"Resources are not, they become"

Uma nota interessante retirada da leitura de  "Service-Dominat Logic: Premises, Perspectives, Possibilities" de Robert Lusch e Stephen Vargo.

"to adopt the view of not what resources are, but rather what they become. This is the essential nature of resources, and so we define them as anything, tangible or intangible, internal or external, operand or operant, that the actor can draw on for increased viability.
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"Resources are not, they become." [Moi ici: Pensei logo nos licenciados desempregados deste país] This is a simple but profound statement and central to understanding the nature of the service-centered view. At the foundation of its meaning is recognizing that some actors' skills and knowledge determine "resourceness." Resourceness reflects the quality and realization of potential resources, through the process of human appraisal and action, which then transforms potential resources into realized resources."

"É um restaurante com tanto sucesso que já ninguém o frequenta"

O André Cruz chamou-me a atenção para este artigo "Despite increased profits, Netflix says it will raise prices to improve speed and selection".

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Fiz logo a ponte para uma conversa recente, uma empresa estava com excesso de procura e a minha resposta instintiva foi: "aumente os preços!"

"despite its improved profits, Netflix plans to raise prices. "Our current view is to do a $1 or $2 increase, depending on the country, later this quarter for new members only. Existing members would stay at current pricing (e.g., $7.99 in the US) for a generous time period. These changes will enable us to acquire more content and deliver an even better streaming experience.""

E, como crente no Evangelho do Valor, só posso imaginar o impacte positivo desta decisão.
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O excesso da procura não só revela que os clientes experienciam mais valor do que a empresa pensa, como pode prejudicar a própria experiência. Recordo aquela frase americana:

"É um restaurante com tanto sucesso que já ninguém o frequenta"

Há desafios que não podem ser atingidos sem o ataque aos problemas crónicos

“Finding deficiencies and getting rid of them is not a way of improving the performance of the system. An improvement program must be directed at what you want, not at what you don’t want. And, determining what you do want requires redesigning the system, not for the future, but for right now, and asking yourself what would you do right now if you could do whatever you wanted to. If you don’t know what you would do if you could do what you wanted to do how could you ever know what you would do under constraints?”
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                                               Russell L. Ackoff

A frase é interessante mas não sei se estarei totalmente de acordo com ela.
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Estou envolvido num projecto em que o objectivo de aumentar as margens tem de passar por passar a fazer coisas, desenvolver relações com outros actores do ecossistema, que a empresa só agora começa a equacionar.
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Estou envolvido num outro projecto em que o objectivo também passa por aumentar as margens, nesse caso, a empresa tem de passar a fazer coisas novas mas tem também de reduzir a frequência com que dois problemas crónicos ocorrem.
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Há desafios que não podem ser atingidos sem o ataque aos problemas crónicos que tolhem o desempenho de uma empresa.

"sabe-se o que se pretende com tão retorcido raciocínio"

"A procura provém do rendimento que resulta da produção.  Os preços baixos estimulam a procura e trazem mais consumo e mais consumidores.
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Não se conhece evidência empírica que faça suspeitar da inversão deste processo.
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Mas sabe-se o que se pretende com tão retorcido raciocínio: a retoma da expansão artificial da procura por via da aceleração da expansão da massa monetária e do crédito."

Uma boa análise de Avelino de Jesus em "Por onde irá o BCE?"

"where value emerges for customers and is perceived by them"

"Nowhere is the idea that enterprises make and deliver value more evident than in the concept of "value added." Value added has been a ter used to describe the process of firms transforming matter to change its form, and its time, place, and possession. Predictably, these transformations require effort and thus costs, and these costs  became labeled "value added" and often identified as a source of "utility." However, offerings (tangible or intangible) are not embedded with value (valu-in-exchange) or utility but rather value occurs when the offering is used.
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Accountants might believe that an unsold good has value but this is economic value; value creation from an actor-centric and service-dominant vantage point is only possible when market and other offerings are used - that is, when they contribute to the well-being of some actor in the context of his or her life.
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With G - D logic, the value is embedded during production and distribution/marketing without the involvement of the actor who will become the beneficiary of the enterprise's offering. Early scholars in the area of services marketing succinctly identified the problem with G - D logic. For example, Gumesson argued: "if the consumer is the focal point of marketing, value creation is only possible when a good or service is consumed. An unsold good has no value, and a service provider without customers cannot produce anything." Similarly, Groonroos stated:
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Value for customers is created throughout the relationship  by the customer, partly in interactions between the customer and the supplier or service provider. The focus is not on products but on the customers' value-creating processes where value emerges for customers and is perceived by them ... the focus of marketing is value creation rather than value distribution, and facilitation and support of value-creating processes rather than simply distributing ready-made value to customers."

