Sem necessidade de controlar

Há tempos ao preparar uma auditoria a uma empresa deparei-me com esta frase para descrever um dos riscos determinados:

"Modelo de negócio que não permite o controlo do mesmo"

Torci o nariz.

Cada vez mais o truque não passa pelo controlo, mas pela colaboração, mas pela curadoria. Por exemplo:

"Contextual awareness, peripheral vision, design thinking and a multi-disciplinary approach – these are all terms that are trending in modern office-speak. And deservedly so. A project-based [Moi ici: Interessante] and titles-free organization — where yesterday’s team member is today’s team lead — can deliver the flexibility and agility that businesses yearn for.
.
“Context Curator” is the term I’d like to introduce to the business dictionary. To lead a project is not to assign tasks and monitor performance, but to empower, to define the broader context, and to organically link the work of one team with the rest of the business. Following the example of Netflix and striving for higher talent density is only half the battle. Curating the context in which high performers can excel – rather than attempting to manage them – is the key to unleashing their full potential."

Figura e trecho retirado de "Do we no longer need managers?"

"looped by cir­cum­stances"

"The hard­est deci­sion lead­ers have to make, and fre­quently in busi­ness the com­mon mis­take — is pick­ing your bat­tles. And not polit­i­cally, but tac­ti­cally. Most man­agers and exec­u­tives get so caught up in tac­ti­cal and oper­a­tional prob­lem solv­ing and fire fight­ing that they get looped by cir­cum­stances and lose all if any strate­gic ori­en­ta­tion to their work."

E quando a testosterona entra em campo?

Trecho retirado de "Strat­egy bogged down by reality?"

"Price is not based on cost"

"I believe it is important to share that price is the number one driver of profitability in almost any business. AT Kearney and McKinsey have both done studies which demonstrate that a one percent increase in price across the board yields a seven to 11 percent increase to profit. This compares to a one to three percent increase to profit from a one percent reduction in fixed cost, a three to four percent increase due to an additional revenue, and a five to seven percent increase due to a reduction of fixed cost (i.e., efficiency gains) usually considered the Holy Grail of business acumen.[Moi ici: Como não recuar a 2008]

...
If I could send executives to the Bart Simpson chalkboard of life, I would have to write, “Price is not based on cost,” over and over again. Notice, this is not to say that costs are not factor in pricing, they can be, but far too many brilliant people believe that prices are determined by a formula that begins and ends with cost.
...
Prices are determined by understanding the perceived value of the prospective customer. This value is subjective and can vary from prospect to prospect over time.
...
The reality is that price, rather than being derived from costs, should justify the future expenditure of cost. The logic chains like this: Value → Price →Cost, not Cost → Price→ Value"

Trechos retirados de "Top three pricing mistakes to avoid"

Acerca do "short-termism"

"Instead of hiring outside CEOs, hire insiders—or at least CEOs with domain expertise.
.
One trend that has contributed to short-termism and lower innovativeness is the increased prevalence of outside CEOs. From 1970 to 2004, the percentage of CEOs hired from outside the firm increased from 12% to 39%.
While outside CEOs are valued because they bring new perspective, my colleague, Trey Cummings, and I believe they impose a hidden cost to innovation at firms whose growth derives from R&D (roughly 49% of firms).
...
firms shifted from an orientation of “R&D as a driver of growth” to “R&D as an expense.” What was reported to happen as a consequence of this shift was a steady decline in firms’ R&D intensity (R&D/Sales) and a corresponding decline in firms’ R&D capability. In other words, the new leader’s disinvestment cut meat as well as fat.
...
Why do these shifts occur? We believe, and now have correlative evidence, that it’s because outside CEOs are less likely to possess the technological domain expertise necessary to drive growth from R&D. When CEOs lack this expertise, they are more likely to manage R&D “by the numbers,” despite the fact that those numbers are more elusive than those for capital and advertising. Indeed, we found that companies with outside CEOs have lower innovativeness as measured by RQ, and that those effects become more pronounced the more R&D intensive the company is and the more technologically different it is from the CEO’s prior company.
.
Note the solution is not to avoid outside CEOs. There are many reasons companies benefit from hiring an outsider, such as to effect change. Moreover, not all outside CEOs lack domain expertise (e.g., CEOs from rival firms); conversely not all inside CEOs have it (CEOs promoted from finance). Rather, the solution is to ensure that companies whose growth derives from R&D hire CEOs with technological domain expertise."

