Of all the
isms in the world, the worst is credentialism.
Credentials are ubiquitous.
Everyone has at least one or two.
Whether in economics, or in engineering, or in management, or in just
experts in general, everyone has credentials.
As Glinda
said to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, “Are you a good consultant or a bad
consultant?”
To which
Dorothy replied, “I’m not a consultant at all….”
Here is the metaphor:
You have two
experts. One works for a store that sells red paint. One works for a store that
sells blue paint.
The red paint
expert says, “Paint the walls of your company red. Your employers will get all
gingered up and make more widgets.”
The blue
paint expert says, “Paint the walls of your company blue. Your employees will
be more relaxed and make better widgets.”
Ostensibly
true…or half true. However, half the
truth is a whole lie.
What the red
paint experts don’t tell you is that the red paint employees will make more
widgets, but more mistakes. What the
blue paint experts don’t tell you is that the blue paint employees will make
better widgets, but fewer widgets. But
wait. There’s more!
To stay in
business, Mr. Widget must make a choice:
produce more widgets for the discount widget market, or make better widgets
for the upscale widget market.
While that
sounds simple enough, there is a lot more to it.
If he goes
with discount widgets, he will need to adjust his "supply chain": cheaper steel,
cheaper nuts and bolts, cheaper paint or powder coat. Also, he must adjust his distribution: more
trucks or bigger trucks? He must also
change his marketing, advertising, and warehousing allocations. If he signs a deal with Mr. Wal-Mart, he’s reached
the discount widget market—almost. He
will still have competition from those with more experience and facility with
selling discount widgets.
If Mr. Widget
goes upscale, he will dial back the quantity of steel, but must ramp up the
quality of the steel, the nuts and bolts, and the powder coat. He must also change his marketing, sales, and
advertising strategies. How will he sell
widgets, where, and to whom? Coach? Macy’s? Neiman Marcus?
Each market
strategy has its own challenges.
Ron Johnson
did a bang up job at Apple Stores. At
JCP? Not so much.
Ron Johnson
wanted to sell, “Every Day Low Pricing.”
The Customers wanted to buy, “Discounts and Coupons.” Ron Johnson tried to convince the customers
to buy what he wanted to sell instead of selling what the customers wanted to
buy.
MARKETING TRUMPS ADVERTISING
Forty years
ago, my marketing professor scolded me on (at the very least) one occasion,
“That’s advertising. That’s not marketing.”
Advertising:
Convince the customer to buy what you want to sell.
Marketing: Find a need and fill it.
Now the hard
part. In addition to the above, in order
to protect himself from being T-Boned at the intersection of Marketing and
Madison, he must consider the following:
Technology:
Will his competitor buy the new Widgetmaster 5000? Should he?
What are the opportunity costs?
Innovation: Will his competitors make aluminum
widgets, or titanium widgets, to either cut costs or improve quality?
R&D:
Will small entrepreneurs nibble away at his profits? Two kids with a 3-D printer may begin making
plastic widgets. However, 2 kids with a
3-D printer + Crowdfunding = 2 kids with 20 3-D printers producing plastic
widgets.
Before you
spend your money on paint (and consultants) remember:
“There are no
unintended consequences, only unwanted consequences.” ~ Slim Fairview. From The
Quotations of Slim Fairview © 2010 – 2013
If you find anything here to be helpful, please don't hesitate to send me a really tricked out Mac Book and to tuck a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note.
Thank you Slim.
Bob Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA 18072
If you find anything here to be helpful, please don't hesitate to send me a really tricked out Mac Book and to tuck a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note.
Thank you Slim.
Bob Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA 18072
Warmest
regards,
Slim
Copyright ©
2013 Slim Fairview
All rights
reserved.
