Perhaps it's only fitting to mark the passing of one of my professors Cheap Michael Gallup Jersey , Peter F. Drucker, by meditating on one of his favorite, and I believe, most important questions.
Whenever my classmates and I would boast about our products, our technologies, our specialized experience, or say anything at all self-serving, he'd swiftly bring us back to reality by noting: ?All of that is fine Cheap Connor Williams Jersey , but what is value to your customers??
In other words, it didn't matter if we believed we beat the pants off our competitors by having more branches in more places. If we couldn't argue convincingly to the internationally famous Father of Modern Management that our customers agreed with us, those branches, no matter how sparkling and expensive, were of no consequence, whatsoever.
In fact, by focusing at all on our own opinions, instead of actively monitoring and measuring our customers? Cheap Leighton Vander Esch Jersey , we err in two ways. We waste time and resources looking inward, which is decadent, and we insulate ourselves more and more from the only people who really matter in business?customers?who pay our bills and provide opportunities.
Value isn't always obvious, Drucker would point out. We may think we're providing one satisfaction when the customer is really deriving another, more significant satisfaction to him.
Take a modern gym, such as Bally's or 24-Hour Fitness.
Their generally accepted purpose is to ?get people into shape,? if you ask most of the people who work there. Certainly, many people buy memberships for that stated purpose. But there are lots of other reasons people sign-up.
For some Cheap Xavier Woods Jersey , it's a social outlet, for others, a sanctuary where they can set their own pace, relax, and escape the demands of family and co-workers. For a few, it's a chance to preen, to show-off their abs or biceps or whatever the muscle de jour happens to be.
If you observe most members, they're in no rush to move from station to station. They linger Cheap Jourdan Lewis Jersey , and their heartbeats seldom seem to reach that magical aerobic moment when calories happily burn away.
If they're pushed by the staff or by other patrons to work harder or faster, they rebel, if only silently.
They want to get into shape their own way, which of course, isn't always technically feasible, but many folks con themselves into thinking that they're progressing. Their victory is walking through the gym's door, not in becoming an Adonis.
To run a financially successful gym, one would have to accept these customers and make it possible for them to maintain their illusions Cheap Byron Jones Jersey , because these illusions are satisfactions to them. Illusions constitute ?value,? in the Druckerian sense.
He was fond of telling us how his young niece requested a special gift for her birthday, which provided no functional utility at the time--her first brassiere. Instead of dismissing this request, he understood it as a desire to feel more grown-up, and he honored her wish, giving her a truly valued gift, and great joy.
Not only do we have to ask the all-important value question. We need to re-ask it, if we hope to keep pace with and to retain our clientele.
Realities change Cheap Maliek Collins Jersey , sometimes suddenly. GM's biggest SUV looks very different when the price of gasoline spikes. Bally's has to stay on top of trends, and offer Pilates or yoga classes, depending upon what seems to be in demand. It can't say, ?We've always run dance classes, and that's it!?
Being guided by customer sensibilities can be very scary to some businesspeople. It requires us to challenge tradition and preconceptions, to open up, to ask questions, and to renounce authoritarianism. We need to be willing to really understand the viewpoints of others Cheap Jaylon Smith Jersey , and to cater to them, to serve them the way they want to be served.
We need to be prepared to abandon our favorite products, the ones that have defined us and nurtured us, when there is the hint that they no longer deliver value to the customer.
That's tough, and that is part of the legacy of Peter Drucker.
As former GE CEO Jack Welch said, Professor Drucker had a knack for asking the right question, usually a deceptively simple one, that could add tremendous clarity and value to one's business.
We are all created with our talents attached to us. We each have characteristics that other people don't have. We have our own special abilities that make us different from other people. The only thing required of us with respect to these talents is that we should discover them and develop them into advanced skills. Although we are all created with our own special gifts Cheap Chidobe Awuzie Jersey , we also have some gifts in common that can be found in each and every one of us; however, in most cases these common gifts are the things that most of us take for granted. As a result, only a few people have developed the skills in the related fields. One field that we take for granted is the field of writing.
Writing is common to all of us. Most of us know how to write. It was first taught to us when we were children; yet, why is it that only a few people have learned the art of writing? It is because most of us don't find it as interesting as sports, movies, or music. The art of writing is basically same as the other fields of interest in the following way: It too should also be developed by constant practice and study. And the most important thing is that it should be learned by heart.
Writing, as well as other talents that we have, can also help us earn money. Doing a freelance writing job can develop our skill. The most important aspect of writing work is the development process. We are unable to appreciate what we have done until we develop our skills and perceptions to a much higher degree. So Cheap Taco Charlton Jersey , freelance writing is the opportunity to develop our skills and our perceptions.