Curiosidade do dia

Na semana passada ouvi uma crítica de um deputada da situação contra o anterior governo por causa de nada ter feito no sector do turismo nos últimos anos.
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Se calhar tem razão. Se calhar foi por isso que tantos incumbentes protestaram:

• Turismo e liberalismo - resultados;
• Prestes a cometer um crime;
• O incumbente;

Por isso, como não sorrir quando este erro de casting diz estas coisas "Descida do IVA vai ter um impacto "muito grande" no turismo".

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Recordar:

• O anónimo da província foi ver os números da restauração;
• O que vale é que o fisco vai deixar de exercer pressão, não é? (parte II)

Hangout NPE

Mais um hangout NPE, desta feita sobre o impacte do T-TIP no sector da metalurgia e metalomecânica e a importância do pensamento estratégico nas PME.

A verdadeira diferenciação

Quando escrevo sobre Mongo e sobre o seu impacte nos gigantes deste mundo (por exemplo aqui, aqui e aqui) penso na continua explosão de tribos cada vez cientes da sua identidade e teimosas nas suas escolhas assimétricas. Por isso, acredito pouco no sucesso de médio-prazo das marcas compradas pelos gigantes para tirarem partido dessa boleia para o crescimento orgânico.

"A company that can show it is different from other companies, in a way that is relevant to customers, gains a major competitive advantage.
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we are also regularly reminded of the lack of true differentiation in most mainstream global companies — and of the opportunities they are thus squandering.
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The problem starts with the way many business people think about differentiation. To them, the unit of differentiation is an individual product, service or brand. That’s what customers see, after all, relative to what the competition can provide.
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But differentiation needs to be sustainable; it shouldn’t live or die with individual offerings. The heart of differentiation therefore is your company’s ability to develop and promote distinctive products, services, and branded experiences on a consistent basis. It’s not the output that sets you apart, but the way that everything you do supports the product and gives it context. With truly differentiated companies, much of the distinction goes beyond the product itself.
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Your differentiation challenge is to set apart your company as a whole, instead of staking your future on one or two isolated products. This requires you to build distinctive capabilities – to learn to do a few things really well, that few, if any, other companies can do.
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starting in the early 2000s, the advantages of scale were mostly eliminated, in large part because of globalization, deregulation, and the rise of digital technology. [Moi ici: A tríade ainda não percebeu isto e continua a crer no Deus Único da escala como sinónimo de vantagem competitiva] It became easier and easier for small enterprises to gain customer reach and awareness (along with working capital). Large companies found themselves competing against a much larger group of rivals, and a more global group, than ever before.
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Moreover, when you differentiate by product, you risk incoherence — because different products may require different capabilities, and that can pull your company in too many directions at once.
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The most effective companies don’t rely on distinctive products, services or brand for differentiation; instead, they focus on creating an enterprise so distinctive that it can create many products, services and brands, each more compelling than the next."

Trechos retirados de "Your Whole Company Needs to Be Distinctive, Not Just Your Product"

Reflexões

Guardei este texto de Fevereiro último, que o Aranha me enviou, e só agora o voltei a reler "Onofre: “Se não temos cuidado vamos tornar-nos o outlet da Europa”", há qualquer coisa de estranho nele.
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Não se pode confundir cópia da marca com cópia de um modelo. Cópia da marca é crime, cópia de modelo não creio que seja crime.
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Se há marcas de luxo que querem seguir o caminho da Gucci e abastardar a sua estirpe... problema delas.

"“Hoje, qualquer pessoa pode abrir um site e vender os mesmos produtos a qualquer preço. O que pode ser muito prejudicial para quem quer impor uma marca”"

Será mesmo assim? E como começa o artigo?

"Luís Onofre acaba de abrir a sua loja online." 

