to carry this negative feel forward. So I think seeking the counseling from my new boss might be a good idea.
Looking back, in the hope of reversing this situation, I did a very straightforward conversation with my project leader. The key message I got was that as a high-profile management candidate, the attitude/feeling of my peers toward me would be at best neutral and commonly distasteful because I would be assumed to take a managerial postion in about two years whereas many colleagues might need to take much longer time to get that kind of promotion. The hidden words- you should stay low and be cautious, otherwise you will just be shot down.
After the conversation, I did watch my mouth and tried to be more diplomatic and political. However, the situation seemed not much improved. I mentioned earlier in my blog “Negotiate smartly”. I think I am not paid by my company to shut up. I wanted to give help and put out my out-of-box thinking. But again, I was hitting the war and catapulted back. I could not understand why is that? Is it that once perception has been shaped, it would be hard to change. The hunch on my back is that the team dislikes me much more than my ideas.
After hearing my grievance, the new boss reacted with two points. First, I should keep being proactive and intiative. But when I sell my ideas across, be humble and polital. It is more about how you say it than what you say. Second, our company’s main stream culture is quite open, so the situation I was in is not common.
Regarding point 2, I hope it is true, otherwise I made the wrong decision to join this company. Regarding point 1, I thought I might have said something like “ we should do this rather than that” but I never rolled over my colleagues and under estimated their ability. I really doubt it is my wording in the e-mail triggered the resentfulness to me. It is still probably my identity, as a management candidate with a short working history with this company arouse the distastefulness from my chinese colleauge. And the lacking of leadership from the project manager worsened the situation. Instead of coaching me and help me, he just protected his ego by ignoring my voice or simply shutting off.
In retrospect, I think what I am look for is not an advice but a sympathy from my new boss. Although I think I didn’t get what I really want, the conversation provided me a chance to self-reflect on what have happened and generate some key learnings:
1.When you join the team, obserse your boss first speak second. If your boss is close-minded, you’d better cautiously utter your voice and make sure untouch your boss’s big ego, no mention hurting it.
2.If you are a team leader, never muzzle the voices different from you. Keep an open team atmosphere is essential to fulfill everyone’s potential in the team. Otherwise, a team work will always end up with one man show or one voice. Consequently, the productivity will be suffered.
3.If you are mistreated, don’t blame and never try to revenge. Check on yourself and see what you can do differently to change the situation. Learn the lesson in a postive way and never carry the negative feel forward. In my case, I will continue to be proative and initiative in the future no matter where I am. But I would be more wary of the boss with a close mindset. In the real life, Someone likes us and someone doesn’t. Most of all, like yourself always and never let other people’s opinion bring you down.
I had very unpleasant experience from my second rotation project. No matter how hard I worked, I just feel unaccepted by the team. And the suggestions and ideas I brought up were usually ignored or unwelcomed. I have been frustrated for quite a while and I really don’t want to carry this negative feel forward. So I think seeking the counseling from my new boss might be a good idea.
Looking back, in the hope of reversing this situation, I did a very straightforward conversation with my project leader. The key message I got was that as a high-profile management candidate, the attitude/feeling of my peers toward me would be at best neutral and commonly distasteful because I would be assumed to take a managerial postion in about two years whereas many colleagues might need to take much longer time to get that kind of promotion. The hidden words- you should stay low and be cautious, otherwise you will just be shot down.
After the conversation, I did watch my mouth and tried to be more diplomatic and political. However, the situation seemed not much improved. I mentioned earlier in my blog “Negotiate smartly”. I think I am not paid by my company to shut up. I wanted to give help and put out my out-of-box thinking. But again, I was hitting the war and catapulted back. I could not understand why is that? Is it that once perception has been shaped, it would be hard to change. The hunch on my back is that the team dislikes me much more than my ideas.
After hearing my grievance, the new boss reacted with two points. First, I should keep being proactive and intiative. But when I sell my ideas across, be humble and polital. It is more about how you say it than what you say. Second, our company’s main stream culture is quite open, so the situation I was in is not common.
