After mapping, here’s what you need to do next to achieve a return-driven independent professional career!
What happens next after you’re done with the mapping stage? Keep reading below to learn more about what this next stage is and how this can help you achieve the higher tenets in a return-driven organization.
|
||
|
After mapping, here’s what you need to do next to achieve a return-driven independent professional career! According to the book, “Driven” by Professor Joel Litman and Dr. Mark L. Frigo, the higher tenets in the Return Driven Strategy (RDS) framework should drive the decision to redesign a particular process. However, there’s a twist: Whenever you think about redesigning a specific process within your firm or organization, the question you should ask shouldn’t be as simple as, “How much can the process be improved?” Think about this: Your firm could have the greatest process in the world for making a certain product, but if the “need” is not there, no one will buy your product and you’re just wasting precious resources and time. When it comes to this aspect, what you need to think about and understand more is the potential impact on the cash flow returns of your business and the potential fulfillment of the needs of constituents. As someone who’s been able to establish my own organization and support independent professionals for many years now, I believe there are no inherently good, bad, lucky, or unlucky, areas of a process to redesign. Your main focus should be on the potential impact of redesigning on achieving the higher tenets in the RDS framework. Let’s take a look at two companies’ redesign approaches to improve their business operations… During the 1980s and 1990s, soft drink company Coca-Cola took steps to focus on the highly valuable areas of processes between production and final consumption.
The company held onto its most valuable processes and divested or outsourced as much of everything else as possible. This was because Coca-Cola realized the non-value-adding areas of its operations and so eventually, it divested itself of those aspects of the business. Meanwhile, computer company Dell is another example of a brand that benefited from redesigning processes in a fashion similar to that of Coca-Cola’s. While these companies’ products are very different from each other, they have similar business models. Dell also outsourced the manufacturing of some of its laptops and other desktops to other business partners. The reason? The company found out that the value in its business stemmed not from the creation of the computer, but in allowing customers to customize their devices with a myriad of options. During this time, this strategy was something businesses with no in-store sales could compete against. On the other hand, others were afraid to make their in-store partners mad so they were late to recreate the same business model. Dell believed its manufacturing partners could produce many parts of the computer far cheaper than Dell could itself. In other words, it was a smart move to give those manufacturers that business operation. This enabled the company to focus more on the areas in which it had gained competitive advantages, particularly in the Dell Direct model. In all honesty, two can win in this redesigning game. I believe both the supplying and purchasing aspects of businesses can benefit if processes are redesigned appropriately and each business focuses on its core strengths in producing an offering that fulfills an unmet need. The Sales Process When it comes to mapping a customer’s sales experience, a natural bottleneck exists: The salesperson. One thing I’ve noticed is that customers often have a natural aversion towards a salesperson and they are hesitant to disclose their true needs with these in-store representatives. Whether in real estate, electronics, apparel, etc., there is a well-founded fear that a salesperson may attempt to sell a customer more than what he or she needs. This is evident whenever you see someone window shopping and when a salesperson approaches him or her and asks, “Can I help you?” the response would often be, “I’m just looking through some stuff.” Even the most desperate consumers and those who are prepared to immediately buy make this statement. This shows how a lot of consumers feel naturally pressured and restrained whenever a salesperson is around. That’s why Dell, through the Dell Direct model, allowed more savvy customers to explore computer products without the presence of a salesperson. This not only knocked out a costly aspect of the business but also entirely changed the nature of Dell’s offerings. Consider these two types of transactions: First, customers purchase and choose a product through a salesperson who has a fixed set of offerings. Second, a company’s website allows consumers to self-select from a variety of offerings, unhampered by the pressure of a salesperson. With sales pressure gone, consumers are free to purchase at their will and may even purchase more products than if a salesperson tried to “upsell.” This shows a salesperson-bottleneck-issue in some types of purchasing processes. If there is no bottleneck, exchanges flow more freely because need fulfillment is sought more openly and willingly. As a return-driven independent professional, you should strive to relinquish attachment to previously held ideals in terms of redesigning processes. Just because an activity is done a certain way for decades, that doesn’t mean it has to continue in the same way into the future. By rearranging and redesigning processes, you’ll be able to find new ways of fulfilling your customers’ or clients’ unmet needs. Hope you found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Tuesday’s Return Driven Strategy! You stomp down on their objections, reservations, or doubts through preemption, prevention, and response! Learn more about how to write convincing copies on next week’s Return Driven Strategy! |