Trechos retirados de "The Real Reasons Companies Are So Focused on the Short Term"

Não é fácil escapar das armadilhas

"Managers often unknowingly adopt bad practices when they try to benchmark their organizations against the other companies in their industries.
...
For instance, some years ago, whenever GE did something new, many firms were inclined to immediately imitate it. Like a lot of people, the managers at these organizations assumed that GE's leaders knew it all: "Surely, when they do it, it must be a good thing, because they're such a successful firm."
.
Indeed, research has confirmed that organizations tend to imitate the actions of other companies that stand out as successful, even when it is clear that the newly developed practice is not the cause of the company's success.
.
The press does it, too. Journalists habitually write about top-performing companies and interview their CEOs, rather than the average Joes. We, admittedly, do it in business schools: we teach cases about the best, blue-chip companies, ignoring the less-sexy average types."[Moi ici: A propósito disto recordar "Cuidado com o título"]

Agora pensem nos artigos da revista Exame, pensem nas posições que a CIP defende, pensem nas decisões das associações de sector chefiadas pelos líderes das empresas grandes.

Freek Vermeulen dá como título à secção de onde retirei estes trechos "Benchmarking is BS"... pois é.



Trechos retirados de "Breaking Bad Habits" de Freek Vermeulen

Quanto tempo? (parte II)

Parte I.

Nem de propósito, entretanto, encontrei "Can blockchain ensure Unilever’s tea farmers produce a fairer brew?":

"Imagine being able to trace the exact origins of your cup of tea: where and how it was made, whether organic soil was used and if the workers were treated fairly.[Moi ici: Perfeito para Mongo, para a democratização da produção e para a autenticidade]"

In culpa non est digital

"The US retail world is particularly challenged, given the vast overbuilding of stores and shopping malls in recent decades.
...
more shopping is done online, recently crossing the 10 per cent mark, and how department stores have suffered a particularly steep decline in their share of overall US commerce.
...

...
It is important to note that retail as an industry is not going away, just being reshaped. Many traditional players are adapting to the new digital realities, and are beginning to reap the benefits from investments in their online operations."

A culpa não é dos vendedores digitais.

A culpa desta evolução é de quem está mais preocupado com o escoamento do que com o job-to-be-done.

Gráficos e trechos retirados de "Charting the US retail revolution"

Quanto tempo?

"what most people don’t understand yet is that blockchain technology is about so much more than digital coins. At its essence, a blockchain is a new type of digital ledger which records information in a publicly-verified, traceable way across a decentralized network of devices. What this means is information for, say, an app isn’t just stored on a privately-owned server somewhere—it’s stored across multiple devices that communicate with each other to verify user activity, rather than referencing one central authority"

Há uma empresa com que estou a trabalhar que tem na sala de reuniões uma foto excelente do chão de fábrica de uma fábrica de sapatos anterior à electricidade onde a existência de um veio central ditava a localização das máquinas, como na foto:

O aparecimento da electricidade demoraria 30 a 40 anos a alterar o layout das fábricas.

Quanto tempo demorará o blockchain a alterar os modelos de negócio de Mongo, sobretudo a promover a democratização da produção?

Trecho retirado de "Why Designers Need to Start Thinking About Blockchain"

Sair da zona de conforto

Ou expandir a zona de conforto:

"On Feb. 5, 2014, London Underground workers went on a 48-hour strike, forcing the closings of several tube stops. The affected commuters had to find alternate routes.
.
When the strike ended, most people reverted to their old patterns. But roughly one in 20 stuck with the new route, shaving 6.7 minutes from what had been an average 32-minute commute.
.
The closings imposed by the strike forced experimentation with alternate routes, yielding valuable results. And if the strike had been longer, even more improvements would probably have been discovered.
.
Yet the fact that many people needed a strike to force them to experiment reveals the deep roots of a common reluctance to experiment."

Trecho retirado de "Why Trying New Things Is So Hard to Do"

Mais exemplos do Portugal competitivo

"A indústria metalúrgica e metalomecânica de Portugal continua a dar cartas pelo mundo fora e este ano baterá recordes de exportação."(aqui)

""2017 vai ser o ano do recorde absoluto das vendas do sector têxtil e vestuário ao exterior. Vamos certamente chegar aos 5.200 milhões de euros de exportações","(aqui)

Considerar

Via @icyView no Twitter:

Tenho de testar isto...

Cada vez penso mais no desafio e cada vez mais me apaixono por ele...

E que tal pegar num sistema de gestão da qualidade implementado e considerar 2018 como um projecto. Que mudanças teríamos de implementar para conduzir o sistema de gestão de forma a atingir os objetivos para o projecto?

O que me atrai é o potencial para criar algo de muito mais palpável e interessante para o dono de uma PME. Transformar um sistema de gestão da qualidade que ele não domina, que ele vê como algo à parte, numa ferramenta para atingir algo que ele valoriza, que ele deseja, que ele procura.

Quais são os objectivos para 2018? Que resultados quer, precisa de atingir em 2018? O que fará de 2018 um bom ano? Acha muito abstracto? Estamos no final de 2017: foi um bom ano porquê? Como poderia ter sido melhor? Foi uma mau ano? Como poderia ter sido menos mau? Não quer fazer batota e chegar a 2019 com a sensação de ter segurado no volante e ter mandado na caixa de velocidades?