Regarding point 2, I hope it is true, otherwise I made the wrong decision to join this company. Regarding point 1, I thought I might have said something like “ we should do this rather than that” but I never rolled over my colleagues and under estimated their ability. I really doubt it is my wording in the e-mail triggered the resentfulness to me. It is still probably my identity, as a management candidate with a short working history with this company arouse the distastefulness from my chinese colleauge. And the lacking of leadership from the project manager worsened the situation. Instead of coaching me and help me, he just protected his ego by ignoring my voice or simply shutting off.
In retrospect, I think what I am look for is not an advice but a sympathy from my new boss. Although I think I didn’t get what I really want, the conversation provided me a chance to self-reflect on what have happened and generate some key learnings:
1.When you join the team, obserse your boss first speak second. If your boss is close-minded, you’d better cautiously utter your voice and make sure untouch your boss’s big ego, no mention hurting it.
2.If you are a team leader, never muzzle the voices different from you. Keep an open team atmosphere is essential to fulfill everyone’s potential in the team. Otherwise, a team work will always end up with one man show or one voice. Consequently, the productivity will be suffered.
3.If you are mistreated, don’t blame and never try to revenge. Check on yourself and see what you can do differently to change the situation. Learn the lesson in a postive way and never carry the negative feel forward. In my case, I will continue to be proative and initiative in the future no matter where I am. But I would be more wary of the boss with a close mindset. In the real life, Someone likes us and someone doesn’t. Most of all, like yourself always and never let other people’s opinion bring you down.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Butterfly Effect
The butterfly effect is a popularized interpretation of one of the key elements of chaos theory and has its roots in something that mathematicians refer to as extreme sensitivity to initial conditions (small and seemingly insignificant changes at the start of a process can produce wildly different and practically unpredictable results). In 1961, American meteorologist Edward Lorenz was working on some of the first computer simulations of weather and wanted to repeat the last steps of a previous simulation. Because computers at that time were slow and difficult to use, Lorenz tried to save time by using the intermediate output from a previous simulation as input for a new simulation. The print out, however, rounded the results to three numbers past the decimal point and so he input .506 instead of entering the full .506127. Lorenz assumed that this minute difference in numbers would not significantly affect the results. To his surprise, the results of the second simulation were vastly different than the first, even though they should have been almost identical. The tiny difference in starting values produced completely different results. Lorenz’s work emphasized how important sensitivity to initial conditions can be in real-world applications such as weather forecasting. In 1963, Lorenz published his findings for the New York Academy of Sciences and spoke at several scientific conferences. He quoted a colleague who said that if Lorenz’s theory were correct, the flap of a seagull's wings could change the weather. He eventually changed this metaphor from a seagull’s wings to a butterfly flap and the butterfly effect was born.
Simply put, the butterfly effect is the notion that something as small as a flap of a butterfly’s wings can make a big impact – like causing a tornado on the other side of the world. The flapping wings move the air and the effect reverberates. If the butterfly hadn’t flapped its wings or had flapped in a different direction or with more or less force, the tornado may not have occurred in the same place or time, or at all.
I never expected that a meeting with another PF graduates would end up with a job offer. Last year, when I was enlisted in the company’s high-profile training program, I know there are a bunch of alumni who already graduated and are taking management position in the company now. So Mr. WD is one of the alumni I met in Beijing.
Frankly speaking, I didn’t hold any special purpose to meet him. I just felt it would be good to know some people in the company.Anyway I am new in the company and MBA education teaches me that networking is important. We spent less than one hour talking in a starbucks coffee shop. He just arrived China and still in a sort of culture impact period. He whined about the worker who should have installed the curtain for all the windows in his hourse but actully only did part of job. Of course, I tipped him how to deal with those naughty workers and it seemed that he liked my ideas. Afterwards, we didn’t speak with each other anymore. Suddenly, serveral weeks ago he phoned me and recommended me to his boss. To make the story short, I went thorugh the interviews and his boss likes me, the a job is offered.
What interested me is that the job offer proves the correctness of Butterfly Effect. I flapped when I met Mr.WD. Then he flapped when he recommended me to his boss. BAM, the flap reverberate and leads to a big effect. The effect reminds me of another fascinating aspect of the butterfly effect – we don’t know which flaps will catalyze things the most. We act hundreds of times each day and some of those actions will grow legs and reverberate more than others. Why? We are not the only ones flapping! We might go to a coffee shop on Monday and have a coffee. On Tuesday, we might go to the same coffee shop and meet our soul mate.
