Aproveitar tudo para fugir do lado racional

Ontem em conversa com um empresário de Felgueiras, ele falou-me de Nadim Habib, por causa de uma conferência a que assistiu em Coimbra. Tal como eu em 2013, gostou muito e deu por bem empregue o ter levado consigo alguns colaboradores.

Umas mensagens que guardou foi:

• dantes os clientes ou eram ricos ou eram pobres;
• agora nunca sabemos se se vão comportar como pobres (e regatear tudo), ou se se vão comportar como ricos (e não discutir o preço).

Eu acredito que muitas vezes os clientes comportam-se como pobres porque quem vende não os consegue convencer do valor que vão experienciar. Certo que algumas vezes esses clientes ainda estão numa fase de desenvolvimento tal, que não lhes permite experienciar o tal valor em toda a sua extensão. Por isso, faz sentido que regateiem o preço.

Recordei-me desta conversa ao ler este artigo "Olive oil gets a modernist makeover":

"Most olive oil looks like it belongs in your grandma’s kitchen. Brightland makes beautiful bottles, full of pure, hand-crafted oil by California farmers."

Há dias citava esta frase que acreditó sintetiza a transição para Mongo:

“In the past, jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in the future they’ll be about the heart.” 

No mundo do século XX azeite é azeite, deve ser "puro", estar "graduado", e ser entregue numa garrafa económica que permite embalamento rápido e seguro. Tudo pode ser explicado de forma muito racional.

Em Mongo há os que vendem azeite e há os que vendem mais do que azeite. E os que vendem mais do que azeite têm de aproveitar todas as oportunidades para fugirem da classificação racional e entrar no mundo do coração:

"Iyer wanted the bottles to look attractive enough that people would want to display them in their kitchens, rather than hiding them away in the pantry."

Riscos e oportunidades

“We define two kinds of strategic issues (problems and opportunities) [Moi ici: Riscos e oportunidades na linguagem da ISO 9001] in terms of a substantial and structural gap between your firm’s overarching performance objective and its realized performance. A firm’s overarching objective is generally profit, but firms can also aim at objectives related to people and the planet. A strategic problem is a negative development or event that substantially and structurally prevents your firm from achieving its overarching objective, if your firm does not adapt its strategy. For example, the consumer trend to use less sugar reduces the profit of a bottler of sweet soft drinks. A strategic problem negatively affects your firm’s realized performance and hence creates a so-called performance gap between that performance and your firm’s overarching performance objective...
The potential causes of strategic problems are your firm’s weaknesses and/or external threats. We acknowledge that these causes are components of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. Such analysis can support the exploration of your firm’s present problem but not as a start. You do not start with the causes of present problems but with their consequences: underperformance. For present problems, you begin with measuring the performance gap. But when you need to explain the gap, then you may use the SWOT analysis, in particular, the weaknesses and threats.
...
Besides strategic problems, we distinguish a second type of issue: strategic opportunities. We define a strategic opportunity as a positive development or event that may allow your firm to substantially and structurally raise its overarching performance objective. For example, the development of a new drug is an opportunity for a pharmaceutical company. Such opportunities also create performance gaps: difference between your firm’s old objective and its new, raised objective. Opportunities require new strategies for your firm to realize its raised overarching objective. Whereas problems create performance gaps by reducing your firm’s realized performance, opportunities create gaps by raising your firm’s objective. Both types of issues require exploring a performance gap for developing insights into how best to close your firm’s gap.”

Excerto de: Marc Baaij. “Mapping a Winning Strategy”

Transformar organizações

Dedicado a uma empresa bem sucedida que procura focar-se ainda mais nos clientes-alvo.

