Vender projectos (parte II)

Parte I.

"Clearly, the shift to becoming a project-driven organization and selling projects rather than products or services presents sizeable challenges to corporations and their business models. Working in projects throughout my career, I have identified these as the important ones:
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Revenue streams. Revenues will be generated progressively over long periods of time, instead of right after the sale of a product. This will affect the way revenues are recognized, as well as accounting policies and the overall company valuation.
Pricing model. New pricing models will need to be developed. It is easier to price a product, for which most of the fixed and variable costs are known, than a project, which is influenced by many external factors.
Quality control. Delivering quality products will not be enough to meet customer expectations. Implementation and post-implementation services will also have to be of the highest possible quality to ensure that clients continue to buy projects.
Branding and marketing. Traditional marketing has focused on short-term immediate benefits. Marketing teams will need to promote the long-term benefits of the projects sold by the organization.
Sales force. The buyer of the project will no longer be the procurement department of an organization. Sales will be pitched to leaders of the business, so the sales force and sales skills will have to be upgraded with strategy and project management competencies."

Trecho retirado de "Selling Products Is Good. Selling Projects Can Be Even Better"

"To cement that link between price and profit"

"CEOs often ask me point-blank for my silver bullet in pricing. Is there one thing in pricing they can do to make their companies better off?
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I tell them. “Price is a company’s most effective way to drive enterprise value, but it is an extremely sensitive lever’.
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To cement that link between price and profit, a CEO must play three roles: a strategic one, a cultural one, and a custodial one. The CEO defines the primary strategic vector of a company: its direction and its goals. This includes the price position, which can range from ultra-low to luxury. Often viewed as malleable and somewhat arbitrary, the price position is in fact one of the most fundamental strategic decisions any CEO will make. It is also one of the hardest to change."

E as empresas não podem fazer como os governos, não podem subir os preços só porque sim. Na verdade até podem, mas subir o preço sem o correspondente aumento de valor percepcionado pelo cliente é uma boa receita para a seguir começar uma espiral viciosa de problemas.

Trechos retirados de “Pricing and the CEO”.

Cativações e cascata de problemas

Há dias dei comigo a relacionar as cativações governamentais com o comportamento de um responsável fabril.

Qual o papel de um responsável fabril? Atingir objectivos e resolver problemas. Quando um responsável fabril aparece junto da gerência com problemas esta responde-lhe:

- Pago-lhe para resolver problemas não para que me venha trazer problemas para eu resolver.

Assim, mês após mês, os recursos vão diminuindo e o responsável fabril vai fazendo o seu melhor para conciliar o aumento da produção com a diminuição de pessoal e de manutenção.

Então, um dia, o dique não aguenta mais e uma cascata de problemas surge para cobrar dividendos.

Nessa altura, a gerência vai olhar para os números e vai despedir o responsável fabril com justa causa argumentando que a fábrica está ingovernável e que ele é o responsável. E quando o responsável fabril argumentar que a gerência também é responsável esta vai perguntar por evidências, por relatórios, por avisos. Como o responsável fabril interiorizou aquela resposta inicial "Pago-lhe para resolver problemas não para que me venha trazer problemas para eu resolver." nunca pôs a boca no trombone.

Claro que no caso da política o importante vai ser conseguir realizar as próximas eleições antes da cascata de problemas se manifestar.

Pricing e posicionamento

"We are observing an increasing involvement of CEOs in pricing, which has a significant impact on profit performance. The CEO’s role is threefold: strategic, cultural, and custodial. If a company chooses a premium price positioning, all aspects of strategy, culture and implementation have to be different from those of a company that aims for a low price position. While the CEO should not get involved in the details of pricing or price negotiations, he or she must make sure that all efforts are aligned according to the necessities of the selected position."

Leio este trecho em “Pricing and the CEO” e recordo uma frase lida recentemente em "Value First Then Price":

"changing pricing practices involves far more than changing list prices. ... Changing pricing practices is, in many cases, a case for a true organizational transformation. Its a bit like changing the company DNA. Pricing is part of the company culture, and changing pricing practices requires a change in capabilities, in culture, in structure, in incentive systems, and in how de company interacts with customers."

"the rapid testing of many modest innovations"

Fantástico!

Que memórias!