Actions lead to reactions - sometimes. We flap our butterfly wings and things happen that we cannot predict or control. If we look back on our lives over the past five years we might be able to piece together the small changes that impacted the larger ones, but often we have no idea. People we don’t know and who don’t know us are flapping today in directions that will change our circumstances next week.
Complex systems – they’re fuzzy, enigmatic and wonderful. And we can put the imperfect unpredictable nature of humanity to work to improve our lives and the planet. The key to harnessing the power of the butterfly effect is that small, daily, directionally correct actions can change the world. Our goals define the futures we want to create. When our flaps are focused and frequent, our energies reverberate in a direction aligned with our goals.
Remember Lorenz’s calculations? The tiniest of changes of the initial inputs – from .506127 to .506 – resulted in two very different weather predictions. Each day is an initial input for our future. Sensitivity to initial conditions means that actions taken today create the sunshine and storms of tomorrow. Therefore, keep doing small but right things will reward you in the near future. Sometimes the simplest answer is the answer. Flap, flap, flap.
Simply put, the butterfly effect is the notion that something as small as a flap of a butterfly’s wings can make a big impact – like causing a tornado on the other side of the world. The flapping wings move the air and the effect reverberates. If the butterfly hadn’t flapped its wings or had flapped in a different direction or with more or less force, the tornado may not have occurred in the same place or time, or at all.
I never expected that a meeting with another PF graduates would end up with a job offer. Last year, when I was enlisted in the company’s high-profile training program, I know there are a bunch of alumni who already graduated and are taking management position in the company now. So Mr. WD is one of the alumni I met in Beijing.
Frankly speaking, I didn’t hold any special purpose to meet him. I just felt it would be good to know some people in the company.Anyway I am new in the company and MBA education teaches me that networking is important. We spent less than one hour talking in a starbucks coffee shop. He just arrived China and still in a sort of culture impact period. He whined about the worker who should have installed the curtain for all the windows in his hourse but actully only did part of job. Of course, I tipped him how to deal with those naughty workers and it seemed that he liked my ideas. Afterwards, we didn’t speak with each other anymore. Suddenly, serveral weeks ago he phoned me and recommended me to his boss. To make the story short, I went thorugh the interviews and his boss likes me, the a job is offered.
What interested me is that the job offer proves the correctness of Butterfly Effect. I flapped when I met Mr.WD. Then he flapped when he recommended me to his boss. BAM, the flap reverberate and leads to a big effect. The effect reminds me of another fascinating aspect of the butterfly effect – we don’t know which flaps will catalyze things the most. We act hundreds of times each day and some of those actions will grow legs and reverberate more than others. Why? We are not the only ones flapping! We might go to a coffee shop on Monday and have a coffee. On Tuesday, we might go to the same coffee shop and meet our soul mate.
Actions lead to reactions - sometimes. We flap our butterfly wings and things happen that we cannot predict or control. If we look back on our lives over the past five years we might be able to piece together the small changes that impacted the larger ones, but often we have no idea. People we don’t know and who don’t know us are flapping today in directions that will change our circumstances next week.
Complex systems – they’re fuzzy, enigmatic and wonderful. And we can put the imperfect unpredictable nature of humanity to work to improve our lives and the planet. The key to harnessing the power of the butterfly effect is that small, daily, directionally correct actions can change the world. Our goals define the futures we want to create. When our flaps are focused and frequent, our energies reverberate in a direction aligned with our goals.
Remember Lorenz’s calculations? The tiniest of changes of the initial inputs – from .506127 to .506 – resulted in two very different weather predictions. Each day is an initial input for our future. Sensitivity to initial conditions means that actions taken today create the sunshine and storms of tomorrow. Therefore, keep doing small but right things will reward you in the near future. Sometimes the simplest answer is the answer. Flap, flap, flap.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
MBA clone and how to de-clone yourself
The article is actually borrowed from Dr. Dan Herman. As a MBA myself, I think this article is a warning to myself in applying the MBA arsenal to the real business practice. Business is complicate and dynamic, not every business model I learned in the classroom would repeat its power in solving daily management problems. In addition, as a MBA, I am more proned to shooting the MBA jargons to my colleagues, somehow it makes myself feel good but the response from the colleagues is either puzzled or distasteful. I would not go to the extreme to deny all the training I got from a MBA education, but I should not pitfall myself into the MBA clone and forget about the real needs of the business. Below is the articles from Dr.Dan Herman.