"Inspire people by presenting a compelling vision for the future. During times of uncertainty, people experiencing change want a clear view of the path ahead. It’s important to share what you know – including what’s changing, when, and how. But for most change initiatives, it is also helpful to start with a narrative or story that clearly articulates the “big picture” – why change is important and how it will positively affect the organization long-term.
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Keep employees informed by providing regular communications. Change communications is never a one-and-done event; keeping employees informed is something that you will have to do throughout every step of the change process.
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When thinking about how to communicate, keep the following in mind:
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Be clear and consistent: All of your communications should tie back to the narrative that you developed, reiterating the case for change and presenting a compelling future vision.
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You will not have all the answers: Often times, you will not have all the answers employees are looking for, and that breeds anxiety and uncertainty. It’s important to focus on what you know, and be candid about what you don’t. If you do not have an answer, say so. When this occurs, it’s important to let employees know you are committed to communicating openly and transparently, and will follow-up as soon as you know more.
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Don’t forget to articulate “What’s in it for me?”: One of the most important phrases you may come across in change communications is “what’s in it for me?” If your employees understand what’s in it for them personally, you’re more likely to see individuals commit to and own the change. Failing to articulate “what’s in it for me” will only hinder your efforts.
...
Empower leaders and managers to lead through change. Major changes or transformations often require asking employees to adopt specific behaviors or skillsets in order to be successful. And when senior leaders model the behavior changes, transformations are five times more likely to be successful.
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Find creative ways to involve employees in the change. When planning for major change events, it is important to solicit feedback and engage people in the process. This helps build ownership in the change, and makes employees more likely to support the change and even champion it."

Trechos retirados de "Don’t Just Tell Employees Organizational Changes Are Coming — Explain Why"

"everyone to be acting rationally"

“Traditionally, economists considered everyone to be acting rationally, which led to rigorous-seeming curves that were easy to comprehend but in the real world rarely predicted actual behavior. It turned out that people don’t view their lives as a series of utility curves.”

Excerto de: Chris Bradley. “Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick”

"in the future they’ll be about the heart

Excelente resumo de uma das mensagens deste blogue:

“In the past, jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in the future they’ll be about the heart.”

Mongo é isto!

Nas sociedades pré-industriais o sucesso passava pelo músculo. O século XX foi o apogeu da economia baseada no cérebro, na racionalidade, no planeamento a régua e esquadro tão ao gosto de Taylor, ou Sloan.

O século XXI, será o século de Mongo, das tribos, do pessoal, do único, do coração.

"at too high a level"

Este texto, "O puzzle da produtividade portuguesa: que caminho tomar?", fez-me recordar este trecho:

"performance is granular, by which we mean driven by growth in the sub-segments and categories of industries in which a company competes as well as by the revenues that it acquires through M&A activity. We will also show that these drivers are generally much more important than market-share gains in determining how fast you grow.
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This seemingly counterintuitive finding has important implications. A typical management team needs to change the way it thinks about company resources, not least its own time. It needs to pay more attention to which businesses the company is in, and particularly the sub-segments in which it competes."

 E sobretudo este:

"“A granular world,” we show that when you are searching for growth, analyses of industries and megatrends are usually pitched at too high a level [Moi ici: É este o ponto. Argumentação demasiado generalista, cheia de boas intenções, mas que não se compromete como o porco, só como a galinha - num pequeno almoço inglês] to offer you any help. In order to identify growth opportunities, you need to get well below the industry level."

Trechos retirados de "The Granularity of Growth - How to Identify the Sources of Growth and Drive Enduring Company Performance" the P. Viguerie, S. Smit e M. Baghai

Reformar mete medo

“As Daniel Kahneman and Dan Lovallo explained in their work on the human tendency toward bold forecasts and timid plans, we’re inclined to see exceptional growth in sales, earnings, and other metrics but won’t make the big moves that could generate those results. They published their paper 25 years ago, but we keep making the same errors. In essence, we are saying: “We’re going to do a ton better next year by doing the same things we did this year, or maybe just a little more.”"

Excerto de: Chris Bradley. “Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick”.

