Collaborative Partners Speed Go-to-Market

I attended the grand opening of Jabil’s new Silicon Valley Blue Sky Center. As CEO Mark Mondello offered,

“The Jabil Blue Sky Center is a hands-on showcase of our broad range of world-class capabilities. We’re working with customers who have innovative new product ideas and our Blue Sky Center is where we turn dreams and ideas into reality.”

Jabil has evolved tremendously from the company I knew in the 1990’s that made printed circuit board and cable assemblies as a sub-contract manufacturer.

Today, Jabil is a $20 billion company with 180,000 employees working in 90 different locations in 24 countries across the globe.

Jabil understands that it is important to engage with large clients during the ideation phase of new product development. Customers validated the critical relationship they enjoy with Jabil. One of their large customers said they do business with Jabil due to the Jabil culture. Jabil is more than a vendor–they are a partner in their customer’s success.

How important is it to have partners? A recent study commissioned by Jabil uncovered that 50% of new product ideas are abandoned due to the inability of a company to execute a new product strategy. This isn’t a noise-level problem. A partner like Jabil can help entrepreneurs and large companies alike develop, ramp and scale.

What are the critical trends that are driving today’s markets?

• Personalization
• Customization
• Differentiation
• Risk of customer satisfaction is in execution

The Blue Sky Center will enable current and future customers to explore and realize innovation across the full life cycle of new products. Of course, a big part of Jabil’s future is supporting the Internet of Things or IoT. The Blue Sky Center will enable companies to prototype new products and capabilities.

Is your company leaving money on the table by thinking you can’t do it all? Perhaps you can do more for your customers and yourself. You may be one partner away from seizing competitive advantage you heretofore could not imagine.

Thought for the week:

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2015 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

The Winner’s Mindset

The San Francisco 49ers football team has had a rough year, missing the playoffs for the first time after 3 consecutive years. A reporter asked a 49er player, “What’s it like to have two meaningless games left on the schedule?”

“I’ve been in that situation before,” Joe Staley said. “It sucks. This is not fun. This is my life. This is what I put all my work into. I don’t show up on Sunday and hope it goes well.”

This is the mindset of a winner, the mindset of an entrepreneur. Winning is the raison d’etre. The temporary pain of losing won’t overshadow and the dominate the desire for winning.

Here’s to accelerating your growth through change.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Dooley on Flickr

Thought for the week:

“Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.” – Bruce Lee

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Getting Configurable Product Orders Right

A reader wrote: “My company has configurable products and we are having problems getting the right parts delivered to support installation of the customers’ orders. What ideas do you have to resolve this?”

The first question I would ask is did the process for shipping custom, configurable orders ever work well? If you answer “yes,” then you need to ask yourself “what changed?” If you answer “no,” then it would be clear you never had a working process and that is your starting point.

If something in the process changed, you need to take action to bring the process back into compliance so it works properly and is repeatable.

If nothing changed, you need to create and follow a process that ensures you are shipping the right parts to complete the order.

If the answer you receive is, “it’s too hard to do it right,” then I encourage you to look at the problem through the eyes of your customers and/or dealers. If your customers and/or dealers are experiencing challenges satisfying the customer the first time, that negatively impacts your brand reputation.

When order execution goes poorly, people talk about it. If you don’t believe that, just look at Yelp, Facebook or Twitter to see how brand reputations become tarnished. Companies delivering a poor customer experience aren’t long for this world.

Finally, you may need to innovate your current process to meet the needs of your business if variety and complexity has gone beyond the capabilities of your current systems and processes. This is how you accelerate growth.

Photo Courtesy of John Hritz on Flickr

Thought for the week:

Heard through @coryedwards

81: The % of US consumers that say that it is important that brands make my life easier.#DigitalDopamine from @razorfish

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

___

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Consultants: Alan Weiss Hosting Convention For You!

Alan Weiss is without question the most successful independent consultant on planet earth. I know him well. Alan Weiss has been my personal mentor since the 1990’s.

Alan is always looking for new and engaging ways to share his intellectual property and pragmatism with people like you and me.

You have the opportunity to attend his inaugural Million Dollar Consulting Conference in Atlanta, March 11-13, 2015.

You’ll hear from Alan and other people just like you who have worked with him to grow their businesses beyond their wildest imaginations.

