Mavericks at Work is a great book that profiles 32 remarkable US entrepreneurs who have battled bureaucracy and challenged the status quo, and won, while redefining success in their industries. The authors William Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company, and Polly LaBarre, a former writer for Fast Company, uncover some remarkable examples of how businesses are succeeding in hypercompetitive industries by being distinctively different.Their findings are centered on 4 key themes and they sum up each of these key themes with some probing questions that will challenge any business owner:
1. Be different and pursue more than just money: Successful mavericks are fearless about breaking with outdated traditions and confining standards. Making money is only a small part of a bigger mission which they are deeply passionate about. Examples include Southwest Airlines, the company that pioneered low cost air travel and democratized the skies. The book highlights how Southwest saw it as their mission to make air travel accessible to all and by going after this wholeheartedly they innovated on different ways to save cost such as using second tier airports, not serving food and seating people on a first come first serve basis. Keeping this mission at the centre of the organisation has differentiated them from the competition and enabled them to consistently make profits is a loss making industry.
Key questions:
- Do you have a distinctive disruptive sense of purpose that sets you apart from your rivals?
- Do you have a vocabulary of competition that is unique and compelling to your employees and customers?
- Are you prepared to reject opportunities that offer short term benefits but distract your organisation from its long term mission?
- If you went out of business tomorrow, who would really miss you and why?
2. Tap other people's brains: The innovators of today rely on more than just their own insight and intelligence. They create systems to enable and encourage others to help them solve problems and come up with ingenious solutions. Examples include TopCoder Inc., a software development house for many large multinational organisations. They create competitions for technology geeks from all over the world to come up with solutions for software problems in return for lucrative prizes and prestigious ranking points. In this way they are able to use the wisdom of many to solve very specific software development challenges.
Key questions:
- Are you tapping other peoples brains and broadening your range of participants for solving problems and coming up with new products and services?
- Are you having fun?
- Do you share the benefits with those that offer you solutions and ideas for new products and services?
- Do you focus people on the key issues and challenges that face your business and incentivise them to come up with solutions?
3. Connect deeply with customers: Connecting with customers is about a lot more than just traditional advertising, it is about really understanding what customers’ value and connecting with that value system in a deep and meaningful way. Jones Soda asks customers to contribute photographs to be used on the labels of their cool drink bottles. Customers submit photos plus the story attached to each photo. Many photos are selected and placed on the bottles to be distributed in the region in which that customer lives. This creates a massive interest in the community as they discover “who is on the label?” and “what their story is?”
Key questions:
- Do you know which customers are most valuable to your organisation?
- Are you enhancing the brand through the culture and the culture through the brand?
- Are you doing more than just advertising to connect with customers?
- Have you moved past counting the dollars and cents in creating brand value?
4. Partner with your employees: Maverick business enable employees to really understand what drives the business. They are given the opportunity to freely contribute to the overall mission of the business and be rewarded for doing so. At Cranium, a fast growing, innovative board game manufacturer in Seattle, the Chief Financial Officer holds companywide meetings on the company's numbers. He tutors the staff on cash flow and financial ratios, and every employee then assesses his or her own productivity. He recognizes that this helps keep the whole company focused on the right priorities.
Key questions:
- Why should people join your organisation?
- Do you know a great person when you see one?
- Can you find great people who are not looking for you?
- Are you great at teaching your people how your organisation works and wins?
Key questions:
- Are you tapping other peoples brains and broadening your range of participants for solving problems and coming up with new products and services?
- Are you having fun?
- Do you share the benefits with those that offer you solutions and ideas for new products and services?
- Do you focus people on the key issues and challenges that face your business and incentivise them to come up with solutions?
3. Connect deeply with customers: Connecting with customers is about a lot more than just traditional advertising, it is about really understanding what customers’ value and connecting with that value system in a deep and meaningful way. Jones Soda asks customers to contribute photographs to be used on the labels of their cool drink bottles. Customers submit photos plus the story attached to each photo. Many photos are selected and placed on the bottles to be distributed in the region in which that customer lives. This creates a massive interest in the community as they discover “who is on the label?” and “what their story is?”
Key questions:
- Do you know which customers are most valuable to your organisation?
- Are you enhancing the brand through the culture and the culture through the brand?
- Are you doing more than just advertising to connect with customers?
- Have you moved past counting the dollars and cents in creating brand value?
4. Partner with your employees: Maverick business enable employees to really understand what drives the business. They are given the opportunity to freely contribute to the overall mission of the business and be rewarded for doing so. At Cranium, a fast growing, innovative board game manufacturer in Seattle, the Chief Financial Officer holds companywide meetings on the company's numbers. He tutors the staff on cash flow and financial ratios, and every employee then assesses his or her own productivity. He recognizes that this helps keep the whole company focused on the right priorities.
Key questions:
- Why should people join your organisation?
- Do you know a great person when you see one?
- Can you find great people who are not looking for you?
- Are you great at teaching your people how your organisation works and wins?
Check the books website and blog at http://www.mavericksatwork.com/
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