Paul Bennett is my new business hero. I discovered his post on creativity and the rise of optimism via Diego Rodriguez [metacool] and I'm already a fan.
The title is an expression he used in the post. Paul says something very simple, and very very hard for businesses to understand - people want to contribute. In the command and control world we still live in, people have designated lines to color within.
What can I do? Is probably the most frequently asked question in many situations - career changes, economic woes, but also new jobs, new relationships, a move to another city.
You start the job, for example, or the relationship, filled with desire to make a contribution. Alas "how can we make the pie bigger?" is seldom the most frequent way forward. Look at point #3 in this post - great minds...
Yes, heavens does look a lot like YouTube. Now playing because they make the pie bigger for customers and the community:
1. Zappos.com becoming a customer's best fan by being transparent and fun. In the interview with AdWeek, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said: Our belief is a company's culture and brand are two sides of the same coin. The brand may lack the culture but eventually it will catch up. Cultural fit matters tremendously to inspire positive thinking and keep the creative juices flowing towards participation in the customer experience.
2. Trader Joe's offering freshness, delight, and a few surprises every single week - they can introduce up to 15 new products/week. There are rumors that this is the only grocery store I will go to. Their floral displays are as yummy as the cheese counter. It's just so friendly and nice in the store that it almost feels like an adventure - and one that will not break your bank.
3. I wrote about The Ministry of Food (another connection with Paul) a couple of months ago. Jamie Oliver is the ultimate example of making the pie bigger. He uses his talent and creativity to help the community. The causes he has backed are many improving the quality of school lunches, reducing childhood obesity, advancing the cooking skills of the general population, educating the public about factory farming, and offering delinquent kids a second chance through cooking.
Food and clothing. Maybe there are also examples of housing that does right by the community. As Paul said, heavens looks (a lot) like YouTube. What can we do to help each other get the dreams and hopes, and memories seen - and played out? It's amazing what you discover about yourself by broadening your horizons and looking upwards!
[Forget the company brochure. What would your business magazine cover look like?]
Great post. We're all looking for a way to matter and you give some great examples. Companies that put community to the forefront will win every time.
PS - I got a Jamie Oliver - The Naked chef - cookbook from my sister who lives in England years and years ago, and all his goodness translated even back then. Crazy.
Posted by: Rebecca | January 24, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Zappos is a bizarre example. It's the company that I'd like to do business with, but they have nothing that I want to buy from them.
You'd think with all the online advantages of cheap warehousing and inventory, Zappos could carry some interesting, hard-to-find, and edgier shoes that you just can't get at any big box store. But every time I visit, I am disappointed by nothing but the mass-produced, mass-marketed lines sold by the shipping container.
A company has to do more than have a culture to win customers. It also has to have products customers want to buy.
Posted by: swag | January 24, 2009 at 06:41 PM
@Rebecca - I've been fascinated by Jamie Oliver. I was watching a BBC interview with him on YouTube, I would have posted it, but they blocked the code (old media ways). He is so approachable and talks so simply about what he's done.
@swag - excellent point. Although I have browsed through the site, I too have not made any purchases from Zappos.com. They have focused so much on the customer service side that it seems their product *is* the customer experience and no so much the shoes.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | January 24, 2009 at 06:50 PM
I really don't understand why the social media world is falling over itself to tell the Zappos story (except that its self-serving of said community).
Zappos online user experience is clunky and light years behind Amazon. And Amazon can school Zappos on price. Unless you can give me all 3
1) online usability
2) price competitiveness
3) customer service including the social media experience
I'm sorry--in my humble opinion Zappos only has one.
Posted by: Nathan Ketsdever | January 31, 2009 at 01:49 AM
Great feedback on Zappos.com, Nathan. I subsequently wrote a post on Amazon's secret to online dominance and I included some of our points in it. Which reminds me, I have an order pending :)
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | January 31, 2009 at 01:33 PM