How well do you know your customers?

Over the past decade, I’ve been preached to time and time again by MDs and CEOs about ‘customer-centricity’ and how ‘we know what products and services our customers like and we even know what they want us to improve upon and which of our new products they’ll like’. My response: “I rest my case. Haven’t you’ve just told me all about your ‘stuff’ and nothing about your customer?

Being truly customer-centric isn’t about showing them what you’ve got and asking them if they like it. It’s about looking at the world from their perspective and appreciating the problems and tensions they face and the things they aspire to. Without the right insight it’s more likely that what you do will be more about what’s best for your organisation rather than your customer.

When you really know your customers you’ll go beyond trying to sell them products and start to focus on solving their problems and that’s when you start to fuel innovation and differentiation. In the modern fast-paced commoditised world we operate in, it’s no longer about ‘what you do’ it’s about ‘how you do it’. Your competitors can copy products along with everyone else but they wont be able to do it like you do!


“We have only two sources of competitive advantage. The ability to learn more about our customer faster than the competition and the ability to turn that learning into action faster than the competition."


Jack Welch, former chairman/CEO, GE.


There are two points when customers talk about your business. When you’re pretty ‘Poor’ at what you do your customers will let everyone know about it. In the middle sits ‘Good’ but no one really mentions this as ‘Good’ has become the new ‘Average’. At the other end of my scale is ‘Exceptional’ and people talk here of brand loyalty, recommendation and constant endorsement, even Love!

The customer-centric organisations that sustainably differentiate do so because they understand the symbiotic relationship they have with their customers. The benefits for both are obvious but never the primary focus. In adopting this ‘Strategic Mindset’ you move beyond the traditional lip service or at best superficial attempt at customer focus. However, this means creating a different organisational approach to how you do what you do and involves being what I call ‘People-Centric’. Striking the right balance between customer pleasure and shareholder return will always, always be done through your people.

To do this, everyone in your organisation needs to understand how to collaborate on solving your customers’ problems in order for you to provide an exceptional end-to-end customer experience. So, in the same way your customers aren’t ‘Transactions’ your people aren’t ‘Resources’. Create a true relationship with your people and inspire them to be exceptional. Then passionately forge a relationship with your customers by replacing a ‘product-centric’ model with solutions as the fundamental part of your value proposition. Differentiation, innovation and shareholder return will be your natural by-products.

Good luck!

A final blog before this years CIPD conference...

So, in an attempt to appease Mrs. B for my usual hectic schedule and the fact that a speakers/experts life is one rarely based at home. And in the knowledge that I’ll be away again at the CIPD Conference for most of next week I’ve taken a much-needed weekend off and am staying in a fantastic hotel in north Norfolk.

But before I sign off for the weekend I’d like to share with you, my fellow CIPDers a review of what we’ll be doing next week, so here’s a review from People Management magazine…

“Another innovation in the ACE Interactive Zone will be VBI or “Velour-Based Innovation” – the brainchild of author Cris Beswick and Perry Timms, head of talent and organisational development at The Big Lottery Fund. Sitting on a bright sofa, in Baddiel & Skinner Unplanned style, they will be encouraging crowd-based discussions and the sharing of expertise in an informal setting.”

I’d like to invite people who want to take part in a more informal, discussion based, ‘keynote conversation’ about the stuff that really matters to people on the front line of HR, OD & talent management in organizations. Come and join us on either or all of the three days the conference is running and take part in what is tipped to be a break from the norm not only for the CIPD but also from the usual keynote address.

Like Perry and I, your hosts, we’ll want you to be provocative, interactive, vocal, thought provoking, dare I say it; we want you to disagree as much as you might agree. What we’re looking for is the corporate yin & yang, for people to disagree as much as they agree, for people to have different opinions and perspectives as much as they have aligned ones. We want diversity of thought and experience about what works, what doesn’t, what should and what might in an effort to help push people away from their well trodden paths and support the philosophy of doing things differently!

Everyone wants the CIPD to give him or her something different, to change, to move with the times and innovate. Well they’ve delivered. They’ve proved their up for it by embracing VBI (Velour Based Innovation) so now all that’s left is for you their audience to put your money where your mouth is and attend VBI, where, like anything in business, you’ll get as much out of it as you put in!

Twitter if you’re going to attend using the tag #CIPD10

See you there and heckle me if you dare!

Cris Beswick

Embracing a little Risk the CIPD way. Hopefully it wont be a Juvendiceed!

We all know that if we want to move on, progress, dare I say it, innovate! We need to take leaps of faith, educated guesses or sometimes just do the entrepreneurial gut feeling thing. As long as you’re not cavalier about risk it keeps you fresh, on your toes and moving forward. Risk is progressive!

