Archive for Business
The Quickest Way to Enhance Any Communication You’re Having
Posted by: | CommentsIf you could find one idea or technique that could quickly and “almost miraculously” transform any communication you’re engaged in–from speaking at a community event to leading a team training or meeting to talking with a loved one to writing a letter or blog post–what would that be worth to you?
Or if you could avoid the pain of missed communication–from frustration and conflict to lost opportunities and sales. Or if you could avoid doing or saying something that might injure a key relationship–what would that be worth to you? I’m guessing a lot. Well, get ready because you’re about to get that one idea/technique–and it won’t cost you a thing.
I learned this idea/technique from a minister and author from England named John Stott. In his classic book on pastoral communication (also known as preaching :-), Stott introduced a concept he calls quadruple thinking–and it’s brilliant! The basic idea is this. It occurs in four parts (hence the phrase, quadruple thinking).
1. You think of what you want to say
2. You think of how the person you’re communicating to will hear what you have to say
3. You rethink what you have to say
4. So they will hear what you want them to hear.
Brilliant! In other words, if you or I want to be more effective communicators (and as a leader of a small or medium-sized business or organization you ought to want to be), then
We don’t have the luxury of ever just saying what we want to say.
Why? Because communication always involves two (or more) people. And that means that the other person must ALWAYS be factored into the equation.
For example: You’re in a rush and under a lot of pressure. You call in one of your employees and say, “Here’s an assignment, just make it happen.” You don’t have a lot of time to spell out what you want done–after all, they’re an adult, they can figure it out. And furthermore, you don’t want to be known as a micro-manager. So you just hand out an assignment. Unfortunately, the person you handed that assignment to is, in Myers-Briggs language, an SJ.
SJs are great workers. They make up roughly 40% of the population. They follow assignments. They get things done. BUT ONE THING that SJs don’t do well is create from scratch. SJs like to do things right. However, if they don’t know what right is, they get stumped–which is why SJs LOVE DIRECTIONS. They like their leaders to spell out details.
So while you may think you communicated clearly to your employee, the reality is you didn’t. If, on the other hand, you were employing quadruple thinking, you might have thought. “Let’s see, Barb is an SJ. As an SJ, Barb is going to want lots of direction on this assignment. So, I better clear out 15 minutes to talk with her about this assignment today.”
On the other hand, if Bob is an NT (in Myers Briggs language–and NTs don’t like lots of direction) then your quadruple thinking conversation might go like this. “Let’s see, Bob is an NT. NTs hate to be straight-jacketed with lots of direction and control so I better just walk by Bob’s desk and give him this assignment and a due date.”
Remember, the goal of communication isn’t simply to process sounds out of our minds into words on paper, screen or air. The goal of communication is to connect with another human being for a specific result or reason. Therefore, they must always be factored into the conversation.
Now, in one sense, this seems so blatantly obvious, that it shouldn’t have to be stated. But it’s not. Common sense is not common practice. Every day in every workplace (or home), miscommunication takes place. And while neither you nor I can’t completely eliminate it, we can greatly reduce it by practicing this one simple technique: Quadruple Thinking!
1. You think of what you want to say
2. You think of how the person you’re communicating to will hear what you have to say
3. You rethink what you have to say
4. So they will hear what you want them to hear.
Go ahead, give it a try! If you really get it, this should change every conversation and communication you ever have from this day forward–that is, if you want to be an effective leader and communicator.
To your accelerated success!
P.S. Let me know what you think of this idea in the comments section below!
What’s the Difference Between Mission, Vision, Initiatives and Goals?
Posted by: | CommentsI was talking with one of my clients earlier today and we ran into a common problem that most organizations have when they engage in strategic planning–that is, confusion (or agreement) about what individual terms mean. For example, what’s the difference between a mission and a vision? Or what’s the difference between an opportunity and an initiative? Or how is a goal different from a tactic? Different people have different definitions—which is why there’s so much confusion about what each terms means.
To help un-complicate the process of defining these terms, here are the definitions I use when working with clients (along with an example or two of each).
1. Mission: This is what a company does. It should be short and easy to memorize. However, it shouldn’t be so generic that you can’t tell what business it’s in. Note: similar businesses may have very similar mission statements. Why? Because they essentially do the same things.