Alan is offering a $200 discount if you sign up and pay before the end of 2014. This discount vanishes as of January 1, 2015–you snooze, you lose. [Note: This event is a tremendous value even without the discount!]

Alan is the real deal. I urge you to take advantage not only of this terrific opportunity but also to capture your discount by booking this before the end of 2014. Tell Alan “Dave Gardner sent you.”

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

Photo Courtesy of Steve Hardy on Flickr

Landing The Rosetta Philae On A Comet

Landing a jet on an aircraft carrier has to be an absolutely phenomenal experience. The aircraft carrier, simultaneously moving both horizontally and vertically in a three-dimensional space, must feel like a postage stamp in the middle of a vast ocean. The vast ocean is a metaphor for outer space.

This week, we learned of an improbable 10-year, 310-million-mile journey for the first ever space vehicle to make a soft landing on a comet about two miles in diameter.

We immediately began receiving data from the space vehicle, Rosetta’s Philae. And, while there’s concern that the Philae probe may have ended its mission prematurely as it landed in a spot where it’s batteries can’t be recharged, let us acknowledge what a remarkable achievement this is.

What are you going to do this week that is spectacular? How can you or your company disrupt an industry in one, two, five or ten years? What can you envision that is this big?

Photo Courtesy of myriam di maio on Flickr

 

Thought for the week:

“When the soul of the business leaves the building, it’s only a matter of time before the money walks away was well.” – Lisa Earle McLeod

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Dell After Privatization–Accelerating Growth Through Change

I’ve just returned from Dell World 2014. Dell has been a private company for about a year now. While I’ve been bullish about Dell for a number of years, it’s now clear that privatization has been a transformative triggering event for Dell.

“Going private has unleashed us. It’s allowed us to be bold. We’ve redefined and focused on our customer’s success,” said Michael Dell. The excitement was palpable.

The mere fact that Dell doesn’t have to report quarter-to-quarter results, file with the SEC for any material changes in the company, etc., has unburdened Michael Dell and the Dell leadership team.

While many are declaring the PC market “dead,” it’s probably because that market grew only 0.2% if you exclude Dell’s growth. Dell’s growth was over 19%. It takes a solid product line-up to achieve this. This is just one marker. Dell did not discuss details about growth in Dell Software, Dell Services, Dell Security, Dell Enterprise. Based on generalities, growth in these areas is quite impressive.

I reunited with a few executives who sold their companies to Dell. They couldn’t be happier. How often do you hear that several years later?

I’ve long said that public companies tend to be myopic and operate with a short-term focus.

• Amazon’s investors are beginning to beat up Jeff Bezos for not doing enough to “maximize shareholder value.” They are growing weary of waiting while the stock is getting hammered.

• Carl Icahn looks at companies for the cash he can extract and return to investors while burdening the company with debt. Michael Dell said “no thank you” to Carl.

Michael Dell accelerated growth through change by privatizing Dell. Michael Dell’s singular focus is satisfying customers by offering end-to-end solutions that excite and delight them. He doesn’t have to be distracted by Wall Street. And he gets to focus on running “the world’s biggest start-up.”

I wonder how many other CEOs in the Fortune 500 are paying close attention and view Dell’s privatization with great envy?

“Oldie But Goodie” Blog Posts You Might Enjoy

If I Sell You My Company, Will You Respect Me In The Morning?

Why Dell Decided To Go Private

Thought for the week:

“Public companies are measured on their stock performance and private companies on the advocacy of their customers. “ – Rob Enderle, President & Principal Analyst, Enderle Group

Read Rob Enderle’s entire post here.
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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

The Dropbox Box Expands

I’m at Dell World 2014 this week in Austin, Texas. As I was walking the exhibition floor, Daniel Bernard from Dropbox asked if I was familiar with Dropbox for Business. Reflexively, I answered “yes.”

In the fog of the all the visual and auditory input of the show, I missed the context. I thought he was asking about me “using Dropbox for business,” not a product named “Dropbox for Business.” I soon realized he meant something different and acknowledged I wasn’t familiar with “Dropbox for Business.”

