Blog posts on customer focusPosts selected fromManagement Blog - Engineering Blog - Investing Blog and other blogs - Our Policy is to Stick Our Heads in the Sand
The failure to adapt to a changing world (the internet is here to stay folks) is amazing. Most companies would benefit from just adapting to the changing world without elaborate innovation plans. Innovation is great, but challenging. Don’t ignore the possible improvements short of innovation. continue reading: Our Policy is to Stick Our Heads in the Sand - Quality and Innovation
I really don’t understand how people can talk about innovation as if it were some new discovery. Yes I understand we can bring a different focus to innovation. We can reconfigure management structures to encourage and support innovation. That is good. And new ideas are being developed, but the innovation fad is silly. And accepting the notion that this innovation stuff is some new idea will make managers less effective than if they understand the past.
New Economics by W. Edwards Deming, published in 1992, page 7:
Does the customer invent new product of service? The customer generates nothing. No customer asked for electric lights… No customer asked for photography… No customer asked for an automobile… No customer asked for an integrated circuit.
Innovation has long been important to those interested in management improvement. continue reading: Quality and Innovation - Usability Failures
I guess if you operationally define “nothing wrong” as a failure to work as the manufacturer intended that would be true. But is that what really matters? What is the number of defects that should be counted?
The design of the phone is broken if 63% of the returns work as intended and customers still think they are broken. You might argue that the instructions are bad, but really shouldn’t people just be able to use the phone if it is designed well? continue reading: Usability Failures - Another Quota Failure Example
However, as I was to learn from Dr Deming, this was judging performance using arbitrary goals, which fostered short-term thinking – the only thing they cared about was: Did I make my quota this week? Misguided focus. The focus was not at all on the customer. The focus was: How much money can I make off this customer? … It created a lot of internal conflict. What type of internal conflict? Well, the salespeople hated having new salespeople hired on the floor, because they felt like it would cut into their commission…
Also, judging performance using arbitrary goals fostered a giant amount of fudging of the figures.
Jim McIngvale, CEO Gallery Furniture and author of Always Think Big. continue reading: Another Quota Failure Example - Ackoff, Idealized Design and Bell Labs
“Doesn’t it strike you as odd,” he said, “that the three most important contributions this laboratory has ever made to telephonic communications were made before any of you were born? What have you been doing?” he asked. “I’ll tell you,” he said. “You have been improving the parts of the system taken separately, but you have not significantly improved the system as a whole. The deficiency,” he said, “is not yours but mine. We’ve had the wrong research-and-development strategy. We’ve been focusing on improving parts of the system rather than focusing on the system as a whole. As a result, we have been improving the parts, but not the whole.
We have got to restart by focusing on designing the whole and then designing parts that fit it rather than vice versa.
continue reading: Ackoff, Idealized Design and Bell Labs - Complicating Simplicity
This post on the excellent signal vs. noise blog illustrates how one can lose their way when trying to simplify. Lean and other management improvement folks can learn a lot about eliminating non-value added steps, clean design, simplifying systems to improve performance… from this blog. The examples are mainly relating to software development from a true understanding of lean thinking(though I don’t have any evidence they are familiar with the Toyota Production System or lean tools/concepts)... continue reading: Complicating Simplicity - Simple Cell Phone
Complex devices with many points of failure (both technical failure and user inability to figure it out) should not be the only option. Simple, easy to use, reliable devices would have a big market. Creativity is not just about more complex devices. continue reading: Simple Cell Phone - What one thing could we do to improve?
Asking “how is everything” normally will get the response: “fine” (which is often that is exactly what the staff wants so they can move on without wasting any time). However, if you really want to improve that doesn’t help.
To encourage useful feedback, specifically give the customer permission to mention something that could be improved. What one thing could we do better? continue reading: What one thing could we do to improve? - Customer Focus at Ritz Carlton and Home Depot
Ritz-Carlton’s motto is “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” And they actually turn those words into reality. They are not platitudes with no action. The system is guided toward achieving that vision. continue reading: Customer Focus at Ritz Carlton and Home Depot - Poor Service – Industry Standard?
I find it very frustrating how poor the service is most everywhere these days. Have you shopped in a Trader Joe’s? The contrast is amazing. I am used to most employees, on the phone, or in person, seeing the customer as a bother. At Trader Joe’s, in stark contrast, the staff always seems happy to have customers. Which seems like a good indication that management is doing a number of things right. continue reading: Poor Service – Industry Standard? - Customer Un-focus (due to misunderstanding data)
- Change Your Name to Work With Our Software
My advice. Don’t create stupid restrictions (in IT systems or otherwise). What do you care how long people’s names are? There are many people with 2 character names (even if your software says they are invalid, and + are a valid email character even if your software doesn't think so).
Also, have customer service personnel who are trying to improve the system, not trying to get the customer off the phone to meet some arbitrary numerical target. Most often the representatives seem most concerned with getting you off the phone. An effective system to discover what needs to be improved is not something that management has bothered to design into the system. Big mistake. continue reading: Change Your Name to Work With Our Software - Software Developers Should Work Together With Those Who Will Use the Software
When developing software applications in house, developers should work in cooperation with those who will use it. Working from requirements is not a very effective way to proceed. It is similar to the old idea of suppliers working to specifications. Dr. Deming taught long ago that companies needed to work with suppliers and customers to improve the overall system. Well managed companies have learned this and practice it. continue reading: Software Developers Should Work Together With Those Who Will Use the Software - Innovation Examples (2007)
The The North Face Endurus XCR Boa Trail Running Shoe has a new lacing system. The image doesn’t look that remarkable to me, but “This unique closure automatically micro- adjusts with foot movement to eliminate pressure points, kind of like a suspension system. The resulting fit is unique and unattainable with shoelaces. Plus the mechanical system never loosens or changes.” It seems reasonable that is important to their customers and something that required a new lacing system. continue reading: Innovation Examples (2007) - What Job Does Your Product Do?
Customers buy your product or service to fill some specific need or desire. Knowing what need the customer is filling can help you improve your offering. Knowing what job the customer is using your product for lets you focus on improving your product for that market. continue reading: What Job Does Your Product Do?
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