Tenho de testar isto...

Recordar "Provocação para PME certificadas" (parte I e parte II)

Perguntas difíceis

"Often, executives avoid questions they are not sure how to answer. Or leaders and employees may feel that it’s just not the right time to be asking them, perhaps rationalizing that the CEO has been at the helm of the company for a year or more and a strategy is already in place. They might feel that the time for asking these questions has already passed, and they don’t want to come across as launching criticism. Some executives may in fact value the lack of strategic clarity because it allows them to pursue their own priorities. As for CEOs themselves, they often do ask these questions when they start in their roles, but they often feel constrained by the boundaries handed to them — either an incoherent portfolio, or strong short-term pressure to meet targets that diverts their attention.
...
We have a collective responsibility to answer these fundamental questions — even if the answers aren’t easy or immediately practical. We have to create the room for this debate, and we owe our shareholders, customers, and employees clear answers about why we exist and what we do every day to fulfill that purpose. Building mechanisms to encourage debate is the best way to bring these fundamental questions out of the shadows and put them at center stage where they belong."

Ainda há dias li em "Your Need For Certainty Kills Innovation":

"Innovation is as much about attitude and perspective as it is about process. It’s an uncertain path that tests women and men’s mental and emotional fortitude; it’s not for everybody."

Trechos e imagem retirados de "8 Tough Questions to Ask About Your Company’s Strategy"

"Ask For Problems, Not Solutions"

Um texto muito bom, "Your Business Model Is Like A Yoghurt, And 7 Other Lessons From Alexander Osterwalder":

"1) Nobody Gives A Shit About Your Idea.
That’s exactly right, nobody cares. Why should they? People only care about the value you and your idea can provide to THEM.
...
Don’t just throw ideas around, because ideas are cheap. Focus on the value your idea can provide others.
...
2) Your Business Model Is Like A Yoghurt...
Your Business Model Has An Expiry DateAnd it is probably coming very soon. No matter how well it tastes in the moment, your business model will soon go sour. To avoid getting sick, you must throw it out and get a new one.
.
The yoghurt has a slight edge over your business model, though. With the yoghurt, at least you know WHEN it expires.
.
Your business model isn’t as forgiving. So keep smelling it daily, and be open to the idea of throwing it out when it has run its course.
.
3) Customers Have NO IDEA What They Want...
Ask For Problems, Not Solutions
Customers aren’t experts on solutions.
They are, however, experts on their own problems.
.
So don’t ask people what they want. Don’t burden them with such cognitively demanding tasks. Instead, ask about their problems. Dig for issues, troubles, worries, challenges and, above all, PAINS. Then, and only then, get to work on curing them."

Fiquei fascinado

Quando vi esta figura:

Fiquei fascinado.

Parece linguagem extra-terrestre. O uso de uma ferramenta que me é completamente estranha para fazer o que no meu mundo é feito por um simples e banal mapa.

Figura retirada de "Inuit Cartography"

Um optimista sem ser cor de rosa (parte II)

Em Março de 2016 em, "Um optimista sem ser cor de rosa", publiquei esta imagem:

Agora imaginem que uma PME descobre que se deixar de pensar em trabalhar para o mercado português e para a sua dimensão, pode pensar em trabalhar para o estrangeiro. E ao trabalhar para o exterior percebe que há clientes do mundo 4 capazes de colocarem encomendas do tamanho do mundo 1.

É todo um mundo novo, literalmente.

Por causa do tamanho das encomendas chamam-lhe mundo 1, eu chamar-lhes-ia mundo 2 e aquela ferradura tem um significado preciso.

Outro exemplo do Portugal competitivo que tenho orgulho de visitar, tocar, ajudar a construir e, como neste caso, sentir-me parte dele.

Precário, flexível and proud of it

Nos media em Portugal, quando se fala de recibos verdes é sempre com uma conotação negativa. Também por isso, cada vez mais leis atrapalham e dificultam a vida a quem assume levar uma vida profissional que passa por esse meio de formalização do pagamento de serviços.

Julgo que este gráfico devia fazer com que muita gente reflectisse no que ele representa e, no impacte que dele decorre na forma como o trabalho é visto e concebido numa sociedade a caminho de Mongo e a afastar-se do século XX e do seu modelo de Magnitograd.

Vale a pena ler "4 predictions for the future of work":

"Our education system is broken. The way we educate future generations no longer prepares them adequately for the skills and jobs of today. The idea that you study math and science and art in your youth as separate disciplines, and then work to solve real world problems in today’s economy, does not add up. Preparing students for tomorrow’s jobs requires breaking down the silos within education."