Why? Dropbox has been known as being more for consumer and small business use due to it’s ease of use. It has not been known for being “enterprise-ready.” Here’s the box I put Box and Dropbox in:

• Box for enterprise and small business
• Dropbox for consumer and very small business

I’m sure Box would enjoy the positioning I’ve ascribed to their solutions. Yet, Daniel was really wanting to speak to me about a more robust set of features and functions suitable for small business and the enterprise. He went on to show me features and functions that convinced me they’ve grown, they’ve evolved, and they want to play at a different level than they were able to 2 or 3 years ago. This highlights a point I made previously in a post called  Are You Boxed In? In that blog post, I wrote:

When you or your company becomes known for something, the marketplace draws lines around what you represent to the world effectively boxing you in. Over time, you may grow the size of your box many times as you add new products and services. However, be aware — it is harder for the marketplace to grasp that your box has really grown and evolved, particularly if you have name recognition and are known for being in a particular space or area. Getting the marketplace to understand your company’s new box versus the original box is a pretty steep hill to climb.

Dell has a similar challenge as it moves to be an end-to-end solution provider. Dell World is one of the actions Dell is taking to show CIOs how much its box has grown. I’m happy to report, Dell is doing a terrific job in the transformation.

If you are boxed in, it takes a lot of energy of help those who know you or your company to see you as something different. I’m glad I spent a few minutes learning how Dropbox is evolving.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Dave Gardner

Crowdsourcing Best Practices

Crowdsourcing is about obtaining input or ideas by asking for input from a group of people.

My favorite example of crowdsourcing is Waze, a GPS tool I rely on for driving and getting up- to-date feedback from other “Wazers” to tell me when traffic slows, when I will encounter delays due to a traffic accident, where there is a road hazard, where a policeman is parked on the side of the road perhaps using a radar gun, etc.

Waze, a Google company, also tells me how many miles I have left and the anticipated remaining time to arrive at my destination given what Waze knows about the route ahead. Waze also re-routes me if needed to avoid travel delays.

It’s best to trust Waze–it will occasionally make recommendations that make you shake you head but Waze is right. The brilliance of Waze is its reliance on real-time input via crowdsourcing.

How can you take the metaphor Waze provides to take your company to the next level? Waze’s tagline is “Outsmarting traffic, together.” Does this give you any ideas?

If you don’t consider crowdsourcing, you may find you are breathing your own exhaust which won’t help you accelerate growth.

Photo Courtesy of  Alexander Baxevanis on Flickr

 

Thought for the week:

“My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.” – Anais Nin

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Don’t Be Complacent About Customer Experience

Dell recently invited me to participate in a discussion with customers and executives to learn about areas where Dell needs to improve the customer order experience. This is a continuation of my participation on Dell’s Customer Advisory Panel.

Dell is now over 30 years old. While it would be easy to believe that a 30-year old company would have everything worked out to perfection, Dell continually seeks input to improve customer experience. During the conversation, Dell heard about areas that have improved and areas where improvement is still needed.

It takes courage to ask customers questions and to listen to their answers. The real challenge goes beyond listening. What action will be be taken to address issues identified? Understanding and, then, responding effectively to customer input, will accelerate growth.

Photo Courtesy of Celestine Chua on Flickr

 

Thought for the week:

“It’s possible to have big impact without big size. What matters is the size of the idea.” – Rosabeth Kanter

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Non-Conformity In College Education

I went through a traditional college education earning a B.A. at San Jose State University followed by a M.B.A. at Santa Clara University. Today, students and parents alike are questioning the value and cost of a traditional education, particularly given the lackluster job market new college graduates face.

This weekend, Dell invited me to an event where I learned about two different post-high school educational programs, Uncollege and the Minerva Project. These programs attract very bright young adults from all over the globe. These institutions are innovating how education can be delivered and how students can be prepared to deal with the realities of the 21st century. They seem to be more focused on entrepreneurship, something we didn’t discuss when I was in college.

It’s easy to duplicate what others have done in the education space. Challenges to the sacred cow beliefs about how an education needs to be delivered are long overdue. Let’s not miss the broader lessons:

• What sacred cows can your company or industry challenge to create new value in the marketplace?
• What paradigms are up for disruption?
• Is there a growth opportunity by moving in a different direction from the pack?
• Is there a way to serve an unserved or underserved market?

These are questions I’m sure these students are asking. Shouldn’t you be asking and addressing them as well? After all, aren’t these young people your future competition?

Photo Courtesy of  Sean MacEntee on Flickr

Thought for the week:

 “Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give luster, and many more people see than weigh.” – Herodotus

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

What if you could save 1 hour per day?