This year the CIPD has in my humble opinion embraced a little risk. They have taken the raw idea of two of last year’s speakers, Perry Timms, Head of Talent & OD at Big HR and myself and turned it into a living, breathing entity.

They have pushed themselves away from their well-trodden path and given this years conference delegates the chance to engage with real experts with real opinions on real subjects. What I’m talking about is VBI (Velour Based Innovation) and it’s something that appeared out of the ether, albeit on one slightly vodka fuelled evening! Even I don’t know why the idea of sitting on a purple velour sofa and having conversations about how to build amazing organisations popped into my head.

However, what I do know is this; both Perry and I are advocates of thinking differently, trying new things, taking leaps of faith and inspiring others to do so in an attempt to change the organisations we work with into world class communities of exceptional people.

If you want to show the CIPD that you as their community are up for that then join us for an hour each day and participate in our keynote conversations. We’ll kick off the direction of each session but what happens after that is up to you and where the conversation goes. Help Perry and I avoid a Juvendiceed and launch a format that deserves its place on every conference agenda.

Oh, and if you haven’t got a clue what a ‘Juvendiceed’ is then you’ll just have to buy my book or if you’re one of the lucky ones I might give some away in our sessions!

So, come and take up the challenge or help your fellow peers learn from some of the amazing stuff you’ve done by joining Perry and I in one of our VBI discussions, I dare you!

You can join us for our VBI sessions on the following days and times:

Day 1, Tuesday 9^th - 13.00-14.00

Day 2, Wednesday 10^th - 13.00-14.00

Day 3, Thursday 11^th - 12.15-13.15

See you there…

Cris

I dare you to do better! – More pre-CIPD Conference thoughts…

So, further to my last blog on the 19^th, Velour Based Innovation helping to 'Spice' things up! My fellow speaker Perry Timms has posted his latest taste of what you can expect from us in our VBI sessions.

Perry shares with us his observations that yesterdays performance levels aren’t good enough for tomorrow, or even today! This is something that I’ve been writing about for some time now and is heavily featured in the workshops and speaking I’m doing for organisations at the moment. What I’m talking about is averageness!

Not too long ago, good was better than average but the pace of change and customers/consumers becoming savvier on a daily basis has rendered good the new average. It is now paramount that we, whether ‘we’ is a private company, a public organisation or central government learn to look at the future with the intent of keeping up with it as we’re all being outpaced at the moment.

The world’s most successful organisations are agile, engaging, learning entities where average has no place and only exceptional fits in. So the question I work with my clients on is; what will it take to create an organisation-wide movement towards being exceptional? Also, is everyone in the organisation up for it?

The financial crisis we're in has shown us that complacency has no place in a modern society and especially has no place in the global economy we work in. Life and work have to be a challenging as it makes things exciting and it pushes us to improve, so the question I have started to ask my clients is “Who will rise to the challenge of changing their organisation from average to exceptional? Even if your organisation is already genuinely amazing, I have a challenge for you; I dare you to do better!”

So, come and take up the challenge or help your fellow peers learn from some of the amazing stuff you’ve done by joining Perry and I in one of our VBI discussions, I dare you!

You can join us for our VBI sessions on the following days and times:

Day 1, Tuesday 9^th - 13.00-14.00

Day 2, Wednesday 10^th - 13.00-14.00

Day 3, Thursday 11^th - 12.15-13.15

See you there…

Cris

Velour Based Innovation helping to 'Spice' things up! – Cris Beswick

If you’ve seen the past couple of blogs by me and fellow VBI (Velour Based Innovation) speaker Perry Timms hopefully you’re getting the sense that we’re bringing a fresh perspective to this year’s CIPD conference.

Perry and I will be speaking as a Baddiel & Skinner style duo in an attempt to create livelier and informal peer debate as an alternative to the traditional keynote style. In essence, we’re going to spice things up a little! So, being partial to the odd analogy that got me thinking? How spicy are you and your organisation? In our second session of the conference on Wednesday 10^th at 1pm we’ll be kicking off an hour’s discussion around ‘celebrating averageness’ in organisations. In my latest workshop I discuss the concept that average tastes like chicken, we’re indifferent to it.

Although now somewhat of a cliché and used for incongruous humour ‘it tastes like chicken’ still describes food or situations that have no real relevance. So, in the eyes of our respective customers if we’re not at the very least a ‘spicy’ piri piri chicken dish we’re invisible, we’re average and that means in the world where differentiation and clearly visible excellence are paramount, we’re doomed to failure!