Não chega a etiqueta! É preciso ser inovador, é preciso inovar no produto e também nos intangíveis que o acompanham e dão poder a uma marca.
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Talvez seja de equacionar os ritmos de criação e de produção, talvez faça sentido acelerar a criação/produção e ter mais épocas.
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Uma última nota... uma marca deve definir o seu caminho, definir os seus clientes-alvo e andar para a frente sem perder muito tempo com o que fazem os concorrentes.

Qual o cenário da sua empresa?

Comecemos por esta figura:

Uma empresa coloca um serviço no mercado.
Esse serviço tem um valor percebido pelo cliente, parte desse valor percebido é consumido pelos custos e a parte restante é o valor criado.
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Vejamos o que acontece ao valor criado:

Uma parte do valor criado é capturada pelo produtor e a outra capturada pelo cliente. A parte capturada pelo produtor é tanto maior quanto maior for a diferenciação que conseguir.
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Imaginemos agora que a empresa não inova na relação com o cliente, permite que ofertas concorrentes parecidas apareçam sem as contrariar com inovação.
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O que acontece?

O valor percebido baixa (ainda me lembro de ter 6 anos e ver publicidade na TV acerca da grande novidade e inovação que eram as canetas BIC laranja e cristal e agora estão na base da pirâmide)
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Enquanto baixa o valor percebido, a empresa está virada para dentro e concentra-se na redução dos custos. Ao mesmo tempo que o valor criado baixa, a empresa tem de deixar o cliente capturar quantidades cada vez maiores de valor.
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As empresas nestas circunstâncias seguem a cartilha do século XX:

• aposta em economias de escala;
• aposta na eficiência;
• aposta no denominador.

Imaginemos agora que a empresa inova na relação com o cliente, aposta em acrescentar intangíveis ao serviço, continua a inovar no serviço e a diferenciar a marca.

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O cenário agora é este:

O valor percebido aumenta, os custos aumentam mas o valor criado aumenta mais. Assim, a parte do valor capturada pela empresa continua a crescer em função da diferenciação baseada na inovação e marca.

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Qual é o campeonato da sua empresa?

Curiosidade do dia

A propósito desta "Curiosidade do dia" este material interessante para reflexão "How the “Maximize Shareholder Value” Myth Weakens Companies and Economic Systems".

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E, para mim, admirador da relação entre a biologia e a economia, este trecho:

"so something is wrong with the simple idea that best business practices evolve by between-firm selection. That “something” is multilevel selection, which is well known to evolutionary biologists and needs to become better known among economists and the business community.
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Multilevel selection theory is based on the fact that competition can take place at all levels of a multi-tier hierarchy of units—not only among firms, but also among individuals and subunits within firms. [Moi ici: Recordar o exemplo das fábricas que trabalhavam para as sapatarias de rua] The practices that evolve (culturally in addition to genetically) by lower-level selection are often cancerous for the welfare of the higher-level unit. By the same token, if selection did operate exclusively at the level of firms, then the outcome would often be cancerous for the multi-firm economy. When it comes to the cancerous effects of lower-level selection, there is no invisible hand to save the day."

Fornece pistas para investigação futura.

Acerca do pensamento estratégico

"No matter how advanced technology is, it needs human partners to enhance competitive advantage. It must be embedded in what we call the integrated strategy machine.
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An integrated strategy machine is the collection of resources, both technological and human, that act in concert to develop and execute business strategies.
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Relevant, specific strategic aim. Don’t let technological capabilities dictate the problems you solve. If all you have is a hammer, then everything will look like a nail. Humans must frame the central question, and thereby define the initial insight into where the opportunity lies.[Moi ici: Em vez de "technological capabilities" ler teorias económicas que se aprendem nas universidades acerca de economias habitadas por econs e, baseadas nos modelos de negócio do século XX]
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Design appropriate to the aim. Just as different environments call for fundamentally different approaches to strategy and execution, different strategies also call for different designs for the strategy machine. For example, strategies in predictable classical environment require a logic of “analyze, plan, execute.” On the other hand, unpredictable adaptive environments require a process that can be characterized as “vary, select, scale.” Form must follow function.
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Architects of the strategy machine must avoid the temptation of relying on reductive visualizations. People need to be able to see inside the black box, probe the “messy” data and findings, and reframe to gain richer insights.
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In the end, a strategy is only valuable to the extent that it’s embraced and leveraged by the organization. Business leaders must pay attention to what can feasibly be achieved within organizational constraints — or have a clear path to removing them."