Saving an hour per day probably sounds like hyperbole.  But, it’s not, particularly if you’re in Sales, Customer Service or Human Resources AND you have access to WittyParrot, an enterprise application. Here are some benefits just in Sales:

• Respond to customers and prospects faster by not having to search through documents, old emails, and repositories to find answers

• Differentiate from the competition – not just by responding fast – but by responding with relevant, targeted content that customers and prospect will actually consume

• Ramp up new hires much faster by helping them become self-sufficient sooner

• Reduce the burden on subject matter experts (SMEs) and “information owners” who are normally besieged by questions from all sides

• Ensure sellers and channel partners are speaking with one voice instead of making up their own answers and content

• Allows teams to quickly and easily create personalized emails, documents, and  presentations leveraging previously-created content

• Enables efficient sharing of previously created content amongst team members

• Works with all standard file types for documents, images and videos

• Alllows users to save up to an hour a day or more at a cost of less than $1 per day

If this sounds even remotely interesting to you, please contact me at info (at) gardnerandassoc.com. I’m a WittyParrot Certified Reseller and Implementation Partner.​

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting  http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Dave Gardner

 

Are You Poised To Accelerate Growth?

• Where are you experiencing frustration and complexity in your business? Where is there a greater need for ease and simplicity?

• Are there gaps in people, processes and/or systems in tightly and seamlessly connecting your teams with your customers and partners?

• Is your company sought after by prospects, customers, potential employees and investors?

• How are revenues and profits trending? Up? Down?

• Is business exciting?

You can’t accelerate growth if you are slogging through muck.

Photo Courtesy of Ian Sane on Flickr

Thought for the week:

“The time is now…What are you waiting for? No excuses.” – Mike Libecki

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consultinghttp://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Reliability & Durability

 

Mike Libecki (center) and Umang Patel (right)

I met Mike Libecki at a Dell event in San Francisco this past week. He is an expeditioner for National Geographic and other groups and travels to some of the most isolated and unforgiving venues on planet earth. He’s gone on over 50 expeditions. “Extremes” characterize his work.

You have to imagine reliability is of the utmost importance to Mike. He can’t afford to carry duplicate equipment “just in case” something fails. He can’t request assistance if something breaks. He’s on his own. No FedEx or package delivery service can support him. Everything he brings on a trip must be very carefully evaluated.

Dell Ruggedized laptop encased in ice

Road warriors are a bit like Mike in that we need our computers to be extremely reliable. Mike will be using a Dell Ruggedized computer to support his work and communications needs in extremely harsh, punishing environments. He’s looking forward to the ruggedness and reliability of the Dell product–his last brand wasn’t robust enough for his needs.

Reliability is essential for Mike. Every component, system and process needs to work flawlessly and seamlessly to protect Mike and his team and help him create the value his sponsors expect.

Have you considered whether every aspect of your product and/or services have been carefully vetted and designed to offer a fantastic customer experience? Are your products, services, processes and systems as reliable and durable as your customers need them to be? Do you ever stop to think like Mike? This is key to accelerating your growth.

Thought for the week:

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on her wings. Always believe in yourself.” – Unknown

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

The Earthquake Effect

At 3:20 am PDT yesterday, Napa, California, suffered a 6.0 magnitude earthquake, the largest quake in Northern California since the 1989 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17th at 5:04 pm.

The threat of earthquakes is omnipresent in California. There is no earthquake forecasting system yet though there is one under development. Additionally, we never know if an earthquake is a precursor–a foreshock–to a larger earthquake or the main event itself for months afterward.

Business owners should contemplate what unforecasted events can impact their business.

• What contingency plans need to be put in place for events–weather-related, earthquakes, power outages, bridge collapses, supply chain issues, etc., that might impact business for an extended period of time.

• Attention should also be given to disruptions that can occur because of competitors, both known and unknown. It is possible your world can be jolted overnight.

I’d bet Boeing–who at one point enjoyed nearly 100% market share for commercial aircraft–didn’t believe that Airbus would amount to much when they first started selling aircraft. And, now there are even more competitors like Embraer and Bombardier in the market.

Big jolts can be an important wake-up call. Make sure you don’t miss the sign and your opportunity to accelerate your growth.