Chegar ao Twitter e apanhar uma ligação para um artigo, "All Management Is Change Management". Ler o título e perceber que o nome do autor é Robert H. Schaffer.

Fico logo em pulgas. Será que é o mesmo Robert H. Schaffer que escreveu "The Breakthrough Strategy"?

Leio o artigo e no final vejo a foto do autor e confirmo que é o mesmo Robert H. Schaffer que tanto me ensinou e que citei nestes postais:

• A dança da chuva e outros rituais (Julho de 2006)
• Simplex (Abril de 2006)

Quando não sigo o principal conselho de Schaffer arrependo-me: concentrar um problema grande numa cascata de problemas mais pequenos e capazes de serem resolvidos mais rapidamente.

E o que diz Schaffer neste artigo?

"all management is the management of change.
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If sales need to be increased, that’s change management. If a merger needs to be implemented, that’s change management. If a new personnel policy needs to be carried out, that’s change management. If the erosion of a market requires a new business model, that’s change management. Costs reduced? Productivity improved? New products developed? Change management.
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The job of management always involves defining what changes need to be made and seeing that those changes take place. Even when the overall aim is stability, often there are still change goals: to reduce variability, cut costs, reduce the time required, or reduce turnover, for example. Once every job in a company is defined in terms of the changes to be made (both large and small), constant improvement can become the routine. Each innovation brings lessons that inform ongoing operations. The organization becomes a perpetual motion machine. Change never occurs as some sort of happening; it is part of everyday life.
...
Leaders should view change not as an occasional disruptor but as the very essence of the management job. Setting tough goals, establishing processes to reach them, carrying out those processes and carefully learning from them — these steps should characterize the unending daily life of the organization at every level. More companies need to describe their work in terms of where they are trying to go in the next month or next quarter or next year.
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How do you transition into such a company? The simple answer is to skip the months spent creating a comprehensive plan to make the company more change-oriented. Instead, focus on some important goals that are not being accomplished. Have teams carve out some sub-goals they will aim to achieve in a few months. [Moi ici: Este é o velho Schaffer!] They should be asked to test innovative steps they think will make a difference and to learn from the process. Maintaining a short time frame for these experiments permits the rapid testing of many modest innovations. Of course, these are steps to advance major strategic goals, but the emphasis should be on executing specific changes — with each success followed by a new round of more-ambitious goals to tackle."

"There's no such thing as a true commodity"

"So, personally, I am a big fighter against the concept of commodity. There's no such thing as a true commodity. It's the new economy, the Internet, and the sharing economy that are leading to so many service opportunities and so much value creation that no commodity is ever condemned to remain a commodity. It is a mind-set, it is a question of capability, and it is a question of top-driven transformation. It is not a question of "help me, my product is a commodity!""

Trecho retirado de "First Value Then Price"

Outro exemplo de Mongo, agora o mel

"Italy’s wide range of high-quality honeys — a happy result of climate, countryside and strong horticulture — has led to the country developing a trained method of tasting. Just as wine experts can taste grape varieties, honey tasters are taught to distinguish and remember different flavours and nectar sources. Does a jar of monofloral honey contain what it says on the label, for example, or is it significantly altered by large quantities of other types of nectar?
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“To start with, people tend to know just one or two kinds of honey — just a brown liquid with the same taste,” says Gian Luigi Marcazzan, president of the government-funded register. In contrast to the bland blends of imported industrial honey, Italy has about 50 distinct types of monofloral honey, 22 of them closely studied and analysed. And
every millefiori has its own character. Different honeys will appeal to different tastes. “There is a honey for everyone if you look for it,” he says.
...
Since each honey is unique to its time and place, it is a product that varies widely. Even in monofloral honeys the bees can fly where they want and gather in other nectars."

Há dias eram os vinagres, já foram os azeites, já foram os vinhos e as cervejas, já foi o sal, estão a ser as castanhas, ... agora o mel!!!

Sempre que se abandona o granel, começa-se a subir na escala de valor, precisa-se de marca, de denominação de origem, de marketing, ... trabalhar para Mongo.

O problema é que os produtores estão concentrados em produzir que não trabalham o ecossistema da procura, a marca, o marketing, a relação, a interacção.




