10 New Management Gurus & Ideas

FORTUNE lists the 10 new management gurus one should watch out for & their big ideas. If you don’t want to miss out on a possible next big thing, you better have a look at this. 

Following is a listing from this article, listed in the order of my take on the ideas.  

    1. Patrick Lencioni / Most executives don’t realize that the internal health of a company is key to its success (former Oracle HR exec)
    2. BJ Fogg / Mobile technology will be the most powerful way to influence consumers in the next 15 years
    3. Rakesh Khurana / Charismatic CEOs don’t work; management needs to become a profession, like law
    4. Joel Podolny / Business schools must teach real-life problem solving (has just joined Apple to build Apple University)
    5. Janine Benyus / Innovate by imitating, or “mimicking” nature
    6. Niko Canner / Companies tend to avoid change, or change at the expense of their core strengths
    7. Valerie Casey / A Kyoto Protocol for designers
    8. Dan Ariely / People are predictably irrational
    9. Nouriel Roubini / Create a new global regulatory framework
    10. Don Sull / Welcome uncertainty in turbulent times

    Training – Customer Service Excellence

    One of the objectives of this blog is to share with all any useful new on the subject of customer strategy. Accordingly, am posting this mail I came across of a training being held across multiple cities in India.
    I have no idea on how the program is & I am not recommending the same. Anyone who has attended this or know of anyone who has attended these sessions, please share your thoughts on the same.
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    Product centricity to customer centricity

    (Photo Courtesy: Purdue University)

    In her blog today, Patty Seybold shares a commentary about where organizations go wrong in the journey from product centricity to customer centricity. In Graham Hill’s own words –

    “The stages start with pure product-centricity. This typically evolves through the development of internal networks of colleagues who need to work together to deliver the value proposition; to cross-functional teams that formalise the collaboration of the internal networks; to a customer segment coordinator who takes on formal responsibility for collaboration across different teams; to a matrix organisation with nascent segment teams reporting to both product and customer management; and finally to bona fide segment managers responsible for all aspects of segment experience delivery. The vertical silos of product-centricity have given way to the more connected, more collaborative customer-centric organisation.”

    The key phrases (for me) from the above are :
    • work together to deliver the value proposition (ought not to loose sight of this)
    • formal responsibility for collaboration across teams (in the absence of a culture that fosters team work)
    • responsible for all aspects of segment experience delivery (key enabler – accountability)
    As important as the end result is, the journey & the milestones involved are as or more important in ensuring effectiveness & sustainability of the end state. 

    Custommerce – Customer Centric Initiative in India

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    UPDATE (as on 6th Nov 2008)

    The folks from custommerce mailed me soon after this blog posting. They have indicated that ways of engaging a wider community for this movement has been discussed in the Kovalam conclave. And they will have some concrete steps soon. 

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    custommerce – Strategies for a Customer-Driven Economy
    Vision: A customer experience driven globally competitive Indian economy. 
    The above mentioned vision statement has prompted me to check on this initiative a couple of times earlier. On trying the join custommerce call for action, a response seem to have emanated from the sales desk of Servion. Though custommerce is termed as a movement, no answers are forthcoming about how I can be a part of the same. 
    To be fair, I did receive a notification about their latest conclave in Kovalam. Presentations from the conclave are also available at their site. The presentation Customer Centricity: Challenges in Getting Top Management Buy-in is an interesting topic & on target. 
    Still trying to figure how best to contribute to the movement though.