Trechos retirados de "Designing the Machines That Will Design Strategy"

Resiliência para o pós-isto

Os fragilistas acreditam que os astros se vão alinhar para que tudo corra bem:

"Os fragilistas partem do princípio que o pior não vai acontecer e, por isso, desenham planos que acabam por ser irrealistas ou pouco resilientes. Depois, quando as coisas acontecem, chega a hora de culpar os outros pelos problemas que não souberam prever, não quiseram prever, ou que ajudaram a criar."

O anti-fragilismo acha que temos de estar preparados para o pior.

"Complacency, arrogance, and greed crowd out resilience. Humility and a noble purpose fuel it. Those with an authentic desire to serve, not just narcissism about wanting to be at the top, are willing to settle for less as an investment in better things later.
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Potential troubles lurk around every corner, whether they stem from unexpected environmental jolts or individual flaws and mistakes. Whatever the source, what matters is how we deal with them. When surprises are the new normal, resilience is the new skill."

Isto é o que vamos precisar para o pós-isto, resiliência:

"Resilience draws from strength of character, from a core set of values that motivate efforts to overcome the setback and resume walking the path to success. It involves self-control and willingness to acknowledge one’s own role in defeat. Resilience also thrives on a sense of community — the desire to pick oneself up because of an obligation to others and because of support from others who want the same thing. Resilience is manifested in actions — a new contribution, a small win, a goal that takes attention off of the past and creates excitement about the future." 

Trechos retirados de "Surprises Are the New Normal; Resilience Is the New Skill"

Pensamento estratégico, mais urgente que nunca

A propósito deste texto "As Amazon Expands Into Private Label Groceries, Supermarket Chains Should Be Very Afraid" como não pensar logo na análise do contexto e nas fábricas que trabalhavam para as sapatarias.
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Quanto a este trecho:

"Amazon’s entry into private labels will force grocers to be even more innovative. “This move by Amazon should keep every conventional grocer up at night,” says Jim Cusson, president of Theory House, a retail marketing agency in Charlotte, North Carolina. “While the disruption may not happen overnight, it is absolutely coming. With a growing number of cities now enjoying Amazon same day delivery, the physical advantage of grocers will erode over time. And there are few moms who look forward to a trip to the grocery store.”"

A aposta na arte, na conexão, na experiência.
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Nunca esquecer a frase na coluna das citações:

"When something is commoditized, an adjacent market becomes valuable"

"the connection economy is all about being human"

As empresas grandes e os gurus andam deliciados com o Big Data, com os chat bot, com tudo o que permita codificar interacções com os clientes para se poder ser eficiente ... Julgo que, como aprendi com Covey, sempre que estão metidas pessoas a eficiência nunca é a resposta. A resposta tem de passar pela eficácia, tem de passar pela relação, tem de passar pela proximidade não pelo gigantismo.

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No entanto, o sentido certo é o oposto.

"Just as important as the experience economy, DeLao said, is the connection economy, which highlights the importance of building relationships and loyalty, it notes that there is an abundance of choice and options and therefore a premium on attention and trust.
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the connection economy is all about being human.”"