- To promote and develop the growth of tennis (The United States Tennis Association)
- To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful (Google)
2. Vision: This is what a company wants to become. Vision is a seeing term. Therefore a vision statement should be future-oriented. It’s an image of what a company wants to create. It isn’t what a company is, it’s what it wants to become. While mission statements may be similar, vision statements should be very different. They should be motivating and inspiring. And they should drive decision-making.
- Be the safest, most customer-focused and successful transportation company in the world (Norfolk Southern)
- To be the preeminent publisher and provider of self-improvement resources that inspires and empowers individuals to lead the lives they most desire (Nightingale Publishers)
3. Values – Values are the foundational beliefs about how you want your employees to act. They are the beliefs that create the culture of an organization. They don’t need to be exhaustive. Nor should the simply be the same from company to company. While integrity, trust, honesty, etc. are good core values, they don’t need to appear on your list unless you believe they must. In many cases, they’re givens. I recommend no more than five core values for a company. Once you get past five, very few people can remember them.
- Excellence – To do the best we can, with the resources we have, in the amount of time we have to do the tasks we’re assigned.
- Curiosity – To be insanely interested in knowing, yet never content with what we know. To be a life-long learner.
4. Growth Initiatives – From a strategic standpoint, what are the three to five most important things you can do to grow your organization? Note: a growth initiative differs from what I refer to as a strategic initiative because a growth initiative is usually related to one or two business units or people—and it can often be completed before the end of the year.
- To add five new joint venture partners by September 30th
- To open an office in Shanghai by July 31st
- To complete a merger or acquisition by December 31st
- To create a strategic partnership with Apple by May 30th
5. Strategic Initiatives – Strategic initiatives, if you want to keep your entire top team involved, should be initiatives that everyone can play a part in fulfilling. And they should be year-long initiatives. The main key thought of a strategic initiative is that it’s something everyone can contribute to, that will advance the organization. Also, strategic initiatives are usually designed to overcome constraints (whereas growth initiatives are often strength focused).
- To double the number of leaders who have completed our Level Three Leadership program and are ready to take on new assignments.
- To raise the level of execution excellence so that the number of errors rate falls to less than one per thousand.
- To train everyone in every department in effective customer service skills so that every customer has a more positive experience regardless of whom they’re interacting with from our company.
6. Goals – Goals are dreams with deadlines. They are quantifiable. You should clearly know if you hit them or not.
- To generate $5.7M by 12/31
- To raise our customer service rating to 4.75 by 9/30
- To raise our profit margin from 30% to 35%by 12/31
7. Tactics – Tactics are the individual activities an employee engages in to complete a goal/initiative/strategy/etc.
- To hire a merger specialist by 3/31
- To design a leadership development process by 6/30
- To recruit three college marketing interns by 3/31
- To renegotiate all vendor contracts by 6/30 to reduce our cost of goods sold by 40% (and saving us $1M)
Hopefully, those definitions and examples will help you get everyone on the same page as you work on (or refine) your strategic plan!
To your accelerated success!
P.S. For a clean pdf of the above definitions and examples, click here >>
What You Can Learn From Steve Jobs About “PowerPoint”
Posted by: | CommentsEvery CEO eventually has to do a presentation. And that invariably means that you have to use PowerPoint–or if you’re lucky enough to be on a Mac, Keynote (which is way better, by the way). Note: That’s also why “PowerPoint” is in quotes above since Steve Jobs clearly uses Keynote–but you get the point.
While watching Steve introduce the iPad last week in real-time on Gizmodo (hats off to B. Lam and Jason Chen at Gizmodo who were doing photo and text blogging during the presentation–I was majorly impressed), I thought that I’d share some of their images of Steve’s slides so you could see how a master does his “PowerPoint.” So, here we go.
Here’s one of Steve’s first slides. Notice the simplicity of the design. A short quote in large enough type to read, and a simple image to further drive home the point. Also notice the cool reflection of the image.
As Steve started to talk about mobile platforms he posed a question, “Is there space for a device between a cell phone and a lap top?” Here’s how he represented that.
I love this next slide for it’s simplicity and color popping. No fancy charts. Just one image and one number–that’s all that matters!
