1 of Many. Every Friday. 1000h.
The Story So far:
To build market share, to defend price, to ensure longevity of our organisation, we must be distinct, we must be different ('be distinct or extinct'). But in the New World of Work that is increasingly difficult to do. Globalisation, speed of change and technology drivers amongst other factors rapidly remove our advantages. But some organisations have managed to do it and continue to manage to do it: Starbucks is oft-quoted of course. In the UK the John Lewis organisation. Apple. Harley-Davidson. Many small web-based businesses who do a great job.
"If there is nothing very special about your work, no matter how hard you apply yourself you won't get noticed, and that increasingly means you won't get paid much either."---Michael Goldhaber, Wired Magazine
What makes their businesses successful and sustainable? The new differentiators. Many of the differentiators they use are surprisingly 'soft'. That is, they are tricky to define and to measure: they are intangible. In coming weeks we will explore them and understand how we can replicate the methodology.
New World of Work Differentiator 1: Design (Week 2 of 2). Week 2: the action.
Step 1: accept that great design does not come easy but that it will repay in: premium customers, word of mouth marketing, an element of simplicity (New World of Work differentiator to be discussed), an element of experience (New World of Work differentiator to be discussed), competitive edge, premium pricing.
Step 2: start noting and asking: how is this product/service used? In the UK the majority of the railways and the post office for example appear to have never asked those fundamental questions. Munich Airport from where I flew recently has.
Step 3: steep yourself in good design. Attend museums and read.
Step 4: commit and pay for good design and improve the design whenever you can
Step 5: pay for a trusted expert who can get your design to look good, too. Now you have cool and you are on to a winner.
Join us next week for another New World of Work Differentiator.