Trechos retirados de "Radiologists, Own Your Words" 

Curiosidade do dia

"Além de endividar o país, a minha geração também blindou os seus direitos insustentáveis em leis, regulamentos e instituições. Sucessivos governos atribuíram aos cidadãos inúmeras benesses, alegadamente universais. Só que, com o fim do endividamento, a segurança no emprego, pensões generosas e outros privilégios acabaram atribuídos apenas aos que as conceberam. Os jovens de hoje sabem que não poderão gozar daquilo que os seus pais tiveram. Sobretudo porque essas exigências exageradas entopem o crescimento. De facto, além das benesses, Portugal foi adoptando leis de país rico, que a produtividade não suporta. Imposições de toda a ordem sobrecarregam as empresas, prejudicam a competitividade e alimentam exércitos de fiscais, funcionários e advogados.
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Estes dois erros da minha geração, falta de capital e excesso de regulamentação, são as razões da estagnação. Ambas, desequilíbrio financeiro e carga normativa, estorvam a inovação, empatam o investimento, paralisam o progresso"

Trecho retirado de "Os filhos da adesão"

Democratização da produção

"Just as the democratization of information through personal computers was a key advance of the 20th century, the democratization of production through improvements in fabrication technologies will be a pivotal development in the 21st century.
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personal fabrication systems are beginning to allow individuals access to these same technologies.
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early access and opportunities to practice are the keys to success in any field involving complex tasks.
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We believe the advent of personal fabrication will affect society in unexpected ways, just as the advent of personal computing did. This will likely extend to the humanities as well as science and engineering.
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Personal fabrication offers the opportunity to democratize innovation. Schools must provide early access to the tools needed to develop skills required to take advantage of this opportunity."

Duas notas:

• quando escrevi este "Para reflexão" (parte I e parte II) era sobre isto mesmo:

 "O caminho faz-se caminhando... em vez de esperar e entrar mais lá à frente, quanto mais cedo se entrar mais cedo se identificarão novas oportunidades de negócio, novos nichos, novas fontes de receita."

Quantas PME estão a "brincar" e a acumular experiências que darão origem a intuições sobre o futuro?

• quantas escolas estão a proporcionar este acesso a estas tecnologias? Quantos alunos têm oportunidade de simplesmente brincar com estas ferramentas?

Trechos retirados de "The Democratization of Production"

Let be careful out there

"A separate but equally indicative failing is to incessantly cite Apple and Steve Jobs to any and all clients as a paragon of excellence and instruction for brand building. If you find yourself sitting through a ninety-minute sermon on the power of Apple’s branding and its relevance for your portable toilet business it may be time to press the escape button."

Recordar "Cuidado com o título" e "Pensamento contrário"

"First, any mention of millennials means you are dealing with a marketing moron and should lead to immediate cessation of all discussions. I’m serious about the “moron” tag. Anyone dumb enough to think that the 14 million British millennials qualify as a segment needs their head examined. They fail every possible test of segmentation and anyone who refers to them in any context other than to point out that they are a total load of clichéd bollocks should not be trusted."

Recordar "Voltar ao Lugar do Senhor dos Perdões"

Trechos retirados de "Mark Ritson: The seven unmistakable signs of a shit brand consultant"

Acerca de Mongo e do poder das empresas grandes

Quando penso em Mongo vejo o crescimento da diversidade de tribos e da democratização da produção a corroer o poder das empresas grandes para dar lugar a um mundo económico muito mais diversificado, povoado por PME, povoado por plataformas cooperativas, povoado por relações p2p.
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Interessante como já hoje estão no terreno tantos sintomas que facilitam a corrosão do poder das empresas grandes. Um excelente artigo a merecer reflexão "Branding in the Age of Social Media":

"Businesses have invested billions pursuing this vision. Yet few brands have generated meaningful consumer interest online. In fact, social media seems to have made brands less significant.
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While the rise of crowdculture diminishes the impact of branded content and sponsorships, it has greased the wheels for an alternative approach that I call cultural branding."

