Archives: December 2016

BE THE BEST/”COMMODITY” IS A STATE OF MIND

“Be the best. It’s the only market that’s not crowded.”

—George Whalin, Retail Superstars: The 25 Best Independent Stores in America

Tom’s Credo: “Commodity” is a state of mind—a loser’s state of mind. A-n-y-t-h-i-n-g can be significantly (dramatically?) differentiated.

Some time back I met a senior IBM sales exec. She said her breakthrough had come years before when she was a rookie salesperson for Moore Business Forms. Her product was about a third more expensive than that of their primary competitor. “Our bosses told us,” she said, “that it was up to us to dig into the client’s operations, be helpful, and find a way to merit the price premium.” That is, she and her colleagues were effectively told to de-commoditize a rather ordinary product. “The lesson has stayed with me and paid off throughout my career,” she concluded.

The local plumber or electrician does not provide a “commodity service” …

if he/she knows the job
if he/she is learning new tricks all the time
if he/she has a good disposition
if he/she shows up on time
if he/she is neatly dressed
if he/she has s spiffy truck
if he/she fixes the problem in an elegant and timely fashion—and clearly explains
what was done and why it was done this way or that
if he/she cleans up so that after the fact the client could “eat off the jobsite floor”
if he/she volunteers to do a few tiny tasks outside the one at hand—gratis
if he/she calls 24 hours later to make sure all is well
if, perhaps, he/she even goes so far as to create a blog with occasional posts
featuring practical tips for his clientele—a tiny Virginia swimming pool company became a literal “best-in-world” following this social-media strategy

He/she ain’t a commodity!!
(I call such personal de-commoditization … DWPF/Distinction Worth Paying For.)

My mind returned to that hypothetical plumber/electrician a few days ago as I write. I was on my way to pick up plans from a local engineering firm for a septic system repair. I was driving through a moderately populated suburban area about 50 miles south of Boston. I passed a modest-sized quadrangle with shops and offices. The roadside sign included:

• Quilt shop
• Wedding-cake provider
• Swimming pool sales, service, and installation company
• Tailor offering alterations
• Medical billing service
• Solo lawyer
• “Be Fit”/Fitness center
• Etc.

There are thousands upon thousands of such setups around the country—fact is, they employ the majority of us. And another fact is that each and every one has the opportunity to be no less than a local … Superstar. No, not a jillion-dollar “unicorn,” but to be like that hypothetical plumber/electrician cited above. To be special. Very special. To “be the best.” To be an “employer of choice,” too—not hiring dozens, but with sustained stellar performance and growing reputation, increasing staff size from, say, three, to five or six or nine. And the “jobs added” would be damn good jobs. Probably not high-paying jobs, but moderate+ paying jobs at a “great company”—the three or five or six or nine employees of this little “be the best” outfit would learn a bushel of good habits and pick up precious hard and soft skills that would increase their “employability quotient” and, thus, serve them well in the years, even decades, to come.

Despite at first blush what appear ordinary-sounding services, none of these operations has to be a “commodity.” “Special”/”Excellent”/”Wow!” is not an opportunity open to a chosen few! These differentiating attributes are available to anyone with a vivid imagination, a sterling work ethic, a passion for improvement, and a caring attitude.

Oddly enough, after picking up my septic plans, I went on to get a much-needed haircut. I was a bit early, and sat down to wait. As fate would have it, there was a small framed motto on the magazine table next to me: “When you support small business, you support a dream.” What a fitting end to my wee local journey.

Dream on!
Excellence or bust!
Be the Best!
Become an employer-of-choice!

(DREAM BIG/BE THE BEST/PROGRAM ONE MILLION [GOOD!] NEW JOBS: ONE MILLION SMALL BUSINESSES [<10 EMPLOYEES] COMMIT IN 2017 TO PROVIDING THEIR CUSTOMERS WITH A LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE AND "WOW" SUCH THAT EACH OF SAID BUSINESSES WILL PROSPER TO THE POINT OF HAVING TO HIRE ONE NEW EMPLOYEE—WHOM IN TURN THEY WILL TRAIN IN EXCELLENCE/"WOW" TO THE EXTENT THAT THE NEW EMPLOYEE'S LIFETIME JOB PROSPECTS ARE EXPONENTIALLY IMPROVED. BOTTOM LINE: F-R-O-M-I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-TO-C-O-M-M-U-N-I-N-I-T-Y-T-O-N-A-T-I-O-N-E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E-W-I-N-S- B-I-G-T-I-M-E.)

Video: Cass B-School

Cass Business School in London invited Tom to speak at the inaugural Cass Executive Leadership Masterclass. They captured the speech on video, and we thank them for sending us this link:

Cass Business School Masterclass

As they describe it, “Cass has a long tradition of providing ‘Masterclasses’ … Cass faculty share their research to help keep alumni on the cutting-edge of developing business knowledge … [A]nnually, the Cass Executive Leadership Masterclass [will] be delivered by a long-standing, international thought leader to invited executives—our senior alumni, corporate partners and advisory board members, as well as rising alumni executives.” Cass honored Tom by making him the first masterclass presenter.

Washington Federal CEO Forum
9 Dec 2016

In addition to FINAL and LONG versions of his presentation, he sent along a PowerPoint he’s labeled “Mini-MASTER”—it amounts to an overview, wrapping up the year, in acknowledgement of this being his last presentation of 2016. 

Re-imagine! Seoul, 7 December 2016

He noted the loss of jobs worldwide to computerization—mainly jobs held by middle income employees. In his view, the growth of employment in the future will come from Small and Middle-sized Enterprises (SMEs).