SupportingIdeas
■Communicationisvital.Ideally,theCEOshouldbewritingtohisorherstaffeveryweekandlettingthemknowwhat'sgoingon.AgoodwaytogeneratethematerialsfortheseregularlettersissimplyfortheCEOtokeepanotebookandjotdownallthethingsthatneeddoing.Whenyou'rewritingtopeople,youcanthengothroughandhitthemainpoints,oraskquestionsaboutwhythingsarenothappeningright.
■Thebestwayformanagersandownerstopaycloserattentiontothedetailsisforthemtoexperiencefirst-handwhatit'sliketobetheirowncustomer.Youneedtogetoutfrombehindyourdeskand,withnotebookinhand,sampleyourownproductsasoftenasfeasible.Seewhatworksandsendcomplimentarynotestothepeoplethatareinvolved.Findwhatisdisappointingandgetintoactionaddressingthoseshortfallsrightaway.
It'samazinghowmanypeopletrytobuildtheirbusinessoperationswithoutthebenefitsofgoodcommunicationandattentiontodetails.Itcannotbedone.Togetgoodatdeliveringsomethingofvalue,youmustbestrongandactiveinbothoftheseareas.
Deliveryisanongoingchallenge.It'snotsomethingyoucanlookatonce,getsortedoutandthensitbackandrelax.Rather,everydayyouneedtobeouttheregaugingwhat'schanginginthemarketplace.Justbecauseyou'reasuccesstodaydoesn'tguaranteeyouwillcontinuetobeasuccessinthefuture.Changeswillhappenthatwillleadtounforeseenconsequences,andyouneedtobereadytorespondasthosechangesoccur.
Nomatterwhatindustryyou'rein,youshouldbeabletoboildownwhatyoudeliverintoavaluepropositionordinarypeoplecanunderstandandrespondto.Ifyourvaluepropositionisweirdandcounterintuitive,problemslieahead.Ifyourvaluepropositionisreasonableandmakessense,thenitwillcomedowntothedisciplineofmasteringthesystemsinvolved.Inmostcases,greatdeliverywillnotberocketscience.Itwillrequireempoweringyourpeoplewiththerighttoolstomakethedesiredthinghappenforcustomersandthengetoutoftheirway.Ifyoucanthinkclearlyandreduceyourbusinessestoitsessentials,youcanthengettoworkensuringeachofthoseessentialelementsgetdeliveredinamemorableway.
Whenitcomestomasteringdelivery,involvingoutsideexpertscanbeaproblem.Expertsarebydefinitionspecialists—theyknowalotabouttheirownfieldofexpertise.Theywon'tbeexpertsindeliveryofyourideabecausetheywon'tknowwhat'sonyourmind.Getintothehabitoffleshingoutyourownideasanddoingyourownresearchbeforegettinganyexpertsinvolved.Thatway,whenyouaskforsomeexpertinput,you'vesettheguidelinesforthedirectiontheyshouldtake.Thatwillbefarmoreeffectivethangivinganexpertablankslate.Alltheywillevergenerateintheabsenceofsomespecificswillbebland,genericthinkingthatwillnotbeveryhelpfulatall.