Trechos retirados de "Forget wine tasting, Italy is now a prime destination for honey-tasting courses"

Vender projectos (parte I)

"In the beginning companies sold products. And then they sold services. In recent years, the fashionable suggestion has been that companies sell experiences and solutions, solving the needs and aspirations of customers.
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Companies, indeed, do all of these things. But increasingly, what companies sell are projects. To understand the difference, think of an athletic shoe company, such as Nike or Adidas. A focus on products means a focus on selling running shoes. A focus on experiences might mean they sell you a membership to a local running club. A focus on solutions might mean they figure out how to help you reach your goal weight. While these clearly offer more value than simply selling you a pair of shoes, they also have limitations. Selling products limits the revenues you can make from clients: Unless you are innovating and continually updating your product offering, customer attrition tends to be high, and incentivizing repurchases can be hard. Selling experiences provides intangible benefits that are hard to quantify and measure, often focusing on meeting the needs of one single customer, preventing any mass production. Selling solutions became popular in the early 2000s when customers didn’t know how to solve their problems. But today, in the internet age, people can do their own research and define the solutions for themselves.
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A focus on selling projects would mean helping someone do something more specific, such as running the Boston Marathon. Nike could provide you with its traditional sports gear, but in addition it could include a training program, a dietary plan, a coach, and a monitoring system to help you achieve your dream. The project would have a clear goal (finish the marathon) and a clear start and end date.
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And that is just one type of project. More so than products, the possibilities with projects are endless."

Treco retirado de "Selling Products Is Good. Selling Projects Can Be Even Better"

O futuro é demasiado importante para depender dos seus clientes, apenas

Cuidado com os seus clientes e com o seu know-how.

"Purchasing know-how is dwindling due to budget cuts.
The inevitability of budget cuts among retailers is having an adverse effect on the purchasing know-how and professionalism available within these organisations. More and more purchasers are merely acting on the basis of sales results and purchasing lists. They are losing contact with the market and with consumers and their business, increasingly, is dominated by rules, margins and prices. Purchasing ‘success’ is more about budget than about understanding the market, anticipating trends and responding quickly.
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Considerations for actionIf your organisation has a keen understanding of European markets, or the capacity to develop that kind of knowledge, capitalise on it by taking on a more assertive role in your relationships with buyers. In many cases, they will welcome your expertise. If you lack this capacity, find a wholesaler/importer who can compensate for you.
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Market awareness is dwindling due to budget cuts.
Awareness of market trends and developments is eroding among buyers in Europe for the same reason for which purchasing know-how is diminishing. Due to budget cuts and high workloads, many buyer organisations lack the capacity they need for competitive analysis, market research and trend watching. All too often, they do not see an opportunity until it has all but passed by.
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Considerations for actionDo not restrict yourself to manufacturing, but instead keep a constant lookout for opportunities emerging in the market. Take time to study market reports and competitors and share knowledge and insights with your buyer. This added value will be much appreciated; much new business arises from problems and opportunities no one else has identified."

O futuro de uma empresa é demasiado importante para depender dos seus clientes apenas.

Continuando a leitura de "CBI Understanding European Buyers: Footwear".

"Once escalation takes hold ..."

Deve ter sido isto que aconteceu recentemente com a entrada do Estado no capital do SIRESP:

"Once escalation takes hold, it can be difficult to reverse, but you can reduce the chances of falling into that trap.
...
Escalation of commitment is deeply rooted in the human brain. In a classic experiment, two groups of participants were asked whether they would be willing to invest $1 million to develop a stealth bomber. The first group was asked to assume that the project had not yet been launched and that a rival company had already developed a successful (and superior) product. Unsurprisingly, only 16.7% of those participants opted to commit to the funding.
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The second group was asked to assume that the project was already 90% complete. Its members, too, were told that a competitor had developed a superior product. This time 85% opted to commit the resources to complete the project.
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These results underscore the fact that people tend to stick to an existing course of action, no matter how irrational. The project’s likely outcome was identical for both groups. Because a competitor had beaten the company to the market with a superior product, the new product was almost bound to fail. The only difference between the two situations was the timing of the question: before commitment to the project versus when it was nearing completion."

Cuidado com a relação entre humanos e custos afundados. Boa para manter os laços na tribo, má para a racionalidade das decisões de gestão.