Changing gears, when Steve wanted to talk about environmental friendliness, he took and created a “report card” check list that didn’t just look like another table. You get the point. Nothing confusing here.
Here’s another slide where Steve’s team had to convey a list of features (in this case, iWork software for the iPad). Notice the simplicity of the image and six statements. Once again, you get the point.
When Steve started talking about price, he started with one slide with just one number on it. Unfortunately, slide images don’t do justice to the animation Steve and his team used. The number actually dropped from the top and kicked up some dust until it settled with the following clear slide. It really was one of those awe moments when you could hear people’s shock and awe.
Probably, the only somewhat confusing slide Steve used (which isn’t too confusing) was this one announcing the different price points based on memory and 3G (an extra $130 per model)
So, there you have it. A few lessons from Steve on doing a “PowerPoint” presentation.
- Keep your slides uncluttered. Strive for simplicity.
- Use large font sizes (anything less than 40 pts. should be a concern). The bigger the better.
- Use one large graphic and minimal text to say a lot.
- Strive to find a simple way to say something complex.
- Get to the core of your point, and just illustrate that.
- Look for creative ways to say the same things
- Don’t spend time reading off your slides. Their job is to augment you, not drive the presentation (note: if you don’t put too much info on a slide, this becomes automatic).
- Use lots of slides. It doesn’t cost any more to add an extra slide. You don’t need to cram a lot of info on one slide. Most of my presentations have 80 – 140 slides.
- Practice, practice, practice. Steve and his team run through their presentations multiple times before going live.
- Get a Mac and Keynote. You’ll be glad you did!!! :-)
P.S. Post writing the above, I found a YouTube video that takes a humorous look at the adjectives Steve and his team use. Even as a Mac Addict, I have to admit, this is fun (cool, awesome, unbelievable, remarkable, exciting, gorgeous, amazing, super …)
Don’t Follow Verizon’s Lead!
Posted by: | CommentsI’m constantly amazed how a large company can be so terrible at customer service and have their systems so poorly designed and run. I’ve written about this multiple times, but there are two key lessons any business ought to take from my latest encounter with the mess called Verizon.
First, before I share the two lessons, here’s what happened. I received my latest bill yesterday and now, for the fourth month in a row it’s wrong. Each time I call and talk with a representative. Each time they make the change on their end and tell me what the correct figure is. Each time I ask, “Are you sure this is the correct amount?” Each time, they say “Yes!” So, I pay the amount they tell me to and then when I receive my next bill, guess what? Exactly, there’s a “balance forwarded” amount equal to what I was told not to pay.
But to make matters worse, when I called this time, I went through their voice mail system (which is frustrating in an of itself). However, when I finally got to the response, “Your wait time is …”, I was told, “Your wait time is 15 minutes. If you’d like us to call you back in 15 minutes, please press 1”. When I heard that, I was pleasantly surprised. “Hey, this is a nice change!” So, I left my name and number (which was interesting given that they already had both), and went and did something else rather than wait with a phone next to my hear.
Around fifteen minutes later, the phone rang. However, instead of a “live” person, it was an automated attendant. It confirmed I was on the line and then told me I would get the next available customer service agent. Why the system was designed so that I wasn’t directly connected to an attendant makes no sense. But that wasn’t the frustrating part. The frustrating part was that I had to wait on hold an additional 15 minutes before a “live” attendant came on line. 
So much for the customer service idea of leaving a number so I didn’t have to wait on a phone line for an attendant. In fact, I would have felt better had I just remained on the line in the first place.
Now that you know the situation, what are the two lessons that you and I need to take away from this experience–lessons even Verizon doesn’t get?
1. Make it easy for frustrated people to contact you and get the answers they want ASAP. When a customer decides to call customer service, they’re usually already frustrated. So when you’re frustrated, how excited are you to have to go through 52 questions to “get to the right person”? Not very. When someone’s frustrated, they want to talk to a real person who can answer their questions and solve their problems immediately. The last thing they want to do is to go through 20 or 50 questions just to get to the person they wanted to talk with when they originally called.
So, as you look at your business, where do you make it hard for customers to deal with you? When do you make it hard for them to get answers or solve a problem?
