Food for thought . . .

There is an aspect of business that I believe gets lost in the shuffle.  Business is created and sets off with good intention, however does business constantly remind themselves as to why they are in business?  I believe there is a question to be asked periodically when reviewing the "plan".  And that is, "Why are we in business?"

Without customers there is not a business.  If we do not develop customer loyalty there is not a business.  And finally, if we do not satisfy the stakeholders (notice I am not stating shareholders), the employees who create the value, then there is not a business.  I cannot help but reflect on the show Kitchen Nightmares.  I see the restaurant owners basically stating “I know what the customers want better than the customers do.”  Nobody to my recollection has stated it just like that, however after each episode I come away with that.  Remember, the person with the money determines the value.  You can try all you want to persuade them, but probably at the sacrifice of customer loyalty.

The next question to ask is, "What are we doing to maintain the Why?"

I am not suggesting the above is a necessity or even all inclusive.  Let us just say all of us think of these at times.  (I unintentionally left out improved delivery - will integrate that later.)  Notice the odd one in the group is “increase profit”.  If you do not increase profit you cannot grow the business.  If you do not grow the business you stand that chance of being overrun by the competition.  To be better than the competition you need to provide quality.  By eliminating waste you improve quality.  As you improve quality you increase profit.  So now you see the connection.  


And to be successful we need Tools to help solve some of the problems in the What.

The above is not an inclusive list.  There are many tools to choose from and I would like to hear from everyone as to the tools they believe should be noted and are not.  The key to any tool is to know where they came from, why they were developed, and the context they were meant for.  That is right, meant for.  Once you understand that you can play with it and adapt it to your needs.  

In simpler terms, what was the problem being solved at that time the tool was needed and developed?  To understand that you need to know who the Gurus were / are and how they defined the problem and developed the solution.  Much can be learned from them.  You do not need to reinvent the wheel, but rather understand how the wheel turns and put it on something that needs to move.  Oh, and once again, remember to choose the right wheel for the terrain.  So, who are some of the Gurus?

The bottom line is, we are in business for the customer.  Without a focus on satisfying the customer we will fail.  Stay focused if you want your next meal.