It’s been a busy summer. Keeping up with client demands and taking some vacation time with the family has led to some lighter blogging of late.
I have, however, been catching up on some reading and I highly recommend the July 24 issue of Fortune magazine. I’ve written about new rules and old paradigms, and Fortune has a great article on this topic.
The cover story on Fortune, titled, “Sorry, Jack” takes on Jack Welch’s ‘rules’ and states that they may no longer apply. Whether you agree with their conclusions or not, you’ll certainly have to agree that the business world is changing – rapidly. We have entered what I call The Wisdom Age. Using old rules in this new world will hurt you.
Here are the old rules and the new rules that replace them (with some of my favorite observations):
1. Big dogs own the street – to – Agile is best; being big can bite you.
2. Be No. 1 or No. 2 in your market – to – Find a niche, create something new
Says Starbucks CEO, Jim McDonald, “We’ve never said we wanted to be No. 1 or No.2. It doesn’t matter where you end up, it matters that you’re the company of choice.”
3. Shareholders rule – to – The Customer is King A Bain & Co. study found a huge gap between the perceptions of executives – 80% of whom think they are doing an excellent job servings customers – and they perception of customers – only 8% agree.
4. Be lean and mean – to – Look out, Not in.
From the article: An inward-looking culture can leave firms vulnerable in a business world that is changing at a breakneck pace – whether it’s Craigslist stealing classified ads from local newspapers or VoIP threatening to make phone calls virtually free.
Jeff Immelt, GE’s CEO, adds, “It’s not about change. It’s about sudden and abrupt and uncontrollable change. If you’re not externally focused in this world, you can lose your edge.
5. Rank your players; Go with the A’s – to – Hire passionate people
Christopher Barlett of Harvard Business School observes, “People don’t come to work to be No. 1 or No.2 or to get a 20% net return on assets. They want a sense of purpose. They come to work to get meaning from their lives.”
6. Hire a charismatic CEO – to – Hire a courageous CEO
7. Admire my might – to – Admire my soul
Some good rules to live by.