June 2, 2007 by jack petrie.

I recently finished reading “Mavericks at Work” by Fast Company editors William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre. Like Tom Peters said on the cover jacket, “I didn’t read this book. I devoured it.” Not only that, once finished, I immediately started to reread, in greater detail.

Like a handful of other recent great books (Gladwell’s “Blink” and “Tipping Point”; Pink’s “Whole New Mind”, Ferrazzi’s “Never Eat Alone” and Heath Brothers’ “Made to Stick”), “Mavericks” espouses an overriding theme, namely that our collective intelligence is greater than that of any subset of individuals and the smartest companies have figured this out and are finding ways to take advantage of this finding.

Like many other recent media, “Mavericks” cites the Southwest Airlines, Craigslist, Whole Foods, Linux, Starbucks, Pixar, Google examples, but offers greater depth into what makes these companies special by demonstrating how their embracing of maverick business methods provides quantum leaps in product and cultural differentiation.

I highly recommend this book to anyone engaged in any form of business activity. I also don’t feel I can truly do justice to this book in a few hundred words. For anyone looking for a couple quick takeaways, however:

• Consider that trade secrets aren’t so secret and that sharing information, in the long run, may lead to collaboration that yields higher productivity, greater output, a larger economy and a greater standard of living;
• A company’s brand and culture are synonymous: every managers action towards an employee and every employees action towards a customer reflect and represent the company and its brand .

If you have further interest in “Mavericks” and wish to have a chance to win a free copy, send the message “REPLY” to jpetrie@cresapartners.com.

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April 9, 2007 by jack petrie.

I recently read and enjoyed W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne’s “Blue Ocean Strategies”. In this book the authors introduce the concept of companies moving away from the value curve of their competitors (the “red ocean”) and creating new, differentiated, customer-driven value curves, or “blue oceans”.

Kim and Mauborgne cite many well-known examples of innovative companies creating new markets: Bloomberg, Callaway, Cirque du Soleil, Curves, NetJets, Novo Nordisk, NTT DoCoMo, Pret A Manger, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Swatch, [yellow tail] wine.  The key similarity among all of these firms product offering is a broad, customer-focused offering that emphasizes ease of use, fun and an enhanced customer experience.

Commercial Real Estate occupiers are ready for a similar renaissance in their user experience.  Imagine if, instead of the standard service provider puffery about market knowledge, “deals” completed, process charts and the obligatory client “logo page”; an innovative service provider were to offer the following (in no particular order):

• Simplicity of use and/or adoption;
• Fun/enjoyment of use;
• Ethics and honesty;
• Increased worker productivity;
• Reduced risk;
• Reduced environmental impact.

In Kim and Mauborgne’s process, such an offering would have a greater opportunity to relocate the refusing and unexplored “noncustomers” into a “blue ocean” of service differentiation, increased market share and ultimately, business success.

I sense this topic will become a recurring theme in future posts…

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March 9, 2007 by jack petrie.

 About the Author

Tim Sanders is currently the leadership coach at Yahoo!  He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller “Love Is The Killer App”.  In the Acknowledgments, Tim credits Dr. Stephen R. Covey (”The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”), Dale Carnegie (”How to Win Friends & Influence People”), Daniel Goleman (”Emotional Intelligence” and “Primal Leadership”) and Eckhard Tolle (”The Power of Now”) for inspiration.  Tim lives in northern California and can be visited at www.timsanders.com

Quick Snapshot

Tim’s premise, that likeability (the “L-factor”) may be the deciding factor in all competition, is supported by independent research conducted by many institutions (including Columbia and Yale Universities).  This research finds that likeability is a factor in everything from divorce rates, jury compensation, patient treatment, pay raises, presidential elections to promotions; or in a word, success, itself.

Tim’s Four Reasons Why Unlikeability Doesn’t Work

1. Short-Term Thinking Is Dying - we as a society are becoming more focused on the accountability for our actions.
2. Individualism Is Waning - collaboration and teamwork have become requirements in the home and workplace.
3. Boundaries Are Dissolving - between our personal and professional lives.
4. Success Has Been Redefined - from financial security to financial freedom.

Tim’s Five Reasons Why Likeability Works

1. Likeable People Bring Out The Best In Others
2. Likeable People Get Recognized
3. Likeable People Outperform
4. Likeable People Overcome Life’s Challenges
5. Likeable People Enjoy Better Health

The Four Elements of Likeability

1. Friendliness - Observe no unfriendliness, develop a friendly mindset and communicate friendliness
2. Relevance - Identify your frequent contacts and connect with others’ wants, needs and interests.
3. Empathy - Show an interest in how others feel, experience and respond to others’ feelings.
4. Realness - Be true to yourself and others and share your “realness”.

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