Trecho retirado de "Service-Dominat Logic: Premises, Perspectives, Possibilities" de Robert Lusch e Stephen Vargo.

"you get the behavior you reward"

Em conversa, durante almoço familiar, ouvi várias estórias, contadas em primeira mão, sobre a abordagem dos vendedores dos ginásios e, como a mesma é contraproducente criando desconfiança junto dos potenciais clientes.
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Imaginei logo que por trás destas abordagens estarão bónus ou comissões por vendas obtidas. A diferença entre os consultores de compra e os vendedores é impressionante. O consultor de compra primeiro pensa no cliente, o vendedor primeiro pensa em si.
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Interessante, pois, este artigo "Bonuses Should Be Tied to Customer Value, Not Sales Targets":

"we realized that “how” we do our job is just as important as what we do. Ultimately every leader knows that you get the behavior you reward. At GSK, we’ve decided that bonus incentives for our sales professionals should be tied to the value we bring in ensuring that patients are appropriately treated with our medicines.
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This patient focus is a core value for us, along with transparency, respect, and integrity. So instead of specific prescriptions sold, we began to reward our representatives for their patient focus, understanding of their customer, problem solving, and level of scientific knowledge as measured by tests and other assessments.
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Renewing focus on our values by reshaping employee incentives is helping us do more to help doctors help their patients. We are not the only industry that needs to better meet society’s expectations.  Every one of us in the corporate world must look at our business through the eyes of our customers and nimbly respond to their changing expectations."

Qual é o seu negócio?

"Understanding what business you are in and why that matters to customers is what enables you to differentiate your brand. That understanding helps you to narrow the focus of your business strategy. If your purpose is to delight customers with the best customer service on the planet, for example, then your strategy will revolve around hiring, training, and retaining the best staff. Understanding the business you are in is the first step toward making your product or service something that the market values beyond its utility. Good businesses become great brands when their truth intersects with the truth of what it is their customers really want.
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"What business are you in? [Moi ici: E o seu negócio não é o que faz, o seu negócio é o que ajuda os clientes a atingir] Are you selling coffee or lifestyle? Renting rooms online or giving people the opportunity to connect and experience a city in new ways? Or…? What do your customers want from you? Would they like a product or support? Gym membership or improved health and wellness? How do your customers want to feel? Connected, informed, reassured, special, excited, happy, fulfilled, and on and on. Have you asked them? What can you do to get them there? Do your team members make an effort to remember regular customers’ names and orders? Starbucks has a whole website, called mystarbucksidea.com, dedicated to getting customer feedback and suggestions. Does your website have a blog with comments where customers can share their views? Are you using social media to really listen to your customers?"

Trechos retirados de "The fortune cookie principle : the 20 keys to a great brand story and why your business needs one" de  Bernadette Jiwa

O poder do hábito

"Quick show of hands: how many of you are currently wear a FitBit, FuelBand or another “Wearable” device? Keep your hand up if you’ve been wearing for more than a month.
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I suspect there aren’t a lot of hands in the air. Why? Last year, all of my friends were wearing Nike+ FuelBands. Now I can only think of two friends who I see consistently wear them.
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Three Weeks. That’s about how long somebody keeps a wearable on their wrist or their face before they forget to put it back on.
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These devices really do have the capability to improve our lives, yet until they can find a way to transform from wearable into habit, there will be trouble for the entire wearable device market. [Moi ici: Leio isto e questiono-me. O que é que as empresas vendem, tecnologia ou resultados na vida de quem as compra? Desconfio que se venda mais a tecnologia e se concentrem menos nos resultados que cada um pode conseguir]
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I absolutely believe that consumers want these devices. I absolutely believe that consumers can embrace devices.
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If wearable makers like Nike and Google really believes these devices are the future (I do), the, they need to focus on turning these devices into habits first. Until that happens, wearables will remain in the niche."

Como não recordar "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" de Charles Duhigg e o Cue-Routine-Reward.


Trechos retirados de "The Three Weeks Problem: The Real Challenge for Wearables"

"simply working hard won't do the trick"

"It is all about priority.
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Unfortunately, most companies lack a unified and integrated approach for addressing market opportunities. Very few have a rigorous set of tools and processes in place that enable them to recognize, prioritize, and set appropriate strategies in a way that maximizes shareholder value. Worse yet, different silos throughout the organization often have different processes in place. It is amazing how many companies—and how many people—I see working effectively in the market space in which they've been operating—without realizing that all of their work is fruitless. No matter how many hours they put in or how well they compete, they're doing it in vain if they are competing in the wrong space—in the part of the market that has low margins or where someone else can squeeze their margins through the ownership of what we will call “strategic control points.” ... If your competitor has a better formulated and executed strategy, simply working hard won't do the trick."

