Anonymous Distributor
I recently read a blog article by Bernadette Jiwa titled, “The Secret of Disruptive Innovations.” Her examples and conclusions will make you “think twice” about what you thought you knew about the effect of disruptive innovations on yourself and your business.
“When the online eyewear retailer Warby Parker began selling boutique-quality glasses at a $95 price point, they weren’t just trying to undercut the bigger players in the industry. Of course, they did that and more, growing the company by 500 percent in just a year and mostly by word of mouth.
“The average customer who needs glasses buys a pair every 2.1 years. Warby Parker set out to make glasses something that customers would buy in multiples as fashion statements, much like women buy shoes and bags. They wanted customers to view them as accessories they could change to match occasions or moods. And while price combined with quality enables the company to tell a different story than other retailers, what changes everything is the story the customer now tells himself about how many pairs of glasses he can own and how often he should buy new ones. Many of Warby Parker’s customers buy six or seven pairs of glasses at a time and not just when their prescription expires.
“AirBnB made people long to experience a destination like a local hotel without the $8 price tag for nuts from the mini-bar. Apple changed how we feel about buying a whole album, including the songs we didn’t care about. Amazon’s Kindle made us think of airport bookstores as reference libraries where we browse but don’t buy.
“The secret of disruptive innovations and business models isn’t that they disrupt an industry. It’s that they disrupt people. They change how people feel about something enough to change how they behave. It’s entirely possible to look into the future and think about how your customer might be changed tomorrow as a result of what you do today. While ‘the industry’ works on the assumption that the larvae of today will just be bigger caterpillars tomorrow, the disruptor imagines butterflies.”
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One day an entrepreneur took his young sales manager Bill up to a magnificent estate overlooking a beautiful river. He then took him up on the highest peak on the property, put his arm around him, pointed down, and said: “Look at that stunning home and gorgeous swimming pool! How do you like those fabulous tennis courts? Take a look at those beautiful horses in the stable. Now, all I want you to do is continue to meet the high standards and goals I’ve set for you and someday, Bill…someday, all this will be mine.”
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The following blog title recently caught my attention: “Why You Shouldn’t Strive for Perfection.” Reading that statement made my blood pressure rise. A little further reading made it go up even more, as I read about a writing professor who presented his class with this assignment: 1. Write something that is just ‘so-so.’ 2. Do some research or get some feedback from a mentor or teacher. 3. Try again to make it better.” I wondered to myself, “Why would anyone strive to do something just “so-so” instead of always doing the best that they could do?”
The author’s three-part explanation for not striving for perfection all the time read as follows: “1. When you work toward making something just ‘so-so,’ it takes all the anxiety and fear out of the experience. 2. Once you’re not worried about failing, you can concentrate on your task. 3. As you work toward step #3, ‘make it better,’ you are acknowledging that there’s plenty to learn.”
And finally, there was the following three-part summary: “1. In learning a new skill, don’t focus on perfection. 2. Make your goal to produce something ‘OK,’ then get some help, and then make improvements. 3. Rinse and repeat until you are satisfied.”
I suppose that the words about working to a “so-so” or “OK” result struck me the wrong way. My comment I left on that blog follows, first, with a quote by legendary football coach Vince Lombardi and then my personal comment.
The Lombardi quote: “Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in being just good.”
Then, I commented, “In my long business career, I have never strived to be ‘so-so’ or ‘OK’ at doing anything. I have always strived to be the best I could be, never expecting perfection, but always striving for it. I can’t imagine my managers and employees doing their jobs expecting the results to be ‘so-so.’ Learning and improving are part of any process. But the expectation should always be to do or be the best you can.”
What do you think? Should you strive to do an “OK” job, or should you strive to always do your very best?
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Contact the Anonymous Distributor at anonymous.distributor@gmail.com or read his blog at www.anonymousdistributor.blogspot.com.