Para reflexão

Sempre relacionei Mongo com a ascensão de múltiplas tribos com interesses assimétricos que levam ao choque com as empresas grandes habituadas a trabalhar para o meio-termo: Tu não és meu irmão de sangue! Ou não somos plankton!

Nunca tinha pensado nas consequências políticas de Mongo:

"Globalization has brought rapid economic and social change and made these societies far more diverse, creating demands for recognition on the part of groups that were once invisible to mainstream society. These demands have led to a backlash among other groups, which are feeling a loss of status and a sense of displacement. Democratic societies are fracturing into segments based on ever-narrower identities, threatening the possibility of deliberation and collective action by society as a whole. This is a road that leads only to state breakdown and, ultimately, failure. Unless such liberal democracies can work their way back to more universal understandings of human dignity, they will doom themselves—and the world—to continuing conflict."

Jesus disse para dar a outra face, mas a palavra de Jesus chega a cada vez menos gente. Por isso, é natural que à medida que "they get bitter and bitter" deixem de dar a outra face e ripostem.

E isto:

"Economic distress is often perceived by individuals more as a loss of identity than as a loss of resources. Hard work should confer dignity on an individual. But many white working-class Americans feel that their dignity is not recognized and that the government gives undue advantages to people who are not willing to play by the rules."

Parece que estou a ouvir conversas num café de Cesar, ou de Felgueiras - "they get bitter and bitter"

"Multiculturalism has become a vision of a society fragmented into many small groups with distinct experiences."

"Today, for example, merely using the words “he” or “she” in certain contexts might be interpreted as a sign of insensitivity to intersex or transgender people. But such utterances threaten no fundamental democratic principles; rather, they challenge the dignity of a particular group and denote a lack of awareness of or sympathy for that group’s struggles." 

Trechos retirados de "Against Identity Politics: The New Tribalism and the Crisis of Democracy"

Universidades e estratégia

Eclesiastes 3:1-8

É este eterno retorno, eterna maré que vemos quando olhamos para o fluxo das estratégias ao longo do tempo. É a tradução das subidas e descidas dos montes e vales na paisagem competitiva enrugada.

Em Fevereiro de 2007 escrevi "Formular uma estratégia, é a actividade mais sexy da gestão (1)":

"Durante anos, anos de excesso de alunos, face ao número de vagas nas universidades públicas, áàs universidades privadas bastava existirem, terem vagas para assegurarem a sua subsistência.
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A demografia minou este modelo de negócio, o número de alunos baixou e, em simultâneo, o número de vagas no ensino superior público subiu…"

É preciso pensamento estratégico para outro nível do jogo:

"Nos tempos que correm, não basta ter a porta aberta e esperar que os alunos venham a correr matricular-se, é preciso seduzi-los, é preciso convidá-los a vir, porque existe concorrência, quer de universidade privadas, quer de outras instituições públicas.
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Assim, há que “calçar os sapatos” de um potencial “cliente” e perguntar:
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“Porque é que deverei optar por essa Escola? O que é que eu ganho pessoalmente, se preferir essa Escola, em detrimento das outras?” "

Agora, em Outubro de 2018 temos "Porque é que há cada vez mais universitários a preferirem as privadas?" onde encontramos a resposta: diferenciação, bolsas para os melhores alunos, empregos dentro da universidade.

"Qualquer empresa privada, minimamente organizada, passa por este desafio várias vezes ao longo da sua existência. Formular uma estratégia, escolher o terreno onde pretende combater, escolher o nicho onde pretende prosperar."

Interessante, o governo decidiu cortar lugares nas universidades públicas no litoral para canalizar alunos para as universidades públicas do interior e... os alunos foram para as privadas do litoral que ficam mais baratas depois de considerados todos os custos... faz-me lembrar "The Predator State"

Nem uma palavra sobre subsídios

Há anos que o @paulojsvaz prevê uma injecção de 2 milhões de portugueses na economia nacional com os retornados da Venezuela e da África do Sul.

