I am reading Leadership and Self Deception – getting out of the box. This book is from the Abinger Institute. So far I have enjoyed reading this text, although I am just 15 pages deep. This quote from the book caught my attention, I found it doodle worthy (above). It is by Black Elk, ” It is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost”. I hope you like it.
Management
24
Feb 10
Self Deception
31
Jul 09
On Gangs and Entrepreneurship In Africa
Walking through the ruins in Rome. It was shocking to see elegant pillars and foyers tagged with graffiti. Gang members marked their territories with no regard for the old time institutions, history or past traditions. As far as they were concerned this territory was their and they wanted the whole world to know it.
Entrepreneurship is about boldness, a level of disregard for institutions. Entrepreneurs spot a ‘need’ and they fill the need. It is as simple as that, every other encumbrance is just a means to achieve this goal. Needs abound on the African continent. Large corporations and old time multi-nationals operating in Africa have made us believe that these needs can not be met. It is true that many of these need can not be met given the existing market structures, but the good news is that entrepreneurs are oblivious to market research anyway. It does not really matter, they spot a need and they meet it. The existing underlying market structure is only a secondary consideration in the minds of those who seek to bring about true change on the continent.
African entrepreneurs more than ever before need to be bold. It is true that the culture and traditions may not support this way of thinking, yet to succeed as an entrepreneur on the continent a selective disregard for existing markets is required. Do not seek to fit into existing markets. Think differently. Unfolding global events already question the integrity of existing market structures anyway. When a need is spotted, just tag the industry and care less about how long it has existed.
Remember, just tag it.
31
Jul 09
RE: Cable Co. The Model Made Us Do It
I received a short note in response to my previous post. This gentleman explained to me that the pricing model is to blame for the confusing pricing and product mix offered by this cable company. Incidentally this is a model I am familiar with and I have worked with in the past. I dare to say anybody applying the differential pricing model without consideration for its impact on customer satisfaction is a hack. It is clear that the tide is changing and the balance of power is swinging in favour of the customer, which means that differential pricing implemented poorly will continue to produce dissatisfied customer. More importantly the tie between customer satisfaction and the bottom line has never been stronger, so Mr Model-Made-Us-Do-It times have changed it will be less painful to get with the program early.
Lastly, a transparent and simple pricing structure and product mix will free up the sales department from the burden of lying and allow them to do what they were initially employed to do. That is, closing sales.
31
Jul 09
Pricing: I Would Do It Differently
I am not writing this from my comfortable couch. I moved 2 days ago and the Internet and cable TV in my apartment has not been connected yet. Dealing with the cable company has been a nightmare. Personally, I’d rather do everything online, I am no fan of speaking to sales representatives over the phone. However, the myriad of offers, product combinations and discounts displayed online was painfully complicated and almost impossible to decipher. My day job involves untangling complicated issues and ideas, this process should not be as dizzying as it turned out to be. I had no choice but to call up the cable company hoping the ‘expert’ on the other end could ease my pain. This experience turned out to be even more tasking and fraught with suspicion. I would skip the tale about the exchange I had with the sales representative because that is not the point of this write up.
If I were running the cable company I would do pricing and product offering differently. Transparency and simplification will be a core objective. Reducing the barrier to taking on new clients/customer will be at the fore of every decision and Internet copy that is produced. Borrowing from Jeff Jarvis in What Would Google Do? Simplify or die. This should be a pillar of running any business in the age of the web. Firms should no longer seek to profit from cordoning off a section of the market hoping that the black box of disinformation which they have built will not be found out and exposed.
I am sure some analysts will be quick to suggest that this disinformation that I speak of is a cash cow. Meaning that this firms make money from their ability to coax new clients into paying more than they usually should. To me, this is an old world way of thinking, information wants to and will be free, any business model built on erecting barriers to information will eventually fail. This idea may have served the firms well in the past but with many more firms, channels and platforms competing for my attention, it is a strategy headed for disaster.
Competition will blindside these firms. Any firm with a good enough service that chooses to be transparent and simple will win. I would be the first to line up at their door.
PS: This applies to all firms in all industries
9
Jul 09
Book 25: First, Break All The Rules
Instructional, with ample data to back up the propositions. The book promised to change the way some conventional management 
principles were viewed and it did. The text contains valuable and even sometimes counter-intuitive insights about the role of managers in developing the work environment. There is a discussion on Talent, Skills and knowledge that is a must read for young managers. The book is based on this discussion.
Overall the book was a bit boring. Maybe the authors being pollsters from Gallup had something to do with the writing style. The discussion on the methods of sampling could have been moved to the Appendix or made down-loadable online, then the core would have been a short hand book a la Strengthsfinder style.
So far this is the only business book I have read that uses extensive primary data to back up claims. I recommend the book to any new manager and for others I suggest reading the sections selectively.