2. When you make a promise to a customer or prospect, you better deliver on that expectation–or don’t make the claim in the first place. Why? Because promises raise expectations. If Verizon hadn’t offered the 15 minute return call so I didn’t have to wait on the phone, I wouldn’t have been as ticked off. But because they made the offer (a systems choice), they raised my expectations–which made the 15 minute wait after they called me back even worse. I wasn’t ticked the first time, but the second time I was.
So, as you look at your business, where do you make promises that you aren’t fully living out? When do you raise expectations that you aren’t following through (or consistently following through) all the time?
If you want to grow the kind of business customers want to use over and over again, then you’ll want to apply these two lessons on a consistent basis to your business.
To your accelerated success!
What’s Holding You Back, Part II
Posted by: | CommentsIf you didn’t read part one, scroll below (if you’re on the blog right now) or click on the following link>> (if you’re reading this by RSS).
Note: If you didn’t answer the question from the last post, “What are the major constraints that are hindering me (and my business/organization) from achieving my (our) potential?”, then make sure you do so before proceeding any further.
Okay, so you’ve now identified your major constraints (and as I said last time, they could be external or internal, mental or physical, systemic of situational). They could be a person or a process, a self-limiting belief or a financial limitation (for example).
The next thing you want to do is order them. You want to take each constraint and ask the question, “Where does this constraint come in the priority list of which constraint needs to be solved first?” In other words, you want to play each constraint off the others as you seek to find the major constraint that needs to be solved first.
I liken this to a playoff system (brackets) you see in sports. For simplicity’s sake we’ll call constraints “C”. So you play C1 vs. C2. Let’s say C2 needs to be solved before C1. Then you play off C3 vs. C4. Let’s say C3 needs to be solved before C4. Then you playoff C2 vs. C3 and let’s say C3 needs to be solved before C2 (which means it has to come before C1). You now know what has to happen first. In other words, once you work through this process, you’ll quickly know what the major constraint is for you (or you and your business) this year.
Using the four constraints listed above, it would be understandable to think that you need to solve the financial problem first. But that might not be true. It may be because you don’t have a systematic and methodical process in place to acquire new capital. However, it may be that the reason you don’t have a systematic and methodical process in place is because Sally is in charge of that area and she’s not very competent. She’s been at your company for ten years, she’s loved by every one, but she’s incompetent. You know you ought to let her go, but you haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Why?
Ah, it’s that self-limiting thought that keeps you from changing her out. It may be a belief that letting Sally go will demoralize your team. Or the belief that, “If I just give her some more time and training, she’ll succeed” (which could be true, but hasn’t been for the past five years). Or it could be the belief that, “She’s a single mom and she needs our help.” Or it could be the belief that, “Maybe in a year another position in our company will open up and I can move her over there.” Etc. We all have them. And those self-limiting beliefs do get in the way of making good business decisions.
The beauty of working through this process is that once you play this game, you’ll often find out that what you thought was the major constraint (in this case, “We don’t have enough access to capital”) may, in fact, not be the most important constraint to solve first.
So, before I give you the next step, why don’t we stop here for today. Take out your list of constraints and order them. Play them off against one another and see if you can reduce your constraints down to a handful of the most important constraints to solve first. And most importantly, make sure you identify what the first constraint is that you need to solve before any others!
To your accelerated success!
What’s Holding You and Your Company Back?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you familiar with the Theory of Constraints (TOC)? If you’re not, the theory (an overall management philosophy) came into vogue post the publication of a book entitled, “The Goal,” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt.
In its most basic form the theory contends that any manageable system (like your business) is hindered from achieving its potential by a very few number of constraints–of which, one, is the major one. While the book focuses on the throughput of a manufacturing concern, the theory has been expanded into a general management philosophy–which can provide major dividends for you and your business.
Without going through the whole process, you can clearly benefit, at the start of this year, by focusing on its basic idea–which is, instead of looking for 50 or 100 constraints that are holding your business back, you want to look for a handful of major constraints–and then narrow those down to your major one.
The easiest visual picture I can off you is that of a pipe. If you have one section that is clogged so that only a dime’s worth of water can flow through it, it doesn’t matter what you do to improve the other area of the pipe. You can expand the diameter of the pipe in those other sections. You could even upgrade those sections from PVC to aluminum to steel to platinum to gold. And it won’t make a difference—until you fix that one point in the pipe that only let’s a dime’s worth of water through.