A cultura de Mongo é esta Babel de tribos e interesses:

"Today you’ll find a flourishing crowdculture around almost any topic: espresso, the demise of the American Dream, Victorian novels, arts-and-crafts furniture, libertarianism, new urbanism, 3-D printing, anime, bird-watching, homeschooling, barbecue. Back in the day, these subculturalists had to gather physically and had very limited ways to communicate collectively: magazines and, later, primitive Usenet groups and meet-ups.
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Social media has expanded and democratized these subcultures. With a few clicks, you can jump into the center of any subculture, and participants’ intensive interactions move seamlessly among the web, physical spaces, and traditional media. Together members are pushing forward new ideas, products, practices, and aesthetics—bypassing mass-culture gatekeepers. With the rise of crowdculture, cultural innovators and their early adopter markets have become one and the same."

BTW, o que um amador pode fazer "The Star Trek Fan Film That Went Too Far"

Acerca da monitorização (parte II)

Parte I.
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O CTCP vai promover o Workshop formativo “Indicadores de Monitorização de Processos”- no dia 24 de maio em São João da Madeira.

Curiosidade do dia

Um artigo a merecer leitura e reflexão "Why Uber and Apple Won’t Save The Economy", acerca do problema da financeirização da economia.

"The Fed has pumped $4 trillion of money into the markets, but we are still in the longest, slowest recovery of the post‑war era.
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I believe that the reason for that is that our system of market capitalism is broken. The capital markets and Wall Street are no longer serving business or the Main Street economy that you and I live in.
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But only 15 percent of all the money flowing through financial institutions today ends up in businesses. The rest of it is staying within the closed loop of the market itself. It’s being traded.
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It seems amply evident that the right thing to do is to focus your company on the business of business, and not the business of financialization. However, all of the incentives, and all of the policy, seem to be pushing companies in the opposite direction. It’s almost as if you can’t blame them for doing what they do, because that’s how they’re being incented.
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Right. One of the things I wanted to do in this book was get away from a culture of blaming the bankers, blaming the CEOs, blaming the one percent. I cover these people on a daily basis. Nobody’s venal here. They really are doing what they’re incentivized to do. It’s just that over the long haul, it doesn’t happen to work.
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One of the most telling statistics that I came across in researching the book was a difference in how much investment a company made in CapEx, R&D, factories, and in worker training when you compared private companies with similar public ones. The private companies made twice the investments into the real economy as public companies did.
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Private companies are out there investing under the same tax and regulatory frameworks. They see plenty of opportunities. But the public markets make it impossible for CEOs to take these long-term decisions."

“Industrialism has changed from creating value to extracting value. Need to find new models.” @EskoKilpi #OSFest16

— Paul Mackay (@pmackay) May 20, 2016

Acerca da monitorização

Um exemplo do uso de sparklines no excel para ilustrar, num espaço muito curto, a evolução mensal de 20 indicadores e a comparação com o desempenho homólogo. Recordar os 3 erros mais comuns na apresentação de resultados (segundo Mark G. Brown no livro “Keeping Score - using the right metrics to drive world-class performance”):

• Usar tabelas em vez de gráficos;
• Apresentar apenas o último resultado; e
• Não ter um referencial, uma meta, para a tomada de decisões.

Agora, complementar a informação dos gráficos com números e comparar com uma meta:

Recordar:

• Factos vs retórica (Outubro de 2007)
• Sugestões para elaborar painéis de indicadores por processo (parte I) (Junho de 2010)

Compreender o contexto

Consideremos uma empresa de vestuário em Portugal e a implementar um sistema de gestão da qualidade segundo os requisitos da ISO 9001:2015.
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Que tipo de factores externos listará ao abrigo da cláusula 4.1?
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Quantas registam coisas como esta, "The rise of athleisure is eating into the profits of regular clothes"?