Lembrei-me logo disso ao ler "A tragédia da Venezuela está a tornar-se a riqueza de Estarreja". Entre 1993 e 2017 vivi em Estarreja. Por isso, desde cedo me habituei a ouvir o sotaque castelhano nas ruas e lojas. Por isso, durante anos os cachitos eram uma compra para levar para casa para os miúdos.

Algo interessante no texto, nem uma vez se fala de subsídios ou de apoios. Gente que chega pronta para trabalhar e não para esmolar.

Outra tendência que noto há cerca de dois anos, mas que no último mês se tem agudizado é a presença de brasileiros no Grande Porto. Viajar no metro ou nos STCP é sinónimo de ouvir brasileiros. Ontem fui a uma lavandaria e atendeu-me uma jovem brasileira, hoje no local onde tomo café quando fico no escritório fui atendido por uma cara nova ... brasileira.

A coisa fica mais interessante no El Corte Inglês de Gaia, atrás dos balcões vozes de jovens brasileiras. Do lado de cá do balcão, dezenas de turistas endinheirados brasileiros.

BTW, Estarreja era terra de venezuelanos. Murtosa terra de amaricanos. Era comum estar na fila para comprar frango de churrasco no Intermarché e ouvir os velhotes reformados a discutir entre si qual a offshore que dava melhores condições para receberem as suas pensões. Foi interessante ouvir emigrantes no café Miranda, nas eleições Bush-Gore, entre si preferirem Gore porque não esqueciam que o pai dele tinha prometido não aumentar impostos e depois aumentou-os.

Contra a academia, marchar, marchar! (parte III)

Parte I e parte II.

"80 percent of the variance in revenue growth is explained by choices about where to compete, according to research summarized in The Granularity of Growth, leaving only 20 percent explained by choices about how to compete. Unfortunately, this is the exact opposite of the allocation of time and effort in a typical strategy-development process. Companies should be shifting their attention greatly toward the “where” and should strive to outposition competitors by regularly reallocating resources as opportunities shift within and between segments."

Como não recordar a série sobre o tecto de vidro.
Trechos retirados de "Have you tested your strategy lately?"

Sempre Mongo

"Small independent bookstores, however, are thriving. In fact, a study at Harvard Business School found that while the number of independent bookstores plummeted 43% between 1995 and 2000, during the heyday of Barnes & Noble and Borders, it soared by 35% between 2009 and 2015.
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Part of the reason for this trend is that book sales data tends to be shallow. Even a successful book may only sell one or two copies per location per month. That makes it difficult for algorithms to predict demand effectively. An independent bookstore with an attentive staff, however, is much closer to its customers and can often make better judgments.
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The Harvard study found that independent bookstores thrive through a formula of community, curation and convening. Because independent bookstores are embedded in their community’s fabric, they are well placed to curate titles that appeal to their customers and convene events that strengthen those bonds, drive sales and increase their ability to curate."

Trecho retirado de "The Retail Business Is Dead. Long Live The Retail Business!"

Contra a academia, marchar, marchar! (parte II)

Parte I.

"Ultimately, strategy is a way of thinking, not a procedural exercise or a set of frameworks.
...
For a company to beat the market by capturing and retaining an economic surplus, there must be an imperfection that stops or at least slows the working of the market. An imperfection controlled by a company is a competitive advantage. These are by definition scarce and fleeting because markets drive reversion to mean performance
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Good strategies emphasize difference—versus your direct competitors, versus potential substitutes, and versus potential entrants.
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To beat the market, therefore, advantages have to be robust and responsive in the face of onrushing market forces. Few companies, in our experience, ask themselves if they are beating the market—the pressures of “just playing along” seem intense enough. But playing along can feel safer than it is. Weaker contenders win surprisingly often in war when they deploy a divergent strategy, and the same is true in business
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The need to beat the market begs the question of which market. Research shows that the unit of analysis used in determining strategy (essentially, the degree to which a market is segmented) significantly influences resource allocation and thus the likelihood of success: dividing the same businesses in different ways leads to strikingly different capital allocations.
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What is the right level of granularity? Push within reason for the finest possible objective segmentation of the market"

Trechos retirados de "Have you tested your strategy lately?"