Trechos retirados de "Stop Doubling Down on Your Failing Strategy"

"get to the point quickly"

Gosto de ir directo ao assunto e evitar "testamentos" quando se trata da documentação de um sistema de gestão. Recordar a importância que dou aos verbos, por exemplo,:

• A abordagem por processos (parte I) (de Novembro de 2008); e
• 10. Designar um processo (de Maio de 2017)

Como digo tantas vezes, por exemplo em "the art of focusing on what’s important and ignoring the rest":

"Ao modelar o funcionamento de empresas, não sejam como os franceses, não tentem incluir, não tentem contemplar tudo;"

Como não sorrir em cumplicidade com:

"1. GET TO THE POINT
When you get to the point quickly, your messaging becomes instantly clearer. Clarity makes your writing easier to understand, easier to retain, and more enjoyable to read. ...the “lard factor”. These are the unnecessary words in a sentence that aren’t doing a job, have the tendency to confuse rather than explain, and generally get in the way of your message..
According to Lanham, “Business prose ought to be verb-dominated prose, lining up actor, action and object in a causal chain, and lining them up fast”. Or put even simpler, business communications should be action-oriented, clear about what action it wants to take place, and quickly explain what that is."

Trechos retirados de "Intercom on Customer Engagement"

O poder da interacção

"increasingly emphasized operant resources like knowledge and skills as the basis for value creation...as traditional manufacturing companies have increasingly invested in services due to the increase in competition in traditional markets, the need for differentiation and the possibility of earning higher margins. These companies eventually become solution providers, which offer ‘a comprehensive bundle of products and/or services, that fully satisfies the needs and wants of a customer related to a specific event or problem’. ... Consequently, scholars have emphasized identifying competences and processes that enable companies to co-create solutions with the customer ...Simultaneously, the customer’s role has evolved in value-creation literature from a pure recipient of goods into the determining party in the relational value-creation process ... ‘value is always uniquely and phenomenologically determined by the beneficiary’. ... ‘value is best defined as value-in-use’ because it can only emerge or be created through the recipient’s use. Following that logic, the provider is a potential value facilitator and co-creator only through the relational nature of the joint solution creation process....Although extant literature addresses value creation from many perspectives, three commonalities emerge. First, researchers agree that the customer’s role has evolved to the locus of value creation. Second, value creation occurs as a relational process. Third, value is perceptual and the result of the customer experience."

Trechos retirados de "Hunting for Value: How to Enable Value-in-use? A Conceptual Model" de Jan Petri e Frank Jacob, publicado por Journal of Creating Value 3(1) 1–13, 2017 

"é para aí que vamos novamente"

A escola pública foi criada para servir o modelo económico do século XX. Agora, no século XXI, com o modelo de Mongo a entranhar-se e com uma demografia completamente oposta. A escola pública não consegue ajustar-se a um mundo que precisa de pessoas diferentes e não de autómatos todos iguais.

Em 2012 escrevia:

"Frequentei o 7º, 8º e 9º ano de escolaridade na Escola Comercial Oliveira Martins no Porto, uma escola criada algures no final do século XIX pela iniciativa de comerciantes para formar e preparar os seus trabalhadores. Recordo isto porque sinto que é para aí que vamos novamente, em vez de uma escola obrigatória destinada a formar legiões de robots necessários para operar acriticamente as sociedades do século XX, em vez de uma escola que pretende eliminar as nossas diferenças de idiossincrasia  e nos tenta enformar para sermos cidadãos "normais", em vez de uma escola que prepara as crianças de Pousafoles do Bispo para serem iguais e trabalharem como as pessoas de Lisboa, o que só as levará a detestar, ou ignorar, ou nunca equacionar que um futuro também é possível em Pousafoles do Bispo, vamos precisar de escolas sem programa definido em Lisboa, escolas destinadas a reviver as sociedades locais, as economias locais, os orgulhos locais."

Agora começo a encontrar com cada vez mais frequência isto:

• Faltam 28 mil trabalhadores para a indústria metalúrgica;
• Fabricante de eólicas dá formação para resolver falta de operários

Num país com outra cultura talvez a solução passasse por uma solução muito simples, os empresários em torno de uma associação sectorial pagavam a formação profissional e o governo cortava um valor equivalente nos impostos a cobrar.

