He goes from strength to strength and this quote epitomizes his credo “I believe that drudgery and clock-watching are a terrible betrayal of that universal, inborn entrepreneurial spirit.”
Rock on Richard, carry on challenging and changing. At the end of the day it is the customer who wins because of you.
One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.
(from the desk of James Dodkins)
About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.
“You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman, “you should be working rather than lying on the beach!” The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And what will my reward be?”
“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer. “And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling.
The businessman replied, “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!” “And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again.
The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions. “You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said. “And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.
The businessman was getting angry. “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!” Once again the fisherman asked, “And then what will my reward be?”
The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “And what do you think I’m doing right now?”
Outside-in approaches create a completely new reality that reshapes how we manage and organize work so much so that functional pyramidal structures become artifacts of the past.
Born in the complexity of the 21st century Outside-In companies believe that all effort in an organization should be centered around the customer and ultimately deliver Successful Customer Outcomes (SCO).
Towers-Dodkins, April 2014.
adoption and exploration of ideas originally described by Adam Smith in theWealth of Nations, published in 1776. This seminal work introduced the world to the concept of the sub division of labour.
Outside-In is clearly the way for the worlds top companies and reflecting on the commentary by Hank Barnes in “Customer Experience Challenges: Why Maintaining an Outside-in Approach is Tougher than it Seems” the answer as to why the masses don’t get it is probably very simply the herd instinct.
For instance in 1969 astronomer J. Donal Fernie made an observation many of us will understand. In writing about the decades it took his fellow
professionals to spot a fundamental error.. “the definitive study of the herd instincts of astronomers has yet to be written, but there are times when we resemble nothing so much as a herd of antelope, heads down in tight formation, thundering with firm determination in a particular direction
across the plain. At a given signal from the leader we whirl about, and, with equally firm determination, thunder off in quite a different direction, still in tight parallel formation”
We of course have our own immediate examples. What about the world leading
Insurance Company waiting eight days for ink to dry on parchment paper
before sending out a new policy? Or the removal business that stuck with a
35 mile rule limit just in case the horse died? What about suggesting people
visiting the UK from ‘abroad’ should practice driving on the left before
they came if they weren’t used to it (to reduce the accidents on UK roads).
Yup there are lots of antelopes out there.
Will you meet any tomorrow? And will you be running with the herd?
