The Way Forward in 2015
How to transform Mass Production thinking to meet the challenge of Mass Customization
Leadership and Golf; Creating Organizational Alignment
A series of articles available on-lineThe Planning Dilemma
Strategic Planning within the Mass Production model is a highly sophisticated process of attacking the market and defeating competition. In the new context, companies must create seamless, effortless, integrated processes that are responsive, nimble, flexible and proactive. This shift in orientation demands a new approach to "planning" the future.
The Mass Market has disintegrated into thousands of niches. Growth opportunities within this new environment are enormous. Attempts at forcing the market to fit the factory are futile. Standardization has been replaced with customization. The strategy of becoming the "low cost producer" and many other Mass Production strategies no longer apply.
A new process of Planning is needed to meet the challenge ahead. Strategic Visioning is a totally different planning process. It begins with the unprecedented assumption of a "World of Abundance" and dispels the illusion that the world will never be "organized." Within the chaos of the exploding global market, there is a systematic planning process for creating organizational success. Creating the Structural Framework that drives this process is the Transformational Leadership Challenge.
In the real world of organizational change, it is fair to say that every business in every industry has changed in the past 10 years. Even McDonald's is trying to provide hamburgers "your way." Yet many change initiatives have failed to produce intended results.
As industrial engineers, we are challenged every day to provide solutions to accelerating demands for competitive advantage. Faster, cheaper, smaller, bigger, and more are the goals that drive a continuous search for differentiation. The re-engineering revolution of recent years has brought new meaning and purpose to our profession.
Now, the emphasis has shifted from re-engineering to transformation. "Transformation" implies a change in form, not function. Transformation is therefor not a problem-solving experience, it is a process of creating a new context of existence.
The Counselor Salesperson (CSP) is based upon the simple premise that “people love to buy” but they “hate being sold.” Participants are asked to look at their own buying behavior and learn to sell by answering the simple question, “If you were the buyer listening to you, how would you want to be treated and what would you want form the selling process?” Learning to sell by understanding how people like to buy is a dramatic departure from the traditional “do it to them approach.”
During the program, participants learn that buyers have “problems to solve” and “a future to be created.” The ability to understand and differentiate an offering to meet these differing needs is the hallmark of a great Counselor. CSP is built on the foundation of Trust. The course helps participants realize that customers won’t buy through the barrier of No Trust and ongoing lasting relationships must start with the foundation of Trust. This approach to selling helps the salesperson relax and project self-confidence and creative potential.
CSP is taught in a “discovery learning” format, challenging the participants to find the answers to the sales challenges they face every day. This highly interactive approach to learning is engaging for even the most experienced sales professionals. Extensive practice of all the course concepts permits sales people to leave the course and immediately apply new skills.
The Counselor Salesperson has withstood the test of 35 years of actual field application by thousands of sales people. It can be applied in every business (for profit and not for profit), industry, and organization where repeat customer (member) interactions are important to ongoing success.
"Over the past twenty years, apart from medical revolution and the micro processor, the most significant thing to happen to the world has been the ability to take mass out of production. The inventory-to-sales ratio of the whole industrial world has dropped like a stone during the last two decades." (Fred Smith, CEO Federal Express)
Welcome aboard! What will be the context of the next decade? If Mass is being removed from Production, is Mass Production thinking obsolete? Will Mass Production leadership principles work in the information environment?
The road to the future is not a linear extension of the past and the Leadership Challenge is enormous. The CONTEXT of Mass Production thinking contains assumptions that are no longer valid. The Competitive Advantage of the Mass Production model is unsustainable. Core Competencies have been matched. Companies must build competitive advantages based upon sustainable relationships, not product features or low prices.
The Era of Mass Customization has arrived. Fueled by technological obsolescence, the new business environment contains unprecedented opportunities. Never before in our modern industrial environment have leaders been challenged to think about CHANGE as they are today.
Seminars & Simulations