Lead Change Blog

OCTOBER 16, 2015

When I think about John Henry I am reminded of an incident at a large, well-known home improvement retailer. We live in a time flush with high efficiency, cost control, and lean operations. The culprit was the myopic view of leadership driven by a “make the numbers” through operational excellence not customer intimacy.

P&L 150

P&L Customer Intimacy Price Retail 150

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 29, 2013

Most organizations continuously strive to achieve operational excellence, but they spend less effort understanding customer needs — and few marry these two sources of customer value effectively. In 1996 Tesco adopted Toyota Production System approaches to take its supply chain operations to an even higher level.

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Operations Supply Chain Transportation 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Ease continues to be important in today’s online retail world, but invisibility seems to be giving way to more-notable approaches to being secure. Online security and customer intimacy go hand in hand. And this customer intimacy can be leveraged to protect your customers.

Marketing 8

Marketing Customer Intimacy CIO Technology 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2013

If lucky, a start-up grows and develops a success formula. retailer, spent the last three decades improving its supply chain processes, and designing and launching a series of services, including smaller local convenience stores and online shopping. Operations Risk management Strategy' They were a best practice example in 2007.

Organization 8

Organization Supply Chain Customer Intimacy Stress 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2013

retailer Tesco built detailed profiles of customers and then used these insights and a flexible supply chain to customize their products and offers. Creating products and services for market segments of one (" mass customization ") isn''t easy. Collaboration Marketing Operations' How, precisely, did they do this?

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Market Segmentation Human Resources 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2013

The key lies in developing and exploiting "proprietary data" — data that you and you alone possess. Retailers, such as Amazon, Kroger, and Target, use this data to tailor their advertising for John Smith. One retailer develops an insight into customer behavior and others follow suit.

Competitive Advantage 8

Competitive Advantage Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Retail 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 9, 2013

India has numerous small retailers and service providers who are shining examples of scrappy entrepreneurship at its best, but the information technology startups that are my primary interest typically require outside funding. However, if you need capital to validate, you are operating in a zone that will be full of very dark hours.

Incubator 8

Incubator Stage-Gate Venture Capitalist How To 8