HL Arledge

About those fad management books…

A manager friend of mine said last week…

“I stick with the tried and true. None of those fad management books for me.”

He went on to say that his company was too busy to experiment with new ideas.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Right?”

Of course, my response was: just because it’s not broken, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. That’s why my team is always focused on improving processes, asking: how can we be better, faster?

Our conversation started with a discussion of “consumer evangelism”—the belief that customers are filtering out advertising and are more willing to trust word-of-mouth recommendations.

The “fad management books” he referenced were those touting the virtues of building online communities to make it easier for clients to exchange data—and fast track those word-of-mouth recommendations.

Here’s an example from Creating Customer Evangelists: How Happy Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force:

Shouldice Hospital in the city of Thornhill encourages patients to meet and discuss the care they receive. Patients compare notes long after treatment ends, and their feedback has been used to improve hospital care and service since the customer evangelist program began.

The program is an amazing success. Patients meet for an annual ball and banquet that includes dining, dancing, and a free medical check-up.

Today, potential patients are actually on waiting lists to get into this hospital!

As I mentioned, their story is covered in detail in a brand spanking new “fad management book”, but Shouldice Hospital started their successful program in 1947.

My Decade Software?

I promised yesterday to give you a sneak-peek at our new web presence…

In addition to the sleek appearance, the site is a game-changer for Decade Software. It is being designed from the ground up as a collaborative community where customers and staff can exchange opinions and ideas—with a section we’re calling “My Decade Software”.

Among other features, it will provide…

• User Community Forums

In addition to being the home of several EnvisionConnect User Groups, a networking and information exchange tool for clients, and a hang-out for Decade staff, our community forums offer areas of discussion on all Decade products and services and the industries we serve, and—best of all—registered users can subscribe to any forum or topic by e-mail.

• Surveys and Polls

Decade knows that user feedback is essential to making a good product great. That's why residents of the My Decade Software community are routinely polled. For example, you may be invited to participate in an in depth survey asking which classes should be presented at the user conference, or you may be invited to answer a single poll question regarding a product's design.

• Project Central

At Project Central, registered users look under the hood at Decade Software Company. In real-time, clients monitor what work is being done, by whom, and when the work is expected to be completed. They also can report defects or submit feature requests and monitor progress of those requests in real-time.

Another secret operation in progress

Last week, I was the guest speaker at one of our “global user group meetings”.

I’ve forgotten what the official title is these days, but basically it is a virtual meeting that allows customers to review and discuss new design proposals.

These little webinars were launched in the early days of EnvisionConnect, and they continue to serve us and our customers quite well.

You may recall that EnvisionConnect is the 21st Century reincarnation of Envision for Windows.

Over time, new wings and windows were added, until Envision grew into the most in depth tool available for regulating Environmental Health—but like all mansions that outgrow their original design, Envision became easy to get lost in.

Enter Envision Connect…

EnvisionConnect was designed from the ground-up to have all of the comforts of the old mansion, but with easier passages to move around in.

The new design was developed in those Thursday meetings.

So, why did I attend last week?

I’m building another kind of house to replace our web home page, and for all of the same reasons, I needed our customers to assist in the redesign.

What we came up with will amaze you…

…but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out more.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing great!

I’ve recommended Jim Collins’ Good to Great before. Once in reference to Scrum—and once on the subject of estimates—but I thought the book might be worth summarizing for you wannabe leaders who are too busy to read.

To understand Jim’s thinking, first ask yourself: what goes into a company's transformation from mediocre to excellent?

Using volumes of data, Jim and his team compared and categorized three types of companies:

• Those that went from “Good to Great” and are still growing

Companies like Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo produced and sustained great results, evolving into companies that would be around for the long haul.

• Those that directly compare with “Good to Great” companies

Upjohn, Silo, Great Western, Warner-Lambert, Scott Paper, A&P, Bethlehem Steel, RJ Reynolds, Addressograph, Eckerd, and Bank of America are companies in the same industries with the same resources and opportunities as “Good to Great” companies, but they demonstrated no obvious leap in performance.

• Those that looked great for awhile

Burroughs, Chrysler, Harris, Hasbro, Rubbermaid, and Teledyne are companies that made a short-term shift from good to great but failed to maintain growth.

Through careful comparisons of the three groups, Jim’s team identified 23 principals “Good to Great” companies followed that the others did not:

Finally, something to rant about…

I love blogging.

I love talking about my teams and their accomplishments. I love talking about the improvements this company has seen in these last few years. To me, that is what blogs do best—allow us to share successes and failures, so that we may learn from one another.

Unlike many in the blogosphere, I never use my blog for ranting.

Never—until now!

Our blog host (I almost said “of choice”) is Typepad. They were great until late October of last year, when they upgraded their product—and destroyed my way of life!

Their update broke my ability to post using Windows Live Writer, essentially forcing me to use their web interface to update my blog.

Despite my reputation, I do have more to do at the office than just blog. I seldom have time to toy with a kludge web application.

Sound petty? Of course, it does. Maybe I was really just standing on principal. Being a stubborn Southerner, I do that sometimes.

I started this post talking about how businesses can use blogging to learn from each other. I learned much from this experience.

Even the most minor of software changes can wreak havoc on your customers lives—and make them bitter towards you, your product, and your company.

The customer is still always right.

Sometimes we forget.