Snapshots of recent posts
designed to save you time
Knowledge and knowhow help us navigate a complex world. But information is useless if we don’t have time to consume it. Here’s the solution. Each quarter the Bastard will publish a summary of the last three or four blog posts designed for quick consumption. Short. To the point, and each with a new takeaway. Now you’re feeling industrious.
1. “Stickiness”, not persistence, is an essential advantage
Supply chain risk frequently represents your customer’s number one threat to revenue. As a result, they’re looking for a safe bet when they go shopping for suppliers like you. With such high expectations and so many forces working against us, it’s a challenge to keep it all together. But the larger challenge is to look like you you’ve got it all together, and allay your customers’ concern in the first place.
Become “sticky” and be deliberate with how you intend to play. That’s how you become the easy choice. Embrace the 3 elements of Stickiness:
- Connection—you make it easy to connect with your business but entirely on your customer’s terms. They will believe in the behavior they see over any words they hear.
- Capabilities—you connect mutually reinforcing capabilities that cross business unit lines and distinguish your unique value.
- Offerings—your services result from the conscious choices about the capabilities and connections needed to create your very deliberate way to play.
TAKEAWAY: Once again we find “the customer” at the center of success for strategic minded organizations.
See— “Stickiness trumps persistence” January 12, 2012
2. Create your own winning hit solution
While “solution selling” is a legitimate and popular sales methodology, it’s not a dealmaker in and of itself. Nor is having the best products a dealmaker. A “hit solution” is different. It’s a unified approach to delivering high value because it is a far more customer-centric offer than your run-of-the-mill solution selling. A hit solution provider knows that not all customers buy to address a “pain ” and certainly not every need is a problem looking for a solution. Consider the status quo:
Most lack initiative and fail to find ways to accommodate need or think about making their customer’s lives easier or more enjoyable. Most assume that the benefit(s) of working with THEM is either enough by itself or somehow entwined with the features of their products. They forget that value has little to do with features and benefits.
A hit solution provider initiates great customer service throughout its company and consistently under promises and over-delivers.
TAKEAWAY: Lose the attitude and the departmentalized customer service; add some initiative and rule!
See— “What’s in a hit solution?” February 1, 2012
3. Three qualities to look for in your next hire
When it comes to people, passion now trumps intellect and experience. This is according to Gary Hamel, one of the world’s most influential business thinkers. You can always give someone experience. But if they possess initiative and passion for the business you won’t be wasting your time because they’re probably not going anywhere but up. So if you meet someone creative and you don’t happen to have an employee assessment tool in your back pocket, look for these three, important qualities:
- Passion—if you see it beaming from an individual, grab it, it’s rare. Or ask them what their dream job looks like and then watch for the cutting sparks in their eyes as they talk about it.
- Creative—these types have a need to find solution to challenging problems. They confront status quo and (help you) question almost everything you do.
- Initiative—is critical for success. People who have it don’t wait for an invitation, and they take responsible action well before its obvious to others.
TAKEAWAY: The market is demanding more from your company. It’s time to demand more from your employees. Hire up.
See— “Get more out of your people to succeed” February 28, 2012
4. Connect the dots from the news you encounter
When we gain perspective on the world around us, we gain a sense of control. And when we can learn to read between the lines of news; form our own opinions; and decide whether or not to take action, we feed our sense of identity. Change happens quickly. We have to be on our toes and become observant—you could miss an opportunity or a train wreck but the goal is to have the choice. News clues can be obscure but I believe looking outside your industry on a regular basis is a particularly beneficial exercise.
Make an effort to connect the dots back to your business from any news you encounter. For 21 news bites you might have missed already, see the original Bastard post. Ask, how will the geometric growth in the use of domestic drones; or the advent of printing complex three-dimensional objects in titanium metal, affect your business in the next 5 years?
TAKEAWAY: Action precedes clarity. You can’t make sense of stuff without effort and engagement.
See— “21 News bites (could) offer insight and direction” March 24, 2012
HIT Solutions believes the more your business keeps up with important trends, the more you will improve your product, and improve your bottom line.
Leave me your comments below; share your thoughts.