Familiar?

Imaginem este modelo a funcionar:

Um modelo dedicado a servir clientes que continuam a comprar grandes séries de produção. Encomendas grandes permitem aumentar o poder negociar junto dos fornecedores porque se encomendam grandes quantidades de matérias-primas, algo que ajuda a reduzir os custos variáveis.

Um trabalho comercial forte apoiado num preço competitivo permite conquistar encomendas grandes que alimentam uma utilização intensiva dos activos e permitem ter custos fixos baixos.

Quanto mais baixos os custos fixos e variáveis mais baixo pode ser o preço e mais fácil é conquistar encomendas grandes. Preços baixos a praticar na produção de produtos simples, o que reduz os custos variáveis e cobrar por extras não previstos na opção-base.

O modelo tem tudo para ser sustentável, tem 4 ciclos que se auto-alimentam e reforçam o momentum da empresa.

Agora imaginem que o trabalho comercial decai, as encomendas caem, os custos fixos aumentam, os preços têm de subir. Então, a empresa começa a receber com cada vez mais frequência encomendas de outros clientes que não se importam de pagar um preço unitário superior porque fazem encomendas mais pequenas e artigos mais complexos. Encomendas mais pequenas, mais variedade, reduz a produtividade do trabalho via eficiência, reduz o poder negocial junto dos fornecedores. Artigos mais complexos implicam custos variáveis superiores...

A empresa até pode achar interessante o aumento do preço médio, a empresa até pode achar interessante a manutenção das vendas. No entanto, o perfil da produção está a alterar-se. A empresa, que estava "formatada" para as encomendas grandes começa a ter de lidar em simultâneo com encomendas grandes e pequenas, encomendas com exigências muito diferentes. Basta recuar a 2008  e ao que aprendi com Terry Hill:

A empresa deixou de ser representada pelas bolas azuis e passou a ser representada pelas bolas vermelhas.

A estrutura da empresa, de mão de obra intensiva, começa a ficar sobre-dimensionada porque está a produzir cada vez menos unidades a um preço superior. Esse sobre-dimensionamento traduz-se em custos fixos superiores o que se repercute em preços mais altos e acelera a transição da empresa para o outro modelo. Contudo a infra-estrutura está preparada para servir o modelo anterior.

Os prejuízos começam a aparecer, as pessoas correm, correm e parece que não saem do sítio porque os problemas surgem com cada vez mais frequência.

Familiar?

Não se pode ficar como um tolo no meio da ponte!

Recordar Skinner e "The Focused Factory", recordar o PWP.

Alteração da lógica do mercado e dos seus ritmos

Ontem em "Acelerar o time to market" sublinhava o como a tecnologia permite reduzir o tempo, desde a ideia até à prateleira, e reduzir os custos para produzir pequenas séries.

Hoje, mais um exemplo, desta feita sobre a alteração da lógica do mercado e dos seus ritmos:

"Many shoe designers put out new collections only twice a year–perhaps launching strappy sandals in the spring, and boots in the fall. M.Gemi, a direct-to-consumer luxury shoe startup, has totally nixed that model. It drops a new pair every single Monday. This week, for instance, it debuted a $198 slip-on sneaker made from crushed velvet, a material that seems to magically change color under different lights.
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The idea is for customers to wake up on a Monday morning to an email featuring the latest shoe. If a customer likes it, she can get it in time for a party or a date that weekend. “We don’t expect our customers to buy a new shoe each week,” Cheryl Kaplan, M.Gemi’s president, said at an event today at the Fast Company Innovation Festival. “But it gives them something to look forward to and keeps our conversation with them going.”

Trecho retirado de "M.Gemi Feeds Our Luxury Shoe Addiction With Cheaper, Italian-Made Heels"

Às vezes "it sucks" ter razão

Recuo a 2010 e 2008 em "Sobre a impossibilidade de prever o futuro e o paradoxo de Zenão (parte I)" depois de ver esta reportagem.

Estava escrito nas estrelas, com 10 anos de antecedência estas escolas poderiam ter tomado certas medidas para mudar de vida, enquanto existiam graus de liberdade.

Mais do que uma treta

Ao dar de caras com esta figura:

Pensei logo na cláusula 7.1.6 da ISO 9001:2015.