So, how do you and your organisation demonstrate to your people and your customers that you’re a gastronomic delight, that you’ll tantalise their taste buds at every opportunity and that you definitely don’t taste like chicken? How do you demonstrate that you’re definitely not average? So, comment on this blog, tweet your thoughts and share your point of view with Perry, myself and the rest of the audience at ‘Celebrating Averageness’ our 2^nd VBI session on Wednesday 10^th at 1pm.

This and more will form our own outcome-based conversations with you at VBI, an exciting part of ACE Interactive and #CIPD10.

For more information on our VBI sessions, check out ACE Interactive on 9, 10 or 11 November and join in the debate.

How to create innovative organisations?

February sees the launch of my new book, The Road to Innovation co-written with David Gallagher of www.chapterandverse.co.uk who for the last six months has painstakingly helped me dot my i’s and cross my t’s.

The book is as valuable to business and organisation leaders as it is for HR practitioners and employees because it’s a practical guide to the business buzz word de jour ‘Innovation’. Because of the current economic downturn it’s come to even greater prominence and in the boardrooms of large organisations and in meeting rooms of small and medium-sized businesses up and down the country, the call from business owners, directors and managers is unanimous:

“We need more innovation”

But what does innovation mean in the modern business context? Can a business become more innovative? What do these organisations actually want to achieve? How will the leaders in the business make the changes required? And where on earth are they going to start? Innovation isn't embedded into a company’s DNA by reading books on how to brainstorm or play creative thinking games. The Road to Innovation finally gives business leaders clear, practical and actionable insight into the seven key areas that are fundamental to creating a company capable of thinking differently and innovating.

Cris Beswick is an accomplished speaker, advisor, author, non-executive director and consultant. Having founded several successful companies over the last decade and following the sale of his last award winning design consultancy, he now works with businesses and organisations to help them understand innovation, helping create the right strategy for it and developing an environment and a community in which it can thrive. The results are great places to work for your people, added value for your customers, and sleepless nights for your competitors.

The Road to Innovation will be available on general sale from the 20th February but if you’d like to order copies in advance for you, your colleagues or your team please email orders@ltbpublishing.com and we'll be glad to help...

To discuss Cris's availability for consulting, advising, facilitating and/or speaking please feel free to call Nikki on +44 (0)8453 72 44 22 or email her at nikki@crisbeswick.com for more information...

Me, the CIPD & HR’s true raison d’être!

After three days back in my hometown of Manchester last week speaking at this year’s CIPD conference I return elated at the thought of HR practitioners having a route to the top table of their companies. I refrain from phrasing the above ‘finally having a route’ as my perspective and area of expertise is but one of many. However my thoughts on innovation and how businesses can change from “Good to Great” in the words of Jim Collins (who incidentally was the keynote speaker at the conference) by using it as a catalyst for everyone thinking differently about what they do and how they do it seem to provoke the right thoughts with the CIPD audience who attended the ‘Building Innovation Capability’ workshop.

A strategic, business approach to the use of ‘innovation’ as opposed to the popular misconception that ‘innovation’ is about being creative or just about the development of new products and/or services or indeed resides in the sole domain of the design or R&D department.

As a keen user of analogies, my perspective and my keynotes are less concerned with helping companies create the next iPhone but more about helping them become the next Apple!

With fellow speaker Ian Plover our task was set some months ago by the CIPD to help them communicate the truth about innovation and how their membership, HR practitioners, could use it to drive their value and contribution to their respective companies in order to gain that illusive seat at the top table.

As a thought leader on business innovation the road ahead for me was instantly clear. It was less about getting HR to focus on being innovative themselves and more about how HR could use the values and environment that sustainable innovation requires in order for their people to embrace doing things and contributing differently. Innovation should be seen as a destination and the journey towards it gives change and different thinking a sense of purpose. It helps embed the desire to move away from the well trodden path with a sense of engagement and purpose or vision into a company/organisation and its then that ‘it’ (innovation) stands a chance of becoming sustainable because the capacity and desire for it has been increased.

After Jackie Orme’s outline in her opening keynote suggesting that HR needs both specialists and generalists, and that it is a profession made up of people “who see themselves as business people” my thoughts are clear. If HR can create the momentum within a company then it gives the individual people it works with traction to grow and vice versa. At the same time if HR uses that momentum and creates a HR strategy that is aligned to the core business strategy it will by default cement its value as a true strategic partner helping deliver the business objectives through the value, engagement and contribution of its people which is surely its true raison d’être!

If you and your business want to understand the value of innovation and how it can be used as more than just the latest buzz word de jour but as a catalyst for making your company/organisation not just good but great contact myself Cris Beswick, or Ian Plover for an initial chat.

Email Cris on cris@letsthinkbeyond.com

Email Ian on ip@businessofchange.com