In our hyper-competitive markets, MBA clones pose an imminent and tangible threat to the competitiveness of the companies they work for. Many executives today attend the same MBA programs, study the same books, read the same newspapers and magazines, and go to the same conferences and workshops. Standardization in MBA programs results in a similarity in the professional approach and managerial thinking of their graduates. It also shapes the vocabulary and agenda of all the business media and training activities. Thus many executives today turn into "MBA clones."
What's wrong with MBA-graduate managers who apply the professional knowledge and skills they have learned? All those managers who are supposed to compete with one another and create that very differentiation which gives consumers a good reason to prefer one brand over another, end up using the same data; they conduct the same focus groups and draw conclusions from the same surveys using same methods; they analyze the same data with the same tools, and use same concepts and approaches in order to create products and brands. The result? Inevitably, most products, and even most brands, eventually evolve to appear as "same" to the consumer. These managers are not even playing me-too. Without consciously imitating each other, they achieve the same results, simply because they think and act the same way.
Not every MBA graduate necessarily becomes an MBA clone. But MBA graduates definitely constitute an at-high-risk population. What about you? Do you have the symptoms? Let me reassure you that being an MBA clone is not a condition beyond cure.
De-cloning is possible and rather painless. But first please take this short test to assess your situation. All you have to do is answer with candor, courage and integrity the following 10 questions with a "Yes" or a "No". I promise not to tell anyone if you won't…
Question 1:
Do you often use concepts such as "striving for a sustainable competitive advantage", "segmenting the market", "assuming a niche strategy", "fostering customer loyalty", "developing a corporate vision", "adopting brand values"?
Question 2:
Do you prefer courses of action that already worked for others?
Question 3:
Do you focus on blocking competitors from gaining an advantage more than on attempting to achieve one yourself?
Question 4:
Would you agree that both you and your competitors segment the market in a similar manner and then focus on the same attractive groups?
Question 5:
To gain a competitive advantage, do you strive to be better than your competitors in providing clients with benefits that are known to be important in your market?
Question 6:
Do you consider strategy to be an analytic process of research, analysis, setting objectives and planning?
Question 7:
Do you address mostly direct competitive threats, while disregarding other product categories in which future competition could emerge such as substitutes?
Question 8:
Do you try to think outside the box and consider out of the box thinking as an important capability for managers?
Question 9:
Do you think that customers generally know what they want and where their preferences lie, and consequently if you keep them satisfied (even delighted) they will remain loyal to you?
Question 10:
Do you believe that all brands are created for the long term and become stronger as they stand the test of time?
If you gave an affirmative answer to more than 5 of these questions, I am sorry to inform you that you are, at least to some extent, an MBA clone. I hope that it is of no consolation to you that many of your colleagues and competitors alike suffer the same condition. De-cloning yourself will not only set you free but also do wonders for your ability to thrive in competitive markets. You might even be able to take advantage of MBA clones' biases and achieve an "unfair advantage": the successful differentiation that your customers will be wild about - and your competitors will not imitate, ever!
Are you an MBA Clone? Was your business education more like "business programming"? If your answer is yes, you are probably not fully aware of the fact that you have been "produced", together with many other executives, to think and act in a similar predictable manner, as many MBA programs around the world gravitate towards standard no-diversity sets of default concepts and tools. As a result, many executives have been turning into what I call, MBA Clones, thus undermining the competitiveness of the companies they lead.
I challenge you to read my article titled: "Test Yourself: Are You an MBA Clone?". Take the short test and find out if you are an MBA Clone. If you've been diagnosed as one, I strongly suggest that you consider de-cloning, ASAP. De-cloning is possible, painless and very lucrative.