Likewise, in your business, you have some built in constraints. And until you fix them, you’ll always be hindered from achieving your goals. All other activities will be less effective, until you solve that major constraint.
Now, while I think it’s true that you win games by playing to your strengths (not your weaknesses), the best teams focus some of their attention on alleviating their weaknesses. For example, a football team that has a great passing game and a terrible running game would be foolish to focus their attention on running the ball. They’ll simply lose–and lose a lot. However, if they don’t pick up their running game, they’ll hinder their passing game’s potential.
In other words, too many people make success an either/or proposition. Either you focus on strengths or you focus on building your weaknesses. When, in fact, it should be a both/and. Run with your strengths and shore up your weaknesses.
However, that said, shoring up and focusing on weaknesses can be both demotivating and difficult for an organization and its people–which is why I like the Theory of Constraints. Because the theory doesn’t say focus on all of them, it says, “Focus on the major one.”
So, how do you do that? Well that’s for our next discussion. But for now, I’d recommend that you take out a piece of paper (or open a new document on your computer) and simply ask the question, “What are the major constraints that are hindering me (and my business/organization) from achieving my (our) potential?”
To your accelerated success!
Note: Your constraints could be external or internal, mental or physical, systemic or situational. For example, your constraint could be an individual. It could be a facility challenge. It could be a mental limitation. It could be a technology issue. It could be a reach issue. It could be a conversion issue. It could be a training issue. It could be a financial issue. Etc. Don’t worry about narrowing down yet. Just start thinking about your constraints.
New Free Report on Fast Growth Released Today!
Posted by: | CommentsWant to Know How You Can Immediately Begin to Grow Your Business Faster Than You Ever Have Before—While Increasing Your Ability to Lead It More Effectively?
If so, you’ll want to immediately get your hands on the new free report I just released today entitled, “The Seven Secrets of Fast Growth Companies.”
Inside it you’ll discover,
• The number one differentiator between slow and fast growth companies
• The two key elements you need to use to create a fast growth culture
• A simple practice that can radically reduce the time it takes to implement anything
• A lesson from a Harvard professor that can change the way you think forever about your products and services
• A top team practice that can change any meeting you run—and make it more effective.
• The one metric you need to use before choosing any growth idea if you want to be an accelerated growth company
• How you can create a business that’ll scale fast
• How to avoid letting your market think you’re just like “everyone else.”
• How you can create a business that works 24/7, especially when you’re not around.
• And the number one mistake that most CEOs of small and medium-sized make
To get your copy immediately, just fill in the form in the right hand column entitled, “Interested in the 7 Secrets of Fast Growth Companies?” and then click the submit button, “Send it to me now!”
Then after you read it, post your comments below!
Want to Get the Truth from Your People?
Posted by: | CommentsAs a leader, you want to believe your people are telling you the truth–but are they? Though some of us as entrepreneurial leaders have always been our own bosses, chances are you were at some point an employee. So, when you were an employee, did you always tell your boss the truth?
I’m not talking about lying (hopefully, you didn’t do that). I’m talking about telling the whole truth. 
For example, did you tell your boss what you thought your boss wanted to hear or what you thought needed to be said? Or when your boss asked, “Are we all on board?” were you willing to risk saying to your boss and the rest of your team, “I’m not really in agreement!” Or when you heard that other people in your organization expressing some frustration with your boss, were you willing to tell your boss, “Hey, I think you’ve got a problem!”
If you’re like the vast majority of people, your answers to the above questions were, “Not really.” If that is true of you–and you have leadership capabilities, why would you ever think that your people are always telling you the truth?
Now, this may seem self-serving (it’s not intended to), but this is one of the main reasons why you should regularly hire outside consultants. I’m always amazed at what employees tell me when I do my initial rounds of interviews with new clients. Some of what they say is predictable–but not always. Frequently, CEOs are surprised to find out what their people really think.
For example, we may think that we’re being a great boss by giving them lots of freedom, but they may be interpreting it as, “He doesn’t really care.” Or we may think that when we took the time to create, as a group, a new mission, vision and values statement that we did a great job. But they may be thinking, “This is just window dressing so she doesn’t have to deal with Joe and Judy and their lack of performance.”