Contra a academia, marchar, marchar!

“At its heart, business strategy is all about beating the market, or in other words defying the power of “perfect” markets to push economic surplus back to zero. Economic profit—the total profit after the cost of capital is subtracted—measures the success of that defiance by showing what is left on the table after the forces of competition have played out”

A concorrência imperfeita é vista como uma coisa tenebrosa a abater, como uma chatice que impede usarem-se umas formulas-maravilha, e dá azo ao lado irracional dos humanos ao fazerem escolhas. Chamberlin era um economista americano que até queria acabar com as marcas, porque elas são a base para animar a imperfeição dos mercados.

Aqui, este consultor, não quer outra coisa: fomentar, promover a concorrência imperfeita. Criar monopólios informais na mente dos clientes. Alavancar a chegada de Mongo!

Excerto de: Chris Bradley. “Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick”.

Nesse dia o meu tempo cresceu.

“Experience suggests that managers who have the courage to let go are often surprised by just how much their subordinates are capable of achieving when given good direction. It exploits and develops human potential. Making a start is simply a matter of having faith that the potential is there. It is remarkable how seldom that faith is disappointed.”

Aconteceu comigo. Sempre com medo de delegar. Sempre com a mania de que ninguém faria melhor do que eu. Até ao dia em pressionado pela quantidade de trabalho arrisquei, e fui surpreendido pelo Carlos Ramos com um trabalho de qualidade... melhor do que eu teria tempo para fazer.

Nesse dia o meu tempo cresceu.

Excerto de: Bungay, Stephen. “The Art of Action: Leadership that Closes the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results”.

"an escalation of commitment"

"an escalation of commitment – sticking with a once-successful strategy for too long. So how can companies avoid making a similar mistake when facing disruption? They must challenge mutually reinforcing biases that see people being influenced by a prior commitment to a particular course of action.
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This happens for six reasons:"

As seis razões são listadas em "Why leaders invest so much in failing strategies" e são uma chamada de atenção para os que crêem incondicionalmente na racionalidade humana.

Pequenas experiências

Em defesa da descentralização, da desconcentração, da experimentação, das pequenas tentativas:

“A bold decision always looks good—until it is wrong. To facilitate evidence-based decision making, managers must carry out frequent experimentation to diminish the dark space of ignorance and to arrive at conclusions with the required level of familiarity. Critical assumptions must first be identified and then proved right through rigorous experiments.
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took an evolutionary approach, ran numerous experiments, before hitting a pivotal moment. This is how the strategy process under uncertainty should be managed: create enough opportunities so that relevant evidence can emerge—but once clear, full steam ahead.
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THE REFRAIN “IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING, ANY road will take you there” captures the importance of managers developing a point of view about the world. But awareness is not the same as commitment, so insights alone never suffice. Because strategy and execution are inextricably linked, “unless ideas are translated into everyday actions and operational tactics, a pioneer is still at risk of being displaced by copycats. More often than not, the role of a CEO needs to go beyond strategic visioning and into the substance of strategy implementation, particularly during turbulent times.” [Moi ici: Interessante fazer a ponte para o que os prussianos aprenderam: estratégia é uma intenção geral que tem de ser executada no terreno por gente perante situações concretas impossíveis de prever à partida]

Interessante esta nota:

“The Japanese don’t use the term ‘strategy’ to describe a crisp business definition or competitive master plan. They think more in terms of ‘strategic accommodation,’ or ‘adaptive persistence,’ underscoring their belief that corporate direction evolves from an incremental adjustment to unfolding events.”

Excerto de: Howard Yu. “Leap”.

