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 | A post on the SAMBA blog suggested the easiest way of differentiating your business is to "specialise." The author suggests that businesses who do only one thing are instantly worth talking about. And perhaps they are. But the examples and the simplicity of this rather crass statement hides a massive strategic decision that has to be taken.
What does it take to specialise? Is it "just doing that one thing?" Is it, as the author suggests, being a pizza parlour that only sells pizzas with anchovies? Far from being a "lazy option", effective specialisation requires a deep understanding of the market segment that is being serviced.
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 | A former member of my team has left today. She got herself a better job, one that will challenge her, give her more opportunities and - hopefully - help her grow as a person. When I saw the message come in off Facebook I gave a little "whoop" of joy.
At which point my daughter, sat opposite me playing some online game or other, asked, "why are you glad to see her go?"
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| There are times when I think project managers should be taken outside and shot! There is such a thing as loyalty to the team, and it is important. But there does come a point where excuses have to end and the PM has to admit to their own failures.
Quality seems to be one area where this happens regularly. I've become a little tired over the years of "Agile" being used as an excuse for not testing something thoroughly before it is handed to a client, or not documenting the way something works at least at an architectural level. And I've grown tired of project managers who think that "shouting and escalation" is the best way to get people to meet goals they haven't really bought in to.
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| A key part of the role of Operations Director is to effectively manage costs. The way a firm spends its money, allocates it resources and diverts its attention must be appropriately balanced between the desire to keep costs to a minimum in support of business activity, whilst at the same time investing in all those things that will help the business survive into the future. Unfortunately I have all too often seen a desire to drive the first without appreciating the second.
It is a fact of business life that keeping costs to a minimum will, by definition, reduce the amount of flex a business has to drive its strategy forward. Even for a business whose entire strategy is based around cost leadership there must be a part of the strategy that allows for growth and development (or imitation) of new capabilities or products. If the business has cut costs to the point where there is no fat, where everyone is focussed 100% on the day job, there is no - or little - scope for any form of innovation or review. Firms who have chosen a path of innovation or diversification must have a sensible allowance for business as unusual.
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| The Value Chain describes how a business takes inputs and converts them into some sort of value that the customer wishes to pay for. It consists of a collection of "Primary Activities" that converts inputs into outputs and "Secondary Activities" that support these. This careful orchestration of moving parts allows a business to take a few lumps of aluminum, rubber, plastics and glass and turn it into a car, a computer or even an eCommerce offering.
Typically the model is drawn with four supporting Secondary Activities: the firm's infrastructure; human resource management; technology development and procurement. I believe this is one activity short of a full set. In the modern world of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), conflicting global regulation and de facto best practices a fifth supporting activity has evolved. That of "Compliance." 
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| A week ago I was told that mis-selling was inevitable in financial services, and that as such processes had to be designed so that such errors were trapped after the event and dealt with. My challenge to that was that the process should be designed to minimise the risk of a mis-sale in the first place. It would be better for the customer to know that this particular firm had taken steps to ensure the right product was sold in the first place rather than there were measures in place to pick up the inevitable mistakes that would be made.
Aside from the cultural and brand ramifications of such an approach I started to think about the cost. I wondered if the financial impact of a mis-sold insurance policy or a poorly manufactured product was clearly understood. Compared to the cost of getting it right first time just what would the cost of fixing after the event be?
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| There comes a point when every customer decides they no longer want to do business with you. It is inevitable. What is not inevitable is that their mind cannot be changed and they cannot be convinced your business is the one that can still service their needs. Keeping these people on side is what customer retention is about.
In my experience this vital activity is often ignored or done badly. Ignorance usually comes from smaller businesses where the emphasis is placed on driving revenues by selling to new customers rather than protecting the money coming in from existing ones. Badly knows no type or size of business, often appearing either as an "add on" task within the customer contact centre, or as something that's done without understanding how it fits into the business. Either way, the results can be disappointing and sometimes damaging.
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 | Another week has flown by and another collection of tweeters, retweeters and mates have been adding to my enjoyment of using Twitter. After last week's more serious flow, this week is a little more light hearted.
Dunning Design asked one of the most important questions on Twitter this week. My answer was McCoys, but only the grilled steak ones.
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Older Entries
Previously on this blog...
Becoming a Specialist? A hard decision to make ...
Specialising requires hard strategic decisions to be made about your business.
When good people move on
Losing a member of staff to another company is not necessarily a bad thing
The quest for quality in Agile Software Development
Why quality assurance remains a central part of project management, regardless of the use of Agile methods
Balancing needs: why smart Operations Directors reduce costs for the long term
Short-term cost cutting can do a lot more harm than good. Effective cost reduction requires a more thoughtful approach
Can compliance contribute to a competitive advantage?
Regulatory and de facto standards could give a company an edge in a crowded, competitive market.
The true operating cost of accepting failure
The financial impact of spotting quality problems after the event can be enormous. The question is do we understand how much that cost can be?
The art of retaining customers
When customers decide to move on you need to do more than wave them goodbye. This article explores some of the options and decisions to be made
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