From time-to-time it seems we do well to get back to some fundamentals when it comes to our businesses. Many in my network seem to be doing that these days, forced to do so by the economy. The question, popularized by many of the “management gurus” is, “If I were starting this business today, (a) would I? and if so (b) what would it look like?” This is not an easy question to answer, as so many of you know!
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I was speaking with a colleague the other day and he said something about wanting a change to take place in the company for which he works. After listening, I said, “You have to get out in front on this.” That started me thinking about our usual perception of leaders. Some times, it might be best to lead from behind.
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Companies are gathering as much data as they can on the individual consumer. Companies that have that information are selling it or making it available often times in ways contrary to their promises. The consumer is figuring out how to fight back. Where is advertising going?
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Leaders don’t fall in love with their own ideas. They do fall in love with the vision, the noble goal of the organization, but they don’t cling to their own “great ideas.” And they don’t let you fall in love with your ideas either. Why? Because when you are so committed to an idea, or view, or opinion, you aren’t open to the way things can be. It’s hard, maybe impossible to see new possibilities.
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It’s kind of like what I used to call “forced fun” at company sales meetings. It was meant to be team building but it really was “forced” in the sense that many folks did not really want to be there or even be participating. Many times, once they were there, they liked it well enough and actually had some fun in spite of themselves. The internet is causing forced transparency in company operations. Many don’t like it and would rather not be transparent. Some, like the forced fun situation, will find they can use the new rules of the game to actually win and have some fun along the way.
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We all have companies we “love to hate.” There’s a video running around with a marine blasting an HP Printer that failed and the folks on the other end of the phone wanted to charge him for assistance (warning this guy is very angry and not using polite language).
My prime target is AT&T and without going into a long tirade, I’ll just say that I’ve not personallyexperienced more deplorable customer service at the hands of a company. I’m adding another one now though, Intuit. After deciding that the “gentle warning” on their website that the latest software was best for Windows 7, I paid my money and downloaded the QB 2010 software. That’s when it all began.
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Many years ago I heard the statement made that “corporate staff is like body fat. You have to have some in order to survive. But the goal is to have as little as possible.” I think the same is true of Government. You have to have some, but the goal is to minimize it. So I start from the premise that Governments and Businesses have the same challenge – deliver value and necessary services while keeping the nonproductive activities and costs to an absolute minimum.
I can’t help it. The outrage at BP over this oil spill is getting out of hand. People are complaining about things that are not at all helpful to complain about. One bright light was complaining because BP is paying for Ad Words on the major search engines so that when people type in a search phrase having to do with the oil spill, BP’s website is showing up in the paid ad section. Duh!
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Sometimes, an e-mail forwarded contains information that really is useful and/or makes me stop and think. Here is one such e-mail worth posting for all of us to consider.
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In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
A colleague was complaining that “Obama is bashing business” and it wasn’t fair. He plans on punishing those who don’t support business by “voting the %^$*#&’s out of office.” I don’t see it that way. What I see is that business owners and C-suite folks need to think about this a bit more. Here’s why. Successful politicians are successful because they READ (as opposed to LEAD) the public. Rarely will a politician last if s/he gets too far out in front of the people.
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