"a framework for decision making is gaining ground"

“The order is critical: first the strategy, then the plan.
.If the notion of strategy as a plan is moribund, the notion of it as a framework for decision making is gaining ground
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strategy as “simple rules” which guide decision making
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the keys to success are “an overall sense of direction and an ability to be flexible.”
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more successful companies are developed through this sort of planful opportunism than through the vision of an exceptional CEO
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We are extraordinarily reluctant to admit that luck plays a part in business success. [Moi ici: Nunca esquecer o que é a "luck" - "Be prepared: "luck" is where preparation meets opportunity"]
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Strategy, then, demands a certain type of thinking. It sets direction and therefore clearly encompasses what von Moltke calls a “goal,” “aim,” or “purpose.” Let us call this element the aim. An aim can be an end-point or destination, and aiming means pointing in that direction, so it encompasses both “going west” and “getting to San Francisco.” The aim defines what the organization is trying to achieve with a view to gaining competitive advantage. How we set about achieving the aim depends on relating possible aims to the external opportunities offered by the market and our internal capabilities.
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A good strategy creates coherence between our capabilities, the opportunities we can detect, and our aims. Different people have a tendency to start with, and give greater weight to, one or other of these three factors. Where they start from does not matter. Where they end up does. The result must be cohesion. If any one of these factors floats off on its own, dominates thinking at the expense of the others, or is simply mismatched, then in time perdition will follow.
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The task of strategy is not completed by the initial act of setting direction. Strategy develops further as action takes place, old opportunities close off, new ones arise, and new capabilities are built. The relationship between strategy development and execution is also reciprocal. Doing strategy means thinking, doing, learning, and adapting. It means going round the loop. The reappraisal of ends and means is continuous.”

Excerto de: Bungay, Stephen. “The Art of Action: Leadership that Closes the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results”. iBooks.

Curiosidade do dia

"They tend to be naïve. They assume that cooperation should be the basis of all social transactions, and they avoid conflict (which means they avoid confronting problems in their relationships as well as at work). They continually sacrifice for others. This may sound virtuous— and it is definitely an attitude that has certain social advantages— but it can and often does become counterproductively one-sided. Because too-agreeable people bend over backwards for other people, they do not stand up properly for themselves. Assuming that others think as they do, they expect— instead of ensuring— reciprocity for their thoughtful actions. When this does not happen, they don’t speak up. They do not or cannot straightforwardly demand recognition. The dark side of their characters emerges, because of their subjugation, and they become resentful.
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You might think, “if they loved me, they would know what to do.” That’s the voice of resentment. Assume ignorance before malevolence. No one has a direct pipeline to your wants and needs— not even you. If you try to determine exactly what you want, you might find that it is more difficult than you think. The person oppressing you is likely no wiser than you, especially about you. Tell them directly what would be preferable, instead, after you have sorted it out. Make your request as small and reasonable as possible— but ensure that its fulfillment would satisfy you. In that manner, you come to the discussion with a solution, instead of just a problem. Agreeable, compassionate, empathic, conflict-averse people (all those traits group together) let people walk on them, and they get bitter. They sacrifice themselves for others, sometimes excessively, and cannot comprehend why that is not reciprocated. Agreeable people are compliant, and this robs them of their independence."

Peterson, Jordan B.. "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos"

"manage value in order to make a profit " parte III

Parte I e parte II.

"Increase your firm’s bargaining ability In addition to securing a higher added value, firms may also improve the share of created value that they appropriate by improving their bargaining ability towards buyers and suppliers. In essence, this includes different strategies for increasing price without raising the firm’s added value. This may be accomplished by investing in pricing capability, and commercial decision resources, such as IT-based systems, commercial organization, control systems, and commercial experience that improve the quality of commercial decisions made under uncertainty. It may also be accomplished by the development of particular persuasion resources that allows the firm to negotiate more successfully, and ultimately strike a better deal with buyers and suppliers."

Trecho retirado de "What Is Value and How Is It Managed?" de Niklas L. Hallberg, publicado em Journal of Creating Value 3(2) 173–183, 2017.