"Our Take" - Boss Talk

(Past Editions by: Date, Title, Topic)

 
About "Our Take" 
"Our Take" is a collection of daily vignettes covering a wide range of CRM topics. It's an attempt to add our own spin to the world of CRM. We will use the column to share our perspectives, opinions, epiphanies, web nuggets, or quite frankly anything that moves us. Get ready to expect the unexpected. And, don't be shy about sharing your thoughts.
 
 
4/19/07 - Boss Talk
Every business has a unique set of issues and opportunities. And each business has a CEO with a unique set of experiences and expertise. So it could be considered folly to take advice from any corporate leader. While we shouldn't merely accept their words, it is certainly worth the effort to see how their tips might apply to your business. This week, the Wall Street Journal shared tips from a wide range of business leaders and I thought I would pass along a few for your consideration.
 
Ed Zore, CEO of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, offers these tips for a making the most in a mature market: 1) Understand your strengths and then improve; 2) Don't fall for the latest fads; 3) Don't chase new customers at the expense of churn; 4) Leverage your existing footprint, and; 5) Never compromise your values.
 
Some or all of these five tips may be quite familiar to you. Why? They represent fundamental and proven business tactics. The company has been around for 150 years and that makes me think they have a good understanding of their value and their values. They understand their market and they understand how they want to reach their clients. The tips don't seem sensational. They don't jump off the page. But they work. Do these tips have a place in your organization?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
4/20/07 - Boss Talk II
Yesterday, I shared five tips from a CEO on how to gain market share in a mature market So today, I thought I would share five tips from another CEIO on the challenges of running a national brand that depends on local decisions.
 
Domino's Pizza's CEO David Brandon feels that "pizza is local" - a challenge for a national brand. His five tips on leading a business are: 1) spend more time with customers than in the office; 2) don't ask people to do things you wouldn't do; 3) surround yourself with terrific people; 4) lead by example, and; 5) adapt to change quickly.
 
These tips suggest that Mr. Brandon understands the importance of customer connectedness and how that is facilitated by leadership. I can't help but read between the lines that he wants to create a connection with his employees as an example of the connection he wants his employees to have with customers. Even if we are not the CEO, each one of us in our own way leads a business. How do you lead your business?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
4/23/07 - Boss Talk III
Let's continue with more tips from CEOs. Last week, we covered tips on leading a business and tips on growing in a mature market. Today let's talk about five tried-and-true business practices in Silicon Valley.
 
Steve Bennett spent 22 years at GE before becoming CEO of Intuit. He has more than doubled revenue in the last six years and offers the following tips: 1) customer-driven innovation trumps technology driven innovation; 2) innovation and rigor and complementary, not conflicting; 3) process is an enabler, not a goal; 4) direct observation of customers is the best way to learn what's really going on, and; 5) spend time with front-line employees that are responsible for adding real value for customers.
 
So often, we see technology companies with a "solution looking for a problem to solve." Intuit has certainly learned the value of not only listening to customers but incorporating their wants and needs into products and services. And, we see a company that finds harmony in innovation and structure and the power of combining the two rather than choosing one over the other. Is innovation a reason to ignore rigor in your organization?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
4/24/07 - Boss Talk - IV
Today, we continue sharing tips from CEOs. Managing retail stores can be a difficult task given the competitive nature of many market segments. Kohl's CEO Larry Montgomery shares five tips for succeeding in today's competitive retail landscape.
 
His five tips include: 1) listen to the customer on a continuous basis; 2) foster a culture that inspires, supports and rewards great talent; 3) integrate merchandising, marketing, operations, and finance into a collaborative machine; 4) create value for your customers, associates, shareholders and suppliers, and; 5) Make sure you keep your sense of humor.
 
Yes, the devil is in the details with many of these tips. However, a warm feeling came over me when I read the last one. Taking care of the customer is certainly serious business but nothing will ever be perfect or remain perfect. In the heat of battle, it's easy to focus on the serious nature of the situation. But regardless of the challenge, a sense of humor (along with a sense of seriousness) can create better solutions and better customer experiences. Do you agree?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
4/25/07 - Boss Talk Again
I received a range of responses to the last four columns on Boss Talk - tips from CEOs on how to run a successful business. Some of you stated that they guys are stating the obvious while others disagreed that the companies they led were actually successful.
 
I agree with those of you that assert that some of the tips are very obvious. However, as we have seen with so many things, it is not the advice that is so important as much as the diligent adherence to the advice. In other words, the devil is in the details.
 
Other readers don't believe these companies and their CEOs should be held up as good examples. Kohls, Dominos, and Intuit have so many very happy and loyal customers. However, they screw up every day leaving a portion of their customer disenfranchised. So where is the dividing line? How do you decide a good company versus a great company? They all have customer interaction miscues. So is it the percent of miscues, the segments that become disgruntled, the types of bad experiences, or something else that moves a company from great to good? What do you think?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
4/26/07 - Random Versus Programmed Failure
Every organization fails. They may fail every day or even every hour or perhaps every few minutes. So if no organization always gets it right all the time, how do you differentiate good from great?
 
One smart reader suggested, "It's important to treat random service failures that occur due to individual human shortcomings or accidents of various types from predictable and persistent service failures that result from bad intent, bad process, or substandard resources at critical junctures. For example, Intuit's use of service techs with no accounting or bookkeeping knowledge to support Quickbooks is guaranteed to produce a large number of unsatisfactory customer service experiences. This shortcoming is deliberately designed into the service loop in order to save money at customer expense."
 
While programmed shortcomings are not the only deciding factor determining good from great, I suspect customers are less tolerant when they believe their dissatisfaction was caused by more than a glitch or random factor. Has your organization ever segmented the root cause of service failures between random and programmed causes?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)