"Conventionally, all of the major frameworks of strategy start by recognizing that the essence of strategy is to achieve superior competitive advantage. That is what everybody adheres to. We found that that as a concept and as a mindset is extremely dangerous, because it puts competitors at the center. And if you do that, then there is a tendency to watch your competitors and try to imitate them. (Moi ici: Muitas vezes me queixo aqui no blogue do excesso de atenção que é dada à concorrência. Impressiona ver que algumas empresas conhecem melhor os concorrentes do que conhecem os seus clientes. Assim, em vez de criar experiências novas, tornam-se cada vez mais parecidas com os concorrentes...)
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And that imitation creates sameness. Sameness will never bring greatness, and, even worse, its final result is something which is the worst thing that could ever happen to a business: commoditization. (Moi ici: Youngme Moon ilustra-o de forma soberana) Commoditization means a business in which there is nothing that you can claim that differentiates your offering, and therefore, all you can do is to fight for price. That leads to a very aggressive rivalry. In order for you to win, you have to beat somebody.
It is like strategy as war, and that, as we know very well, is not really the most effective way to manage a business. Wars just create complete devastation; they are the worst thing that could happen to mankind, yet we use that as a simile for management! We felt it was the wrong simile.
Now, if competitors are not at the center of management, then who is at the center? For us, the answer was obvious. The customer is. Therefore, the customer is the driving force. You have to start deeply understanding what the customer’s requirements are and how you can help the customer in the most effective way. This changes completely the way you figure out what actions to do.
Now, instead of trying to imitate somebody, you are trying to separate yourself from the rest of the pack."
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"Therefore, commodities don’t really exist. The customers are all different, and if you do not understand that, you are commoditizing something — and believe it, there is so much of that happening in business in America. Typically, when I’m teaching these concepts, I ask the group of executives I teach, “Tell me, among all of you present, how many of you think that a significant percentage of your business comes from commodities?” And invariably, 100 percent of the hands come up, and I know then that they have come to the right place — because they are not thinking correctly."
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Agora, reflictam um pouco na quantidade de economistas, políticos e comentadores que todas as semanas nos catequizam dizendo que temos de reduzir custos para sermos mais competitivos... sim, até parece que essa foi e é a receita seguida pelas mittelstand...
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O meu conselho é o do abandono das folhas de cálculo e o desenvolvimento de relações amorosas com clientes, produtos e fornecedores. Ou seja, a estratégia passa pelo amor... agora, reparem no título do artigo de onde os trechos foram retirados:
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Trechos retirados de "Strategy as love, not war"