Or we may think we’re doing a great job coaching our team because we give them lots of ideas and feedback, but they may be thinking, “I can never do anything right for him. He never says, ‘Great idea. Run with it!’” Or, we may be completely unaware that our non-verbals are communicating loud and clear, “I’m not listening to you.”
Throughout history, very few people have been willing to speak into power. It always has been and always will be. Though you and I will occasionally find some senior staff who will tell us the truth, most won’t. So don’t be surprised.
As you may know, one of the first steps toward creating change is facing reality. But to get there, you’ll probably need someone from the outside to help you get there. It’s no different than asking your customers to tell you the truth. Some will, but most will simply tell you what you want to hear. To get the real truth–and that is what you want–you’ll probably need someone from the outside to help you get there. So, choose wisely!
To your accelerated growth!
P.S. This should go without saying, but that someone should possess great relational skills, be able to bond quickly, and have impeccable integrity.
Do You Know The Four Evaluation Questions You Need to Ask Every Year?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you starting to do your year-end evaluations—and wrestling with how you can do them well and/or differently this year? If you are, then you’ll want to continue reading this week’s Accelerated Growth Caffeine.
I received an email a few days ago from one of my clients asking about whether or not I had a staff evaluation form for the year end that I could pass along. After answering his question I thought, “I’m sure he’s not the only one asking that question.” So if you’re wondering or have ever wondered about the answer to that question, here are a few quick recommendations.
Number One: No evaluation should ever be a surprise. One of the reasons I’m not a big fan of standardized evaluations is because the best evaluations are based on what you and your employee have agreed to. In other words, evaluations are bad when an employee doesn’t clearly know what they’re being evaluated on—from the beginning of the evaluation period. And even worse, when they’re sandbagged (i.e. blasted over things they didn’t even know they were being held accountable for).
Number Two: The shorter the evaluation form the better. Too many evaluation forms and processes are way too complicated and way too long. Plus, the longer something is, the less operational it is (i.e. if you don’t want to waste your time filling out a long form that your employees won’t use, shorten the form).
Number Three: At the end of the day, you should always design tools (like evaluation forms) that actually accomplish their intended purposes—not just use up time (or fill a slot). And when it comes to evaluations, the intended purposes of an evaluation are to reward positive behaviors and results and redirect incorrect or less effective behaviors. Everything else is extraneous.
Number Four: There are four key questions that every evaluation should attempt to ask and answer (you’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?). Note: You can add to these four, but you don’t need to.
- Did they get done what they were supposed to get done (and how well did they get it done)?
- Did they play well with the others in the sandbox?
- Did they live out the mission, vision and values of your organization?
- Did they grow (in their skills, abilities, behaviors, knowledge, etc.)
That’s it. Don’t over-complicate this process. If you want to add additional questions you can, just keep it short.
Number Five: One last thought. The best evaluations I’ve conducted over the years have been ones where I’ve had my employees fill out their forms first and then submit them to me BEFORE we talked. This worked extremely well because I learned things I didn’t know, I got a better understanding of their mindset before we met, and frequently, I found that they were hard enough on themselves–which meant I could then play more “good cop” to their “bad cop” (since they already knew where they had fallen short–and why).
So, there you have it. The four key questions (and really, the only four questions) you need to ask every year whenever you’re evaluating an employee—plus four other ideas to ensure that when you’re engaged in doing your annual evaluations, you’re doing them well!
To your accelerated success,
Note: If you have any other ideas about annual staff evaluations, post your comments below! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Five Lessons from Steve Jobs, CEO of the Decade
Posted by: | CommentsIf you haven’t seen the article yet, Fortune Magazine has declared Steve Jobs, CEO of the Decade. In their own words,
How’s this for a gripping corporate story line: Youthful founder gets booted from his company in the 1980s, returns in the 1990s, and in the following decade survives two brushes with death, one securities-law scandal, an also-ran product lineup, and his own often unpleasant demeanor to become the dominant personality in four distinct industries, a billionaire many times over, and CEO of the most valuable company in Silicon Valley.
Not a bad story, is it? 
Furthermore, at the start of the decade, Apple had a market cap of “just” $5B. It now hovers around $170B (slightly larger than Google). What that means is that despite the market crashes of the dot.com boom and last year, if you had invested $1,000 in Apple in 2000, your investment would now be worth over $7500 (I think most of us would gladly accept that). And finally, Jobs has been instrumental in changing four completely different industries–computers, music, media and mobile phones—three of those in the past decade.
