Month: December 2019

Creating Agile Teams is More Than Just a Fad

Upper management is progressively recognizing that agility is eating the world, so to speak. In recent surveys, over 90% of upper management would like to be agile, and a staggering less than 10% already see their company as highly agile. Large companies and organizations, both private and public, are planning agile transformations.

Agile is Used For Cost Reduction

Let’s go over a global bank that implemented agile. The idea was to accelerate innovation so there would be an improvement of quality services and products and in turn would increase customer satisfaction. Agile implementation began to suffer and eventually failed because, in order to improve profits, staff had to downsize along with other cost-cutting decisions.

It’s A Scientific Management System

Certain companies have ceased using the term “agile” and deploy a less direct slogan to win over the support of late-adopters and avoid the burden of being attached to that specific term. Shifting to different terminology can actually run the risk of resorting back to the cost reduction we talked about earlier.

Agile Needs To Be More Than Just A Patch

In a separate case, a global company was careful in its deployment of the agile process. They tried to incorporate repetition, daily standups, dealing with past events, and small groups. Unfortunately, agile was just a minor patch and their work eventually continued as it did before.

It’s Used As A Scaling Framework

Some cases of scaling framework have been implemented across organizations. Then they go about without seeing any significant change in their work practices. Once again, no benefits have been proven where the work is carried out.

When Agile Is Not Implemented Properly

Let’s look at another case where a firm was moving forward, profiting, and making excellent progress in the agile execution. During this time an official order came down the pipeline where the company needed to implement significant cost-cutting measures. While management tried doing their best to keep the gains they already had and minimize casualties, in the end, trust was lost.

The employees eventually saw that management talked about the value of staff and customers being a primary concern. But ultimately they learned that the real concern was the value and concerns of shareholders. This ended up being another failed attempt at agile implementation.

Key Takeaway About Creating Agile Teams

In the end, it needs to be clear to your team and company that agile is more than a fad. It’s something that needs to be trained and consistently checked on within your organization. It will work as long as you are making sure to avoid these costly mistakes.

We would love to hear your comments. Please email or call today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

Your Customers Know What They Want and You Need to Give it to Them

55% of companies out there don’t truly understand what their customers need. In fact, most people go to great lengths to avoid a company’s pushy messages. So, how do you excite your customers and provide what they need? These are some important truths if you want a successful company.

The Customer Is Never Wrong

The first thing you should realize is that your customer is never wrong. They aren’t always right but they’re never wrong. It’s important to realize this so that you can cater to the needs of your customers.

Too many corporations stopped listening to the needs of their customers and what happened to them? They are now obsolete, a name of the past. If you don’t want to go the way of those other companies, you’ll never stop listening to your customers. There are a few ways you can ensure you’re listening to your customers.

1. Don’t Assume You Know What Your Customer Wants

Too many companies assume they know what their customer needs. The problem is that customers often don’t know what they need until you show them the final product. It’s your job to stay one step ahead of them so that you can present them with the product they never knew they had to have.

2. People are No Longer Brand Loyal

The new generations are no longer loyal to any one specific brand. It’s all about which companies currently are providing their expectations. If you stop providing for their expectations and stop keeping them intrigued, then they’ll simply move onto the next company who’ll provide that for them.

Don’t get too comfortable in your brand because building a reputable brand is no longer enough. You need to keep their interest by continuing to provide products and solutions to fit their needs.

3. Know Your Customer

Getting feedback from the customer is vital to your success. This is how you’ll truly listen to your customers. You can gain this feedback in several ways:

• Base your decisions about your customer on facts
• Research the trends and marketplace for your customer by

○ Listening to what they say on social media

○ Build their trust in your brand by producing high quality, educational content

○ Give them something for free, such as a free trial

○ Track your customers’ behavior

• Keep an eye on your competition to see what is successful and not so successful for them
• Put yourself in your customer’s environment
• Surround yourself with people who’ll have insights on your customers

In Summary

Customers can tell you what they want but it’s your job to figure out what they need. If you do this, then you can stay one step ahead of them and provide their needs. This is how you’ll delight your customer and keep them interested.

We would love to hear your comments. Please email or call today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.