How can you de-clone yourself? The process entails realizing that typical MBA thinking is not an ultimate truth but just one way of interpreting business reality and operating in the marketplace. You will need to coach yourself in alternative concepts and tool up accordingly. Soon you will discover that your view has broadened and you managerial capabilities will have improved dramatically.
The following 10 tips are meant to be a first aid kit as well as a tasting from my alternative approach.
The long-term, it's dead, caput, bygones. Deal with it.
In our accelerated and hypercompetitive world, there are no more long term strategies from which you may never digress. Most of the rules of strategy, marketing and branding that you learned are no longer relevant. They were created for the long term, but the long term has expired. The way to succeed over the long term is to succeed in the short term, time after time. For example: you do not "own" a market share, it is only an indication of your current situation.
Feel the fear of strategy and strategize anyway
Research has shown unequivocally that the secret of companies who succeed is well differentiated strategy and uncompromising implementation. Yet, like most of your colleagues and competitors, chances are that strategy gives you the shivers. It's called "Strategephobia". Strategy has two terrifying characteristics. First strategy is a choice, which is terrifying because you will have to let go of all the "could-have-been"s first: "We are going to target customers X, and leave out the rest" or "The major benefit we will offer consumers is Z and leave out the rest." When you adopt a strategy, you have to "give up" stuff you don't actually have in order to formulate something tangible, something you can sink your teeth into. The second characteristic of strategy is differentiation from competitors, which is terrifying because most of the managers feel more comfortable being similar to their competitors; therefore they busy themselves on trying to block competition's attempts to create an advantage, rather than on striving to be different.
Goals are goals, strategy is strategy - do not confuse
MBA clones often refer to their goals (e.g. "achieve a large market share") as "strategy". The guiding principle is: What you want to achieve is your goal. What you are doing to reach that goal is your strategy. From my experience, it's best to be very clear about the distinction between them.
Your company does not need a vision
Establishing a company's vision is a very trendy process. But be aware that your vision is not remarkably similar to your competitors'. Personally, I don't think you need a vision at all, but if you must have one, you should place two qualifications on the process to make it effective. First, your vision must be differentiated, not only in your eyes but most especially in the eyes of your consumer. Second, your vision must offer consumers some important benefit that they can't get from the competitors. In other words, your vision has to be a differentiation-based competitive strategy.
A satisfied customer is not necessarily a loyal customers
Customer satisfaction does not assure customer loyalty. Customers will move on to new products when turned on by a new and exciting benefit. Therefore, we must move from satisfying, subservient marketing - that gives consumers what they want and expect - to what I call Electrifying Marketing: dazzling them with what they never thought they wanted - until you offered it to them.
Think of your strategy's success as an occurrence of consumer behaviors
The most essential insight to strategic business thinking is the fact that customer behavior is the reason for strategies' success or failure. Moreover, a deep understanding of consumer psychology is crucial to successful strategizing. I advise you, therefore, to think of your strategy's success in terms of the specific consumer behaviors that will bring it about.
Market segmentation is a waste of time. Move on to Contextual
The traditional market segmentation doesn't work with today's consumer, who refuses almost completely to abide by segments that create homogeneous groups according to demographic, socio-economic variables, or even according to lifestyle. An alternative approach is "Contextual Segmentation", i.e. segmenting according to contexts of purchasing or using/consuming, in which consumers can participate from time to time (e.g. the "We celebrate grandpa's birthday" segment of the restaurant business).
Remember "The Marketing Approach"? Forget it!
The "marketing approach", based on identification of unsatisfied needs and how to satisfy them, is no longer a key to success for two reasons: first, there are few unsatisfied needs left. Second, in a competitive market, it is undesirable that all marketers act in the same matter. The alternative "competitive approach", is based on creating new ways to satisfy needs that are already satisfied.
Raise your prices - sell more
No market is price driven and neither are most consumers. It's the marketers who are price-driven. In practically all categories most consumers never buy the cheapest brand. The same consumer who in relation with your product is "price-driven" has no trouble spending high prices for other products and services. In many formerly "price-driven markets", a competitor came along who one day stopped talking about price and began offering an added value, the kind that turns consumers on.
