From the ground up

When we build a house, we build from the ground up (for obvious reasons). When we build an organisation, we often build from the top down. Why? ..... and why are we surprised when the foundations look shaky!

Success has a simple recipe

The iPhone success shows one fundamental thing ... Being first is very important ... but only if you are also right.  Apple's success came from:  reading customer's needs and wants; good design; excellent execution. Not a bad recipe if you think about it!

Make it better!

I picked up a pen the other day. It felt more comfortable than the one I normally use. I examined it and found it was a 'freebie' promotional pen ... but I have continued to use it.

The lessons -

1. 'Quality' and 'Function' are NOT always related to price.
2. Even the humblest product can be improved.

Know the figures

The Yorkshire & Humberside region of the UK produces 600 tonnes of waste for every £1 million of goods produced. Is this good? or bad?

You have to know your figures and you have to have a comparator. Ask around. Read.

Measure your performance and compare it to somebody else's. Only then can you can work out if you are doing OK.

Information repositories

I had lunch with some former, now retired colleagues yesterday - some of whom I knew well, and others less so. What I found astonishing (though I should not have done) was their collective knowledge and wisdom.

Don't forget resources that exist - even though they are not 'packaged' as you might normally expect.

Re-learn ..... often!

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn
Alvin Toffler

Businesses too have to be flexible. Expect - and deal with - change. Have your staff ready for change by keeping them updated about your products, your business environment, your customers. If they can't cope, its because you didn't prepare them well enough.

Find the 'wow' factor

I am just about to change my mobile phone. Contracts on iPhones are more than I can justify ... but I do like my technology. So, I'm going for an HTC hero (all of the same features as an iPhone but without the same price tag). It definitely has a 'wow' factor and I'm quite excited ... over a mobile phone.

What does or could excite YOUR customers about your products or services. What, for them, constitutes the 'extra mile' you have to go to move beyond simply being 'good'.

If you can identify and then deliver that factor, you've got a good business. If you can't, you will always have to struggle.

(For those out there like me who are technology/gadget freaks,
take a look at:
http://www.htc.com/www/product/hero/overview.html )