Recordar "Em todo o lado a mesma doença"

"o que é barato sai caro"

"Esta sexta-feira, a Autoeuropa estará parada, confirmou ao Negócios fonte da empresa, sem adiantar motivos.
.
Dois trabalhadores da fábrica de Palmela avançaram que a razão se prende com a falta de peças para os T-Roc por parte dos fornecedores, pelo que a produção destes veículos estará assim parada amanhã.
.
"Os fornecedores escolhidos foram os mais baratos. Nós, trabalhadores, alertámos que seria problemático. A Administração assim não o entendeu. Aqui está o resultado: o que é barato sai caro", sublinhou um dos trabalhadores."

Ás vezes sinto-me como um padre, não porque oiça confissões, mas porque vejo actuações em primeira-mão, sem filtros, e por triangulação posso tirar conclusões.

Imaginem que D é um fabricante de marca que contrata C para lhe fornecer certo tipo de componentes para a sua produção.

C subcontrata B para lhe produzir esse tipo de componentes. B, para produzir esses componentes, recebe meios de produção fornecidos por C. Em termos tecnológicos, digamos que esses meios de produção estão na 1ª liga.

B por sua vez também trabalha em regime de subcontrato para A. A, apesar de não ter nada a ver com o sector onde opera a marca D também fornece o mesmo tipo de meios de produção a B. Além disso, A também usa esse mesmo tipo de meios de produção para, na sua área produtiva, também produzir os seus produtos com meios de produção do mesmo tipo. Quer a produção de A, quer a produção de B, têm muitos problemas de qualidade, o que acarreta custos extra de controlo, de triagem, de reciclagem, atrasos nas entregas, insatisfação dos clientes de A e de A em relação a B.

O que é que B descobriu ao começar a trabalhar para C? Apaixonou-se pela qualidade dos meios de produção que C fornece.

O que é que eu sei da empresa A? Uma empresa E, com a qual trabalho directamente, e que presta serviços a A na construção dos meios de produção de A, há anos que desabafa comigo que o seu cliente A, está sempre a pressioná-los para embaratecer o custo de produção, pedindo por exemplo para usar materiais alternativos. B e E dizem que esses meios de produção de A estão ao nível do terceiro escalão...

E se A fizesse um teste e mandasse construir um meio de produção da 1ª liga?

O que é que nos diz a malta do pricing? First value then price!

O preço inicial desse meio de produção seria mais elevado. No entanto, com a redução dos custos de controlo e triagem, com o aumento da taxa da produção boa à primeira e consequente redução dos custos unitários efectivos, com a redução de encomendas perdidas por clientes insatisfeitos... talvez o meio de produção da 1ª liga acabe por ficar mais barato.

Por que é que B não diz isso a A?

Por que a relação humana entre eles não o permite. O que é uma pena.

Nota: especulação baseada na relação com B e E.


Trecho retirado de "Autoeuropa vai estar parada por falta de peças para os T-Roc"

Do concreto para o abstracto e não o contrário (parte IV)

Parte I, parte II e parte III.

"There’s no innovation without uncertaintyWise companies understand that slow movers, those that are extremely risk averse, will perish. Slow movers want to analyze everything before jumping in; these are the types who hire the McKinsey’s of the world. But large consultancies, like McKinsey, that take a lot of time and money to do optimizations should not be advising companies that want to move fast.
.
Why? Because if they’re slow movers your company will be a slow mover. Put another way: you won’t change if you hang out with people who think and act like you; transformation is about getting out of your comfort zone, not staying in it.
.
Businesses that value certainty benefit the most from long drawn out analysis and processes because they believe in analyzing their way to the future. Put simply: You pay for the expectation of certainty when you work with a McKinsey because of their analytical rigor; yet innovation is anything but certain.
.
Large organizations that want to move fast like startups will learn more from those that move fast; which means less drawn out processes and more experimentation."

Trecho retirado de "Your Need For Certainty Kills Innovation"

Estratégia em todo lado - não é winner-take-all (parte VI)

Parte V.

Em linha com o que defendo aqui há anos:

"What has allowed digital ecosystems to become so dominant? The answer lies in a winner-take-all dynamic of competition, which allows winners to reach tremendous scale and build impregnable moats around their positions.
...
Orchestrators of digital ecosystems have all focused on exploiting this winner-take-all dynamic to establish dominant positions. Nondigital players, by contrast, lacking the kind of advantages noted above, have mostly not succeeded in building digital ecosystems.
...
digital ecosystems rely on the winner-take-all dynamic underpinned by zero marginal costs, network effects, access to data, and user convenience. But hybrid ecosystems [digital-physical ecosystems] cannot succeed through technology and scale alone. Operating in the physical realm means dealing with the messiness of hardware. Hybrid ecosystems tend to have a narrower scope because they require deep domain knowledge and dense business relationships."

Trechos retirados de "Getting Physical: The Rise of Hybrid Ecosystems"