Trecho retirado de "Compete smarter, not harder: a process for developing the right priorities through strategic thinking" de William Putsis.

Quando é que os clientes toleram um aumento de preço?

"No product deserves higher price tag just because of its quality or because the marketer believes so.  Customers decide whether or the higher price tag is worth it.
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Even if Motorola [o nome da sua empresa] believe there is higher value to the customer and customers agree with that value proposition,  the reference price set by Apple [nome da referência no mercado em que actua, ou que os seus clientes-alvo usam como líder de um cut-off criteria] brings down the price they can charge."

E ainda:

"Raising prices is not a prerogative. Those who thought otherwise and said their products deserved the price tag saw their business run to ground.
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It is not permission from your CFO or shareholders. It is permission from the customers you chose to serve. It is important to see the narrow definition here – “customers you chose to serve”. First the word customers clearly indicates they pay you for your product. Second it is your choice of who to serve since you cannot and should not go after every one with a need and willing to pay for filling that need. [Moi ici: Recordar aquela frase da minha autoria, "O cliente tem sempre a última palavra, mas o fornecedor tem a primeira"]
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The permission is intrinsic. It is in the form of additional value you deliver to your customers above and beyond the price they pay. More precisely it is the perceived value of customers."

BTW, este era o racional que me faltava em 1992 quando li o artigo "Managing Price, Gaining Profit" de Michael V. Marn e Robert L. Rosiello na revista Harvard Business Review, quando é que os clientes toleram um aumento de preço.
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Trecho inicial retirado de "Xoom: Pricing is Wrong, Costing is Wrong or Playing for the Niche"
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Segundo trecho retirado de "Permission to raise prices"

Confusões acerca da eficiência e da produtividade

Ainda relacionado com "efficiency without effectiveness is inherently inefficient" este texto "Should Your Business Be Less Productive?".
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A ideia-base é defendida há muitos anos neste blogue. Contudo, julgo que o autor continua a usar a medida da produtividade para comparar outputs diferentes. E mais, ler este texto com as ideias da service-dominant logic muito frescas... é como ser exímio numa linguagem e perceber que o autor anda a arranhar as primeiras palavras dessa mesma linguagem:

"Many contemporary businesses are on a quest for productivity gains. They seek to maintain quality and quantity of output at ever-decreasing cost, yielding higher profitability. As advanced economies move more into the service sector, that means many managers devote a lot of attention to designing automated processes that reduce the need for people [Moi ici: O mais recente exemplo que encontrei é o das lojas Grab & Go, interacção mínima] — typically their most expensive resource.
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in service businesses, productivity gains are not always easy to make without sacrificing perceptions of quality. [Moi ici: Acho que o autor fala da produtividade como sendo uma unidade de medida de coisas, de quantidade de coisas por unidade de tempo. Eu gosto de a ver como dinheiro por unidade de tempo, daí as duas visões opostas - produzir cada vez mais unidades e ganhar cada vez menos com cada uma, ou produzir cada vez menos unidades e ganhar cada vez mais com cada uma, como no calçado português ou nestes textos de Christensen e Peppers] For service businesses, quality perceptions tend to correlate with investments in labor. The truth is that things are different in service, and unlike on the assembly line, increased productivity may not always lead to increased profitability. [Moi ici: Esta frase só faz sentido se a produtividade for uma medida da velocidade de produção de coisas equivalentes... muito redutor]
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in a service business, productivity must be treated as a strategic decision variable, not as a reliable path to greater profitability. ... productivity improvements often have counterproductive results in a service business.
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Executives typically think about productivity as something to be maximized; if capitalism were a religion, the virtues of pursuing productivity would be a key tenet. After all, at a macroeconomic level, more productivity always means more profit and ultimately more wealth. If employees do more work than before, how can that be bad? But at a micro level, we believed that the dynamics could be different.
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Our research suggests that instead of seeing productivity as an outcome to be maximized, it is better for service companies to view productivity as a strategic decision variable that depends on the business and the technology in question. A company needs to choose the right level of productivity, neither too high nor too low, to maximize its profitability. [Moi ici: Até que enfim, que faz a ligação...]
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Based on our model, the key to making decisions about productivity is considering two factors: (1) the state of the technology and (2) the relative importance of customer satisfaction. In particular, we believe the importance of customer satisfaction is too often underestimated. When customer satisfaction is more important than efficiency, a service company’s optimal productivity level should probably be comparatively lower.
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When should customer satisfaction be given more weight than efficiency? When margins are higher.[Moi ici: Será que o autor acha que eficiência e produtividade são a mesma coisa?]
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So if wages are higher, productivity should be higher. [Moi ici: Hmmm quer isto dizer, seguindo a lógica do autor que se os salários são mais altos se tem de ser mais eficiente? Não faz sentido!!! A não ser que comparemos outputs semelhantes. Um restaurante de luxo pode pagar mais que um McDonalds, apesar de servir menos refeições, cada uma tem um valor muito superior. Não faz sentido comparar a produtividade em unidades quando estamos a falar de outputs diferentes]
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In the manufacturing-dominated economy of 50 years ago, mass production and mass marketing were the name of the game. Quality meant standardization — manufacturing every part the same. [Moi ici: 100% de acordo, recordar a cristalização] Sales were often one-off transactions.
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Things have changed dramatically since then. Today every developed economy is predominantly service; for example, the service sector accounts for about 80% of the U.S. economy.
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The bottom line from both industry and academia is that the shift toward a service economy has transformed the way businesses should be managed. The traditional manufacturing-based, goods-oriented view of the business world no longer works — particularly with respect to how we think about productivity. [Moi ici: Por isso, o autor ganharia em estudar a service-dominant logic]
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The implication is that whether your company is in service or manufacturing, these days, the chances are good that your company is at least partly a service company. If that’s the case, you should reexamine the assumptions about productivity that are embedded in management training and reward systems. In many ways, companies create incentives for managers to increase productivity, even at the expense of revenues and profits. If a manager thinks that he or she will make more money from increasing short-term productivity than from building long-term profits, the company may suffer."