Do not expect "Branding" to build brands
Managers often believe that a good name, a logo, a professional "corporate identity" design and some positive brand values, will suffice for winning competitive advantages, and that any effort required in order to create real differentiation or to develop a valid competitive edge should be spared. Wrong! Your differentiation creates the anticipation of a unique benefit that your brand provides. This anticipation is your brand.
In our hyper-competitive markets, MBA clones pose an imminent and tangible threat to the competitiveness of the companies they work for. Many executives today attend the same MBA programs, study the same books, read the same newspapers and magazines, and go to the same conferences and workshops. Standardization in MBA programs results in a similarity in the professional approach and managerial thinking of their graduates. It also shapes the vocabulary and agenda of all the business media and training activities. Thus many executives today turn into "MBA clones."
What's wrong with MBA-graduate managers who apply the professional knowledge and skills they have learned? All those managers who are supposed to compete with one another and create that very differentiation which gives consumers a good reason to prefer one brand over another, end up using the same data; they conduct the same focus groups and draw conclusions from the same surveys using same methods; they analyze the same data with the same tools, and use same concepts and approaches in order to create products and brands. The result? Inevitably, most products, and even most brands, eventually evolve to appear as "same" to the consumer. These managers are not even playing me-too. Without consciously imitating each other, they achieve the same results, simply because they think and act the same way.
Not every MBA graduate necessarily becomes an MBA clone. But MBA graduates definitely constitute an at-high-risk population. What about you? Do you have the symptoms? Let me reassure you that being an MBA clone is not a condition beyond cure.
De-cloning is possible and rather painless. But first please take this short test to assess your situation. All you have to do is answer with candor, courage and integrity the following 10 questions with a "Yes" or a "No". I promise not to tell anyone if you won't…
Question 1:
Do you often use concepts such as "striving for a sustainable competitive advantage", "segmenting the market", "assuming a niche strategy", "fostering customer loyalty", "developing a corporate vision", "adopting brand values"?
Question 2:
Do you prefer courses of action that already worked for others?
Question 3:
Do you focus on blocking competitors from gaining an advantage more than on attempting to achieve one yourself?
Question 4:
Would you agree that both you and your competitors segment the market in a similar manner and then focus on the same attractive groups?
Question 5:
To gain a competitive advantage, do you strive to be better than your competitors in providing clients with benefits that are known to be important in your market?
Question 6:
Do you consider strategy to be an analytic process of research, analysis, setting objectives and planning?
Question 7:
Do you address mostly direct competitive threats, while disregarding other product categories in which future competition could emerge such as substitutes?
Question 8:
Do you try to think outside the box and consider out of the box thinking as an important capability for managers?
Question 9:
Do you think that customers generally know what they want and where their preferences lie, and consequently if you keep them satisfied (even delighted) they will remain loyal to you?
Question 10:
Do you believe that all brands are created for the long term and become stronger as they stand the test of time?
If you gave an affirmative answer to more than 5 of these questions, I am sorry to inform you that you are, at least to some extent, an MBA clone. I hope that it is of no consolation to you that many of your colleagues and competitors alike suffer the same condition. De-cloning yourself will not only set you free but also do wonders for your ability to thrive in competitive markets. You might even be able to take advantage of MBA clones' biases and achieve an "unfair advantage": the successful differentiation that your customers will be wild about - and your competitors will not imitate, ever!
Are you an MBA Clone? Was your business education more like "business programming"? If your answer is yes, you are probably not fully aware of the fact that you have been "produced", together with many other executives, to think and act in a similar predictable manner, as many MBA programs around the world gravitate towards standard no-diversity sets of default concepts and tools. As a result, many executives have been turning into what I call, MBA Clones, thus undermining the competitiveness of the companies they lead.
I challenge you to read my article titled: "Test Yourself: Are You an MBA Clone?". Take the short test and find out if you are an MBA Clone. If you've been diagnosed as one, I strongly suggest that you consider de-cloning, ASAP. De-cloning is possible, painless and very lucrative.
How can you de-clone yourself? The process entails realizing that typical MBA thinking is not an ultimate truth but just one way of interpreting business reality and operating in the marketplace. You will need to coach yourself in alternative concepts and tool up accordingly. Soon you will discover that your view has broadened and you managerial capabilities will have improved dramatically.