O bloco 1 aplica-se a:

"A organização deve determinar o conhecimento necessário para a operacionalização dos seus processos e para obter a conformidade dos produtos e serviços.
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Este conhecimento deve ser mantido e disponibilizado na medida do necessário."

Este é o conhecimento que se pode estudar e o conhecimento que se transmite pela experiência.

O bloco 2 aplica-se a:

"Ao enfrentar novas necessidades e tendências, a organização deve ter em consideração o seu conhecimento atual e determinar como adquirir ou aceder a qualquer conhecimento adicional necessário e atualizações requeridas." 

Quando vamos a formação, quando visitamos para ver a experiência e o exemplo de outros, estamos a trabalhar para colmatar "gaps".

Quando falo em "radar" penso naquele quadrante "discoveries". O que nem imaginamos que não sabemos.

O conhecimento em que se tropeça quando se observam clientes, não-clientes, ex-clientes, revistas técnicas, seminários, livros, conferências, patentes, ...

Quem dá atenção ao quadrante das "discoveries"? Como é que a sua empresa pensa estas coisas? Limita-se a cumprir mínimos olímpicos ou procurar ser exigente consigo própria?

A ISO pode ser mais do que uma treta quando se trata como sendo mais do que uma treta.que

Privilegiar os inputs sobre os outputs (parte VIII)

Parte I, parte II, parte III, parte IV, parte V, parte VI e parte VII.

"servicification. This means that the emphasis, when we look at offerings, is no longer on the production process that historically created them as outputs, but in their property as inputs in the value creating process of the customers system. This shift of emphasis from production to use, from output to input, from the past to the future, immediately widens the scope of what an offering is, what kinds of characteristics a company needs to build into its offerings, and what competences are required of the company. It also automatically shifts the emphasis from the transaction to more long-term relationship with the customer…
experiencification. By this I mean that offerings are now increasingly designed to be linked also into the mental and symbolic processes of customers including the meaning and purpose of their value-creating activities. In fact, many offerings which seem like products are simply artefacts which fulfill the function of bringing to the customer a context, a story even, which is somehow meaningful to him. Artefacts link a more general, external reality with and inner, personal, reality into a whole characterized by the pursuit of meaning and purpose."

Escrever sobre este título "Privilegiar os inputs sobre os outputs" e recordar uma linguagem muito usada em empresas industriais:

- "A expedição é o cú da fábrica!"

Trechos retirados de "Reframing business" de Richard Normann.

Acelerar o time to market

"The impetus to use automation is not just about costs: it is also trying to keep up with consumers. Across the board, the most successful retailers are now those with a constant stream of new products to meet rapidly changing tastes and shopping habits. Yet companies have been slow to adapt footwear, with its more complicated manufacturing process, to so-called fast fashion trends — at least until now.
...
Traditional shoe production has required as many as 200 different pieces across 10 sizes, often cut and glued together by hand. The new manufacturing process being developed by Flex has introduced two ideas once thought impossible: the gluing process has been automated and lasers are used to cut the Flyknit material.
Lead times in the shoe industry once ran to several months: Flex has promised to help Nike speed up lead times, which can be three to four weeks for a customised pair of sneakers.
...
Moving production closer to its key markets will help satisfy some of that demand."

Trechos retirados de "Robotics in the running for Nike’s factories of the future"

"estrutura possibilidades para atingir objectivos compatíveis com essas possibilidades"

O que se segue também serve para as empresas, e de que maneira, em vez de ser levado pela maré, escolher um caminho:

"O exercício do poder é a gestão de um campo de possibilidades, é o desenho de uma trajectória que leva do presente, com os recursos que existem, para um alvo no futuro, gerando e organizando os recursos necessários para se chegar a esse objectivo. Quem não souber que a política é a gestão de um campo de possibilidades não é político - e se exerce uma função política é por razões que não são políticas. Quem não souber desenhar uma estratégia para o futuro poderá ocupar o poder, mas não exercerá o poder, apenas se resignará à inércia das correlações de forças. [Moi ici: Quantas vezes sinto isto em algumas empresas, servas da inércia] A política é uma vocação, que identifica e estrutura possibilidades para atingir objectivos compatíveis com essas possibilidades."

Trecho retirado de "Poder e possibilidade"