Any way you add it up, the past 33 years have been a pretty incredible run for Steve Jobs—and we’ve all benefitted—even if you’re a PC. But the question for you and me is, “What can we learn from him that can make a difference in our businesses?” Here are my top five lessons.
1. Improve on the next new thing. What’s fascinating about Jobs and Apple is that Apple has become the symbol for innovation. However, Apple rarely creates anything entirely new. In fact, one of Steve Jobs’ comments on this subject years ago was, “We look for the next new thing and then make it better.” In other words, Apple didn’t invent the mp3 player, they just made it better. They didn’t invent the cell phone, they just made it better. They look for trends they think are going to be big—and then figure out how to make that “new thing” infinitely better.
So, in your realm, what are the next new things or new trends you’re observing in your market space? How can you create a better product and/or service that can improve on the current offerings in that market space?
2. Change before you have to. As a long standing card carrying Mac Addict, one of my favorite sites is MacRumors. And one of my favorite parts of the site is the buyer’s guide which tracks the time between new iterations of a product (and let’s you know where they are in cycle). Even when Apple is making good money, they keep introducing new models or discontinuing old models so that none of their competitors can catch up (i.e. they change before they have to).
I’ll never forget the day Steve Jobs was talking about the iPod mini and how it was the most successful launch they had ever had up to that point in time. And then he said, “And that’s why today we’re killing the iPod mini … (dramatic pause) … and introducing the iPod nano!” Who else would have killed a cash cow right in the middle of a growth cycle? Only Steve and crew!
So, what products and/or services have you been riding for too long? Do you need to revamp or upgrade any of them? Do you need to discontinue any of them? And/or what new thing do you have in the pipeline?
3. Eliminate what ticks people off. The supposed story of the iPhone is that a bunch of Apple execs were at a meeting when they were all complaining, tangentially, about their cell phones. In the midst of that discussion someone said, “We’re all a bunch of bright people. We should be able to do this better.” Or if you had ever tried to download an app several years ago and load it on a Palm device, you know it was a major pain (it ticked people off). What Apple did with the App store was/is nothing short of remarkable. Or if you had ever tried to download music and put it on your mp3 player pre-iPod, you know it was a major pain. The iPod and iTunes store combo simply eliminated that piece of the puzzle that just ticked people off.
So, what are the issues that tick off the people in your market space? Find the key ones and design a simple solution to solve that problem.
4. Repurpose what you can. If you haven’t been in the Apple fold, you could easily miss this, but Apple is great about repurposing ideas and technology. For example, back in the 90’s, if you wanted to see a movie trailer on the internet, the best place was to go to the Apple site, which highlighted movie trailers and their product Quicktime. But that experience and built in infrastructure for movies made streaming music for the iTunes store infinitely easier. And the experience of the iTunes store made creating the App store for the iPhone infinitely easier. Or the Safari browser for the Mac, made it infinitely easier to create a great web experience on the iPhone (which was night and day ahead of Palm and Blackberry when it debuted). Or the experience with NeXT, led to Mac OS X. On and on you could go. The, “Apple Way,” is not just to create something new, but to repurpose what they already know into a different arena.
So what do you know or have or do that could be repurposed to create a new product or service for your market?
5. Think big and small at the same time. Some leaders are just big picture people. Others are just small picture people. However, what makes Steve so powerful is that he’s both. Steve gets it that executives need to make big picture, bold strategic moves (like canceling several product lines in ‘97 and focusing on just four products). However, he’s also famous for being nit picky and focused on the very intricate details of the business–especially when it comes to design issues and market messaging. As he said to Ken Segall (who used to be at Chiat/Day, the ad agency) on day, “The third word in the fourth paragraph isn’t right. You might like to think about that one.”
Looking back on your history, are you more of a big picture person? Or a small picture kind of person? Whichever one you are, how could you add the other to your wheelhouse and become more versatile ?
So, there you have it, “Five Lessons from Steve Jobs, CEO of the Decade.” The only question remaining is, “What are you going to do in the next few moments in response to it?”
To your accelerated success!