Photo Courtesy of Martin Luff on Flickr

Thought for the week:

“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as being stuck where you don’t belong.” – Unknown

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Changing Corporate Behavior–It Ain’t Easy

As Marshall Goldsmith wrote, “What got you here won’t get you there.”

If your company has a change-resistant culture, Goldsmith offers an important insight. It also speaks to the notion that embracing the status quo is insufficient to get a company from where it is to where it wants to be.

How do you implement significant, dramatic change? In an article written by David Roberts, Staff Writer at Grist.org, Roberts paraphrases insights from Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr:

The first step in changing a behavior is to isolate it into a kind of indivisible unit. For each desired behavior change, there will be a unique set of barriers and benefits; successful programs will reduce the barriers and increase the benefits (or, he noted, raise barriers and reduce benefits of competing behaviors).

While the article speaks about humans adopting environmentally-friendly changes, McKenzie-Mohr provides insights to one of the business world’s most daunting challenges: implementing change.

How might you use this these insights to help you and your company accelerate growth through change?

Photo Courtesy of myriam di maio on Flickr

 

Thought for the week:

The world has been “down in the dumps” this past week over the passing of Robin Williams. I’m hard-pressed to think of anyone else in the entertainment industry who is so universally loved. Robin leaves behind an amazing legacy. He will be missed.

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Lessons from Blackberry & John Chen

John Chen, a turnaround artist and current CEO of Blackberry, has a formidable task ahead of him: Make Blackberry a viable firm once again now that the luster has long since worn off. In an article in the San Jose Mercury News, Michelle Quinn provides thoughtful insights:

Silicon Valley has a predictable cycle: Companies experience periods of rapid growth and then, for most of them, a maturation period of flatter growth. For others, contracting revenues can start a tailspin of contracting ambition. Not many survive as independent companies. BlackBerry may not be a survivor. Even Chen compares BlackBerry to a patient in critical condition.

John Chen’s offers his turn-around formula:

“The first thing you do is stabilization,” he said, “which means in business getting the financials in order.” Then, “you examine what is driving you to disconnect with customers. If you weren’t disconnecting from customers, then you wouldn’t need me.”

Quinn offers, “For now, BlackBerry is focused on its core customers in government and industries like finance, banking and health care who value security and long battery life.” Here’s another take:

“I don’t envy the guy,” said Mike Levin, partner and co-founder of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, which pegs BlackBerry’s U.S. consumer market penetration as rounding down to 0 percent. “Smartphones are more than a consumer product now. The challenge is going to be to find something distinctive that competitors don’t have or won’t be able to copy within a year.”

The world has innovated around Blackberry. Blackberry, like so many firms before it, was caught flat-footed watching its market share erode quarter after quarter for a number of years now.

Once a firm loses its luster, it’s nearly impossible to become highly desirable again. Best case, Blackberry can be niche player if John Chen can connect Blackberry as being the preferred smartphone in one or more niches.

How is your business trending? Are you growing? If you aren’t growing, you’re on the decline. That’s no way to thrive. If customers turn off and tune out–as they have at Blackberry–it’s nearly impossible to win them back.

Photo Credit: Flickr, Ian Lamont  “In 30 Minutes guides“

Thought for the week:

“The middle of creating anything new can be messy & miserable. Keep moving, step at a time, & suddenly see finish line.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

___

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Infosys, Vishal Sikka & Murmurations

I’m following the thoughts and ideas being offered by Dr. Vishal Sikka, the new CEO and Managing Director of Infosys, a 33-year old global I.T. services company with over 160,000 employees based in Bangalore, India.

In an interview about his joining Infosys and his vision for the future, Vishal offers:

All great systems in nature–like murmuration–are decentralized, distributed, and not hierarchically controlled. I believe decentralization, empowerment and trust but also accountability are an incredibly important part of management.

Murmuration is a phenomena of birds called starlings. Here’s a short video that beautifully illustrates murmuration.

I love the murmuration metaphor as it speaks to seamlessness, transparency, ease, continuous flow, lack of hierarchical leadership, synchronicity, harmony and collaboration. This is a great metaphor for leadership and companies today.

Imagine if your department or company achieved the ease and grace of murmuration? Don’t you believe that would help you thrive?