Acerca do poder da autenticidade

Outro tema que referimos com alguma frequência aqui no blogue é o da autenticidade (basta consultar o respectivo marcador):

"Studies show consumers prefer a product that they believe has the aura of authenticity."

Em "It's Proven: The Science Behind Why People Value Authentic Products" pode ler-se:

 "due to a belief in contagion, products from a company's original manufacturing location are seen as containing the essence of the brand. In turn, this belief in transferred essence leads consumers to view products from the original factory as more authentic and valuable than identical products made elsewhere."

Mais exemplos de "é meter código nisso!"

Na sequência de "Outra vez: É meter código nisso!" dois exemplos no calçado:

• "Novos ténis vão indicar o caminho"
• "Ténis inteligentes monitorizam desempenho dos corredores em tempo real"

"Innovation is about being different in a way customers love"

Uma excelente reflexão sobre o que é, sobre o que pode ser a inovação em "INNOVATION IS ABOUT BEING DIFFERENT"

Outra vez politicamente incorrecto (parte II)

Parte I.
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Recordei logo esta figura:

Ao ler "Lisboa é a região com maior taxa de desemprego do país"

e, sete meses depois de Agosto de 2013

Evolução do número de desempregados inscritos nos Centros de Emprego entre Janeiro de 2011 e Março de 2014:

A evolução homóloga do desemprego e a evolução mensal do desemprego entre Janeiro de 2011 e Março de 2014:

A figura que se segue tira uma fotografia da evolução homóloga do desemprego em Março de 2014 e, mostra onde está a ser criado emprego líquido (barras negativas):

Em Janeiro de 2013 havia 1 barra negativa, 18 em Outubro, 19 em Novembro, 21 em Dezembro e 24 em Janeiro e Fevereiro de 2014, agora em Março, 25 barras negativas.

"Treat different people differently. Anything else is a compromise"

Em sintonia com "efficiency without effectiveness is inherently inefficient" este delicioso trecho de hoje de Seth Godin:

"It's easy to lump people together into categories, easier still to say, "I know how you feel." But we don't, we can't, and given the choice, people will choose to be the people they wish to be.

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Mass markets were a shorthand forced on marketers who had too little time or information or leverage to treat different people differently. They are the result of the mass merchant, the mass media and mass production. But humans aren't a homogeneous mass, we are individuals, as individual as we dare to be.

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Marketing and governance and teaching and coaching and writing are built on a foundation of 'everyone', but in fact, we'd rather be someone.

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Treat different people differently. Anything else is a compromise."

Daí Mongo, daí o Estranhistão, daí o terreno adequado à concorrência imperfeita, daí a vantagem de David e das PMEs.

