If I Had A Nickel?
For every time I heard a client or prospect tell me their product/service wasn?t sexy enough I?d be super rich. It?s not about the product/service it?s about the brand and what it represents. Here?s an example of how you can take a mundane commodity, a rubberband, and turn it into something special and meaningful. Value.
You just have to step outside your box.
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April 7th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I can?t agree more about clients needing to step ?out of the box.?
How most clients use me is in this role; open their box, take a peak inside then challenge the paradigms of ?this is the way we do things here.? I am sure there is a buggy whip manufacturer out there somewhere still believing the horseless carriage will be a fad. I am sure they too have a management team (what?s left after those with vision exited) that are agreeing with the company speak.
I see two problems as why clients get stuck in their box; ?culture courage? and ?we know more?? mentality.
Courage to come back after a road trip and tell the senior team what is really going on is needed. However my challenge to every ?C? level leader is how open is your culture to hear them and not put a political bullet in the messengers head? If you can?t allow your culture to do this hire an outside that is not afraid to be authentic.
Second, is the most dangerous leaders are those that are or once where successful. Somehow this validates an ?I know this market mentality? which is VERY dangerous. Congratulations for your past or current success. That success was/is an indicator you were connected to the market and customer needs. When you launch new products or services that start in your boardroom and not in the market as a need you are in your box. You will likely not sell as much, make as much, and be disappointed within three months of launch. (Been there)
Creative thought is an art form, a unique discipline less than 2% of the population has. So lighten up the culture and feed the animal that you want to grow. Want real information from the market? Reward those who have the courage to bring it back. New team members are your best source as they do not know that the traffic managers? sister is dating the CFO and not to bring up poor client service. You have about 3 months with the new team members before they too are assimilated like the Borg on star track.
Mark Allen Roberts
April 7th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Mark, I like your passion man. Come back again and post.