A Blog Post Worth A Closer Look

The Startling Science of a Starling Murmuration

 

Thought for the week:

“If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.” – Unknown

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consultinghttp://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

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The Importance of Asking Why

A buddy of mine called and asked for help on a consulting proposal. He was struggling a bit to connect his solution to the customer’s needs.

While he knew what he wanted to propose as a solution based on the prospect’s feedback, I asked him, “Why do they need a new system?” ”

He responded, “I don’t know. I never asked.” He was a bit chagrined by the simplicity of the question. Yet, without knowing this, he was a bit stuck.

Further I said, “Nobody wakes up one morning with a burning desire to buy a new system unless there are issues/challenges with the current system. You need to understand what’s driving this need.”

Understanding why will help you and your business thrive.

 

Photo credit: Wonderlane on Flickr

Thought for the week:

I want to express my condolences to all who perished on Malaysia Air Flight 17 as well as their families and friends who, like me, are struggling to understand this horrific event. Here are some thoughts on the gift of life:

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” – His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Innovate Or Face Extinction Like Dinosaurs

 I attended a breakfast meeting this past week with several people who had worked for Silicon Graphics, the once high-flying technology company that enabled innovations such as the dinosaurs in the movie Jurassic Park. SGI offered high-performance workstations that supported state-of-the-art graphics and animations.

Where is SGI today? Extinct–just like the dinosaurs it helped depict on the big screen. What happened?

SGI failed to understand and react to the looming market transition that eliminated the need for companies to buy their high-performance workstations. Why would a company invest in an expensive, proprietary solution when a personal computer could deliver a satisfactory result?

SGI owned their space until competitors caught up. SGI went from tech darling to an irrelevant company quite rapidly. SGI lived in denial that their world was changing. As my mentor Alan Weiss would say, SGI got caught “breathing their own exhaust.”

Is your company facing similar risk? Are your competitors about to render your solution irrelevant? This is no way to thrive.

Photo Credit: Scott Kinmartin on Flickr

 

Thought for the week:

“The world is moving so fast that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” – Elbert Hubbard

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What do you think? I welcome your comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2014 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive! To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Why You Need An Executive Coach Today

The best athletes in the world rely on coaches to make them better and to help them raise the bar to new levels of performance. The athlete and the coach collaborate to produce a far better outcome than the athlete can produce on his/her own. Why should executives be any different?

In a Fast Company blog post called “To Move Forward, First Let Go,” I offered “the toughest business to consult on is your own.” The same is true for executives. It’s hard to consult about (or coach) yourself. You are too close to your situation, you greatly benefit from different ideas and perspectives, and, as my mentor, Alan Weiss, offers, “you don’t want to breathe your own exhaust.”

When an individual engages with a coach, they acknowledge they can benefit from an outside perspective. They acknowledge they can’t possibly see everything the coach can. And, they acknowledge that candid input is needed to make them more effective. Let me give you an example.

I helped coach an executive about his content and how to deliver a presentation at an all-important global sales conference. The year prior, he had been ranked the worst speaker at the event. He didn’t want a repeat. I was able to help him better connect his message to his audience. The outcome? He was the highest-ranked speaker, a complete reversal of fortune for this terrific guy.

Could he have done it on his own? It’s doubtful. He didn’t know what to do differently. He didn’t know where to start. He only felt the pain and embarrassment of his prior presentation being the worst ranked.

Why do executives believe they can do it on their own? Is it to show how tough they are? Is it to prove how self-sufficient they can be? Is it to save money? If it’s to save money, ask yourself at the expense of what?

To make my business work, I mentored with some of the best people in the world. It took me a while to learn that getting another perspective was essential if I was going to make my business work. For over a year, my ego wouldn’t allow me to admit that I couldn’t do it alone—that I needed help. I reached a point where I knew I could not help myself as effectively as a coach could.

I had had to learn the hard way that being good at something didn’t translate into executives leaping for their checkbooks so we could do business together. That required different strategies and tactics than I had knew. I had to learn a lot. And, I needed my coaches pointing out how I could be more effective and what I needed to do differently.

If you are an executive and you aren’t getting the coaching, where will you be in 6 months, a year, 2 years, 5 years? Do you think you can raise your own bar? How will you take your personal performance and value-add to the next level?

Let me help you accelerate your growth—personal, professional, company, etc.–through change.

Dave Gardner

© 2014 Dave Gardner