Review
Really good book and very fun to read. It reminded me again of the importance of systemizing work and focusing on your best customers. Highly recommended.
tl;dr
Find the top clients (/client type), treat them preferentially, fire all other clients (/client types). Ask the top clients about their frustrations and solve them. Don’t work, build systems for people and things to do the work.
Summary
- find your company’s AOI (Area Of Innovation) – quality, price, convenience [~USP]
- find the best top clients and treat them preferentially but never say they are VIP clients, fire all other clients (if you have many customers, find best customer type)
- the best top “right” client is always right, others no
- find your company’s immutable laws (core values) and find customers with same
- cut all unnecessary costs
Don’t work, build systems for people and things to do the work.
- create a top clients’ wish list, ask about frustrations in the industry, their challenges, aspirations, goals etc. -> “idea extraction” + crowdsourcing -> entering “Blue Oceans”
- ask for vendor referrals, ask the vendor’s for advice on how you can help mutual client and them
- create an organizational structure that supports the new plan
- UPOD (under promise/over deliver) – most of the time but not always so people don’t get used to it
- your brain can help solve complex problems if you ask it the right questions
- when systemizing, create the Three Questions for employees to ask themselves when a scenario is not covered by a manual