Tag Archives: emerging leaders

Creating a win – win for your customer and you

I found this ad on the street in Paddington in Sydney near where I live. It’s a nice example of a win – win for a potential customer and the local community. The shopper gets free wi fi and the local shop keepers might obtain some incremental business. I like it also because it creates a shopping hub or destination where every local shop might benefit. Free WiFi is also a powerful example of the new expectation of customers or consumers. Read more

An example of Small Wins Innovation

The Cheesecake Factory We love going to Hawaii. The sun, surf, people are all amazing. Every year we try and go to a restaurant called The Cheesecake Factory. Every year it’s packed. I have often wondered why. Then it hit me. They do lots of little things really well. Or what I call Small Wins Innovation. – the meals are plentiful – service is friendly – the cheesecakes are to die for – there is a great buzz – the location on the main street helps – ... Read more

How small wins can change behaviour

‘Around 55,000 Australians go to hospital with a heart attack every year and around one third of those are repeat heart attacks.’ Associate Professor Clara Chow, The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney In an effort to reduce these alarming figures particularly the repeat rate the researchers tried something new. They sent a series of simple text messages to the patients (4 per week) for 6 months in an attempt to improve their health. Patient received texts such as: ... Read more

What’s the most important innovative behaviour?

Recently I gave a workshop on creative thinking and innovation to a group of leaders of a well known brand in China. I was particularly keen to talk to the creative director and I asked him about his process for generating ideas or solving problems. He said he shut the door and waited for inspiration to strike. I was intrigued by this approach. It no doubt works for him but i felt that this is too passive. What if inspiration does not strike? I also find it too stressful. My suggestion is ... Read more

How to innovate – one small win at a time*

Disruptive innovation is everywhere it seems. There’s an ongoing fixation with the next Uber, Netflix, WhatsApp or Airbnb. Even perennial technology darlings such as Twitter or Facebook seem, well, so yesterday. It’s intoxicating, heady stuff as one technological change can seemingly transform an industry and lead to growth rates going through the roof. But for every game-changing success there are thousands of failures which are not so glamorous. The lesson therefore is to dream big but to ... Read more

What leaders can learn from the ballet

We just spent a delightful evening at the ballet at the Lincoln Centre in New York. Not only was it an amazing experience but as I reflected on the performance I was struck with how much leaders could learn from this experience also. Here are a few: - The pursuit of excellence. There was nothing ordinary about this performance. The audience expected an was given a world-class show. Leaders — what are your standards? Are you building a world-class team? - The diversity of the group. ... Read more

A small win – win for the environment

It’s a small thing that more and more hotels are doing. They put up a little sign on your towel rack asking you whether you can use the towel again rather then having to wash them. It’s a classic win – win. It’s great for the environment. It’s obviously very good for the hotel as it saves, time, effort and money. And we as hotel guests feel good about doing our bit for the environment. I love this example because it is simple, easy to do and the cumulative ... Read more

How to annoy customers – it’s the small things

Business owners have over the years improved their customer service. Rarely do you hear of the complete screw up. And if it does happen, most business leaders know how to handle these situations. But what I have noticed is that the customer experience battlefield is now the small things. Asking 2 or 3 times for a new fork for example. Or the key that does not work when you return to your hotel room. A friend just told me that a new cafe that just visited for the first time charged them $2 ... Read more

What leaders can learn from burnt toast

This is a story of burnt toast. Burnt toast you say! Yes I was having breakfast the other day at one of my favourite cafes and I asked for another slice of toast with my scrambled eggs. The friendly staff brought out the toast but it was burnt. Now I should have sent it back or said something. But like most other consumers or customers I did not make a fuss at the time but rather have decided to write a blog about my experience. You see, a slice of toast is a small thing. The cafe is ... Read more

The key to innovation – small steps

We like to think of creativity and innovation as a breakthrough moment made by a special individual with amazing gifts. This may be true with artistic creativity. But in the world of organisations and business the truth is somewhat different. For a start, increasingly innovation is a team game. A new product is rarely the result of a lone individual working in a corner. More often it is the result of a team of diverse individuals that have harnessed their talents in pursuit of a collective ... Read more