The following 10 tips are meant to be a first aid kit as well as a tasting from my alternative approach.
The long-term, it's dead, caput, bygones. Deal with it.
In our accelerated and hypercompetitive world, there are no more long term strategies from which you may never digress. Most of the rules of strategy, marketing and branding that you learned are no longer relevant. They were created for the long term, but the long term has expired. The way to succeed over the long term is to succeed in the short term, time after time. For example: you do not "own" a market share, it is only an indication of your current situation.
Feel the fear of strategy and strategize anyway
Research has shown unequivocally that the secret of companies who succeed is well differentiated strategy and uncompromising implementation. Yet, like most of your colleagues and competitors, chances are that strategy gives you the shivers. It's called "Strategephobia". Strategy has two terrifying characteristics. First strategy is a choice, which is terrifying because you will have to let go of all the "could-have-been"s first: "We are going to target customers X, and leave out the rest" or "The major benefit we will offer consumers is Z and leave out the rest." When you adopt a strategy, you have to "give up" stuff you don't actually have in order to formulate something tangible, something you can sink your teeth into. The second characteristic of strategy is differentiation from competitors, which is terrifying because most of the managers feel more comfortable being similar to their competitors; therefore they busy themselves on trying to block competition's attempts to create an advantage, rather than on striving to be different.
Goals are goals, strategy is strategy - do not confuse
MBA clones often refer to their goals (e.g. "achieve a large market share") as "strategy". The guiding principle is: What you want to achieve is your goal. What you are doing to reach that goal is your strategy. From my experience, it's best to be very clear about the distinction between them.
Your company does not need a vision
Establishing a company's vision is a very trendy process. But be aware that your vision is not remarkably similar to your competitors'. Personally, I don't think you need a vision at all, but if you must have one, you should place two qualifications on the process to make it effective. First, your vision must be differentiated, not only in your eyes but most especially in the eyes of your consumer. Second, your vision must offer consumers some important benefit that they can't get from the competitors. In other words, your vision has to be a differentiation-based competitive strategy.
A satisfied customer is not necessarily a loyal customers
Customer satisfaction does not assure customer loyalty. Customers will move on to new products when turned on by a new and exciting benefit. Therefore, we must move from satisfying, subservient marketing - that gives consumers what they want and expect - to what I call Electrifying Marketing: dazzling them with what they never thought they wanted - until you offered it to them.
Think of your strategy's success as an occurrence of consumer behaviors
The most essential insight to strategic business thinking is the fact that customer behavior is the reason for strategies' success or failure. Moreover, a deep understanding of consumer psychology is crucial to successful strategizing. I advise you, therefore, to think of your strategy's success in terms of the specific consumer behaviors that will bring it about.
Market segmentation is a waste of time. Move on to Contextual
The traditional market segmentation doesn't work with today's consumer, who refuses almost completely to abide by segments that create homogeneous groups according to demographic, socio-economic variables, or even according to lifestyle. An alternative approach is "Contextual Segmentation", i.e. segmenting according to contexts of purchasing or using/consuming, in which consumers can participate from time to time (e.g. the "We celebrate grandpa's birthday" segment of the restaurant business).
Remember "The Marketing Approach"? Forget it!
The "marketing approach", based on identification of unsatisfied needs and how to satisfy them, is no longer a key to success for two reasons: first, there are few unsatisfied needs left. Second, in a competitive market, it is undesirable that all marketers act in the same matter. The alternative "competitive approach", is based on creating new ways to satisfy needs that are already satisfied.
Raise your prices - sell more
No market is price driven and neither are most consumers. It's the marketers who are price-driven. In practically all categories most consumers never buy the cheapest brand. The same consumer who in relation with your product is "price-driven" has no trouble spending high prices for other products and services. In many formerly "price-driven markets", a competitor came along who one day stopped talking about price and began offering an added value, the kind that turns consumers on.
