Thinking every day – Thoughts for July 2011

I thought putting out a radical management thought for the day (#RMtftD) would be a cool thing to do. It would attract attention, stimulate conversations, and improve my own learning. If there was one part that I underestimated, it was the last point. It is a challenge to come up with something interesting to say every day. So I have been reading more and reflecting more on what happens around me.

BTW – the RMTftD has also been a winner on the first two points. I now have over 210 followers, up from 140 when I started two months ago. I have gotten really encouraging feedback from my early retweeters, and stimulated some interesting conversations, like this July’s discussion on why management innovation is so difficult.

On good profits, bad profits and the power of market position 

These tweets were largely inspired by Fred Reichheld, The Ultimate Question:

• Dominant players have economic advantage. If this is not used to make customers :-), position and advantage will not last
• When a customer feels mislead, mistreated ignored or coerced, then profits from that customer are bad. http://bit.ly/ggZbv1
• Bad Profits are about extracting value from the customers, not creating value.
• Bad profits work their damage by creating detractors – people who will avoid your product if they can and warn others away
• When did you last recommend a product or company? When did you last warn a friend away from a product or company? Why?
• How do customers react when upset? They can get even like never before! How many banks delight their customers? http://Konto-korrekt.com

On change innovation and management

These tweets were largely inspired by Don Reinertsen, Second Generation Lean Product Development:

• Does sensible behaviour prevail against dysfunctional formal process? Maybe for a while. Long term, process “wins.”
• Risk aversion drives innovation from the development process. Middle management is risk adverse. What happens to innovation?
• A slow innovation process becomes an imitation process. How long does your company need to bring something new to market?
• The average product developer begins design when 50% of requirements are known. They simply do not publicize this to management.

General cool stuff to stimulate thinking

• The radical CEO: If management is distant, people wait for orders. My Goal: People think 4 themselves. http://bit.ly/qVAR6Z
• If you are out of fresh ideas, read a book. http://onforb.es/mU6X8s
• More proof that interdisciplinary teams are better: Want a smarter team? Add women. http://bit.ly/peLRCq
• Charisma is the result, not the goal, of leadership. tinyurl.com/3pa28jm 
• So many experts tell us management is broken. Why is management innovation so hard to apply?

Why is management innovation so hard to apply?

This last tweet sparked several an interesting twitter exchange with Steve Denning and Don Reinertsen and several blog entries including:

• How Do You Change An Organizational Culture? (Steve)
• The Four Stories You Need To Lead Deep Organizational Change (Steve)
• Making Agile Stick
• Layoffs, Banks and the Blond: A radical approach to reacting to bad results

More musings

• If you want to be read, have something meaningful to say, say it often, and have a catchy title. http://bit.ly/pMtryQ
• Scrum and Kanban fans in the same forum? Result: More heat than light. I am a fan of open intellectual systems.
• In order to achieve speed you must first slow down. Why is slow faster? You don’t break things.
• When you are on vacation, be on vacation. The #RMTftD is taking a break until August 8.

Again, I would like to thank Don for what I think is the most important of all these thoughts: “I am a fan of open intellectual systems.” There is no one single right way of doing things, but many right ways. Perhaps there is a best way for you and I am sure you will find it by learning from what is out there and building on it to meet your needs.