"Shoppers are spending less on clothes and looking for discounts when they do. Amazon and fast fashion are stealing their customers.
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But there’s another factor hitting these businesses, according to a comprehensive research note by Deutsche Bank. Athletic clothing is taking a bite out of regular clothing’s sales.
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“We see athletic apparel boosting the industry, up 4.1% from 2008-2015 on average,” the authors write. “Meanwhile, non-athletic apparel was up only 0.2% during that timeframe and lagged overall apparel in seven of the past eight years."

Que impacte é que isto vai ter no negócio dos clientes dos seus clientes?
Que consequências nos negócios da empresa?
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Como remediar esta tendência?
Como aproveitar esta tendência?
Que implicações para a estratégia?
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Se não considera estas coisas como é que o sistema de gestão da qualidade é relevante para o negócio?

Promotores da concorrência imperfeita, dos monopólios informais e das rendas excessivas (Parte II)

Parte I.

"Several broad forces, most of them peculiar to our times, are combining to create advantageous conditions for small companies. A market segment known as “selectionists,” who constitute 30 percent of consumers, are seeking greater variety and new tastes in the food and drinks they buy—and sometimes care deeply about factors such as the origins of a product and how far it has been shipped. Some traditional supermarkets are catering to this trend as a way to differentiate themselves from Walmart and big price clubs. The fragmentation of media and the generally lower cost of digital platforms are giving small players new outlets to reach customers in more targeted, cost-efficient ways. But what should most concern large players is how technology is eroding their scale-driven advantages. Small players are increasingly able to outsource invoicing, HR systems, and logistics, as well as other back-office SG&A functions. Retail consolidation is further chipping away at scale advantage. The preference among bigger retailers is to work with a broad range of manufacturers—both large and small—to keep large consumer packaged goods companies from gaining too much leverage."

Em vez de choradinho, pensamento estratégico.
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Em vez de mais do mesmo, novidade, diferenciação, proximidade, autenticidade.
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Em vez da aposta na eficiência e no denominador, aposta na eficácia e no numerador.

Sem arte ...

Sem arte, o produto fabricado pela sua empresa será apenas mais uma commodity que pode ser substituído por este ecossistema "UPS teams with SAP to invest in 3-D printing":

"Customers will be able to place 3-D printing orders on the Fast Radius website, which will send them to one of UPS' more than 60 stores outfitted with 3-D printers, or Fast Radius' production facilities in Louisville. Where the order is sent will depend on speed, geography and the product quality the customer requires.
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SAP customers will be able to use the system to digitize and simplify the production part approval process.
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According to a study published in April by the Manufacturing Institute, 71% of U.S. manufacturers are using 3-D printing technology in some way. While the majority still use it mainly for prototypes, almost 7% are using it to produce end products."

E de "3D Printing Comes of Age in U.S. Industrial Manufacturing":

"While roughly the same percentage of US manufacturers are currently adopting 3DP in some way (roughly two-thirds) a higher percentage (51%) are using it for prototyping and final-products than two years ago (35%); meanwhile, fewer are simply “experimenting” to determine how they may use the technology (17% vs 29% two years earlier).
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3D printing seen to disrupt supply chain, threaten intellectual property Manufacturers are equally split on what will be 3DP’s most disruptive effect, with 22% saying it will be in restructuring supply chains, and another 22% that it will be threats to intellectual property, and 18% believe that it will be changed relationships with customers. Two years ago, the stand-alone, number-one concern was supply chain disruption."

E de "3D printing industry to triple in four years to $21B":

"This year, the 3D printing industry, which includes machines, materials and printing services, will reach $7.3 billion. By 2020, it is expected to grow to $21 billion,
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3D printing can speed development and delivery for customized products and bring increased flexibility through better inventory management and real-time production of wares that have variable demand.
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Other advantages named in the report: Manufacturing advantages for small batches, cost advantages based on efficiencies for certain applications and unprecedented flexibility in new markets. 3D printing also can improve quality through lighter parts, better ergonomics and more design freedom."

Matéria-prima para fazer emergir um novo tipo de economia, até que ponto voltaremos ao modelo pré-industrial?