Trecho retirado de "All the same"

Muito mais do que crio-preservação

A propósito de "Later, Baby: Will Freezing Your Eggs Free Your Career?".
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O que me pôs a cabeça a pensar foi imaginar as empresas de crio-preservação a fazerem o marketing da crio-preservação, concentrando-se nas especificações e na técnica, ao mesmo tempo que passariam ao lado de toda a temática que pode passar pela cabeça de uma mulher, do que é valor para ela, do universo em que a crio-preservação se integra e, que é muito mais importante e valioso que a crio-preservação como técnica.
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A crio-preservação é um recurso integrado por estas mulheres para melhor gerirem a sua vida, o serviço que se oferece não é a crio-preservação, é a sensação e a experiência de não estar dependente do relógio biológico.

Ou seja, se decidirem aumentar o salário mínimo...

Vou usar esta imagem:

Retirada de "Value hides" para recordar aquela frase que interiorizei em 2008 e nunca mais me largou:

"Existe mais variabilidade (no lucro, ou na produtividade) dentro de um sector económico, do que entre sectores económicos"

Como é que está o sector do calçado português? Muito bem!
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Como é que estão algumas empresas do sector do calçado português?  "Campeão Português insolvente"
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É fácil olhar para tabelas e médias (recordar "Uma das primeiras lições que aprendi no mundo do trabalho")
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E esta disparidade não se deve, como alguns simplistas ignorantes apregoam, a ilegalidades ou má gestão no sentido de ruinosa. Direi, é a vida!
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Nem sempre as decisões que os gestores tomam são as melhores, muitas vezes as decisões tomadas num certo contexto são boas e quando esse contexto muda, elas deviam mudar e não mudam.
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Por isso, da próxima vez que pensarem que na Lesboa dos gabinetes, nos biombos e carpetes, conhecem a realidade ... pensem duas vezes. E quando pensarem em bitolas comuns para todos, assumam-no até ao fim. Ou seja, se decidirem aumentar o salário mínimo, não vão a correr a pedir ao mesmo governo que subsidie o emprego porque ... as Campeão Português deste país estão mal.

"efficiency without effectiveness is inherently inefficient"

Ontem, ao final da tarde fui fazer uma caminhada de 8km por meio dos futuros campos de milho. Agora, os lavradores andam a roçar as ervas e a colocar a bosta em montes no extremo dos campos.
Assim, enquanto caminhava e ia ouvindo, ao longe, o motor dos tractores e o canto do cuco, ia lendo o último livro de Vargo e Lusch, "Service-Dominant Logic: Prenises, Perspectives, Possibilities". Ao ler as linhas que se seguem... não pude deixar de sorrir, não pude deixar de recordar tanta incompreensão, tanto fanatismo pelo eficientismo... como é que o que se segue é tão difícil de entender e de quebrar o modelo mental dominante?

"goods could be produced "separate" from the consumer and thus standardized and controlled for greater manufacturing efficiency. Their ability to be standardized (homogenized) also contributed to production efficiency through economies of scale. Anything that deviated from these ideal characteristics decreased production efficiency and was regarded as a problem to be overcome. Not surprisingly, organizations in the "services" business tried to make their offerings more tangible and homogeneous and to produce as many of them as possible to create superior efficiency.
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S-D logic shifts the focus from the production of outputs to the cocreation of benefits with and for the customer - that is, from efficiency to effectiveness. [Moi ici: Recordar o que aqui temos escrito, desde o tempo em que havia dinossauros, sobre o tema nos marcadores eficiência, eficácia e eficientismo] When viewed from the perspective of customer value creation, the supposedly negative qualities of services become the realities, if not the ideals or benefits, to be sought. Value is itself intangible and often a function of intangible aspects of the value proposition (e.g., brand, meaning, comfort-in-use). It is idiosyncratic and always involves some degree of customer interaction, within a dynamic context, and thus is inseparable, heterogeneous, and perishable. None of this shift in perspective should suggest that efficiency is not important. A hallmark of S-D logic is service-for-service exchange, rather than the creation and distribution of value, and the actor-to-actor (A2A) perspective argues that the value-creation process must work for the firm as well, often from the acquisition of surplus service (e.g., money) to efficient operations. But efficiency without effectiveness is inherently inefficient: Without effectiveness, there is no basis for service-for-service exchange, and, as such, the efficiency issue is meaningless. The "service" in S-D logic buttresses and emphasizes benefit and, thus, the superordinate nature of effectiveness with a constraint of relative efficiency ."