Do not expect "Branding" to build brands
Managers often believe that a good name, a logo, a professional "corporate identity" design and some positive brand values, will suffice for winning competitive advantages, and that any effort required in order to create real differentiation or to develop a valid competitive edge should be spared. Wrong! Your differentiation creates the anticipation of a unique benefit that your brand provides. This anticipation is your brand.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
How to retain your star employees
Most people don't work solely for money. They want respect and feel being important in an organization. To retain your star Chinese employee should start with a thorough review of the company's management and leadership skill. Most of the time, the employees leave the boss instead of the company. An abusive and abrasive boss cause prodigous damage to the company's most valuble asset-human resource.
In my point of view, the three "R"s, respect,remuneration and recognition should be the three pillars of a company's talent retaining strategy.
Without respect, people feel their work and existence are not appreciated. Then the connection between the employees and the company will be seriously debilitated.
Remuneration is also extremely important. Especially in a developping country like China. Money is not only an important tool to lift the standard of living, but also a measurement of success.
Recognition make employee see the future of their careers. When the employee feel their contribution is recognized by the company, they know the earn the credit to advance their careers. They will keep doing good things to win more recognitions. What else company can do is always to put an employees's stellar performance under the spotlight, as a motivation to the star employee and also as the goad to inspire more other employees.
In my point of view, the three "R"s, respect,remuneration and recognition should be the three pillars of a company's talent retaining strategy.
Without respect, people feel their work and existence are not appreciated. Then the connection between the employees and the company will be seriously debilitated.
Remuneration is also extremely important. Especially in a developping country like China. Money is not only an important tool to lift the standard of living, but also a measurement of success.
Recognition make employee see the future of their careers. When the employee feel their contribution is recognized by the company, they know the earn the credit to advance their careers. They will keep doing good things to win more recognitions. What else company can do is always to put an employees's stellar performance under the spotlight, as a motivation to the star employee and also as the goad to inspire more other employees.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Happiness is not that hard to achieve
In Pope John XXIII’s “daily decalogue”:
Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
But most people think differently, especially in China. There is a measurement of happiness called happiness index. Chinese scores very low in the index, which implies that Chinese are the most unhappy people in the planet. It is quite easy to understand that though. The pressure for living in China is quite high. Education, medication, employeement, housing and living in general all seem to be quite hard in this most populous country. People eke out to make their ends meet.
I admit that life is hard, but is life that hard ? We are quite short-sighted when we are looking at ourself in the real life. Human being is greedy. We desire things we don’t have. Consequently what we always think about is what we don’t have not that has already been in our possession. We want more money, bigger house, luxary car, higher position in the company, pretty wife or rich husband. Whereas we blindside ourselves over what is within our arm’s reach. A small but cozy apartment, a plain looking but devoted wife, a husband lives on salary but gets bread back to home etc. I could give a much longer list, and you can too if you just sit back and think what you have instead of what you don’t.
Of course events will sometimes derail us. Of course we won’t get everything we desire. Of course there will be real tragedies and tragic-seeming setbacks. But we can be happy — joyful-down-underneath — even in the face of these things.
Life is often hard. But it’s not supposed to be that hard. There’s supposed to be room there for happiness and enjoyment, not in the notional future, but in the here-and-now.
Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
But most people think differently, especially in China. There is a measurement of happiness called happiness index. Chinese scores very low in the index, which implies that Chinese are the most unhappy people in the planet. It is quite easy to understand that though. The pressure for living in China is quite high. Education, medication, employeement, housing and living in general all seem to be quite hard in this most populous country. People eke out to make their ends meet.
I admit that life is hard, but is life that hard ? We are quite short-sighted when we are looking at ourself in the real life. Human being is greedy. We desire things we don’t have. Consequently what we always think about is what we don’t have not that has already been in our possession. We want more money, bigger house, luxary car, higher position in the company, pretty wife or rich husband. Whereas we blindside ourselves over what is within our arm’s reach. A small but cozy apartment, a plain looking but devoted wife, a husband lives on salary but gets bread back to home etc. I could give a much longer list, and you can too if you just sit back and think what you have instead of what you don’t.
Of course events will sometimes derail us. Of course we won’t get everything we desire. Of course there will be real tragedies and tragic-seeming setbacks. But we can be happy — joyful-down-underneath — even in the face of these things.
Life is often hard. But it’s not supposed to be that hard. There’s supposed to be room there for happiness and enjoyment, not in the notional future, but in the here-and-now.
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