I’m sorry it has been such a long time since my last post. I’m back in the saddle again now.
In my strategy classes I often use the example of a “Noodle Joint” as a means of trying to get students to think about how, if they were in the noodle restaurant business, they would go about beating the competition. (This exercise works really well in places like Hong Kong and Singapore - but it translates well here in Australia too).
I ask them to imagine that they are running a Noodle Joint and that competition in the area is fierce. How would they compete? What strategies would they use?
Usually I get a swag of responses that include:
- More advertising
- Cheaper Prices
- Better decor (more attractive)
- Faster service
- Happier staff (friendlier service)
- Special promotions (get in a movie star to promote!)
- Different flavours
- Begin another business - get into DVD sales!
- etc.
I’LL INSERT A COUPLE OF PHOTOS HERE ONCE I GET PERMISSION FROM EVERYONE THAT THEY ARE HAPPY TO HAVE THEIR IMAGES ON THE INTERNET
Not very long later we were eating the very noodles that we had seen being made in front of us. We were involved; we were thrilled; we were keen to tell others about it so that they could also experience it!
HOW TO THINK: AN APPROACH TO SOLVING DIFFICULT PROBLEMS
June 12, 2008 — jasondownsI have been doing a lot of thinking lately. I have to: my PhD is in ’strategic thinking’. So what is the best way to solve difficult problems?
Well, that depends on the nature of the issue, how much information you have, how familiar you are with the problem, how quickly the problem changes - a whole host of things…
But, let’s assume for the moment that you have a particularly tricky organisational problem that you want to solve. Let’s also assume that you are not looking for a quick fix to some symptom, but that you want to solve the root cause of whatever issue it is that you have.
One approach is Concept Mapping.
Concept mapping is an approach that combines both cause and effect thinking and also allows for expansive ‘brainstorming’. Think Mindmapping - but on steroids.
Concept mapping relies on the scientific method of thinking: reductionism and relativity. Its real advantage is that you can start with a problem and begin to break it down into its component parts. You can then look at the component parts and see how they relate to each other.
It might be easier with an example:
The above concept map was whipped up by my class to try and understand the relationship between an organisation’s environment (both internal and external) and what might cause an organisation to suffer from a lack of innovation over time.
The important thing to remember here is that they only had a very short period of time to draw this up - and even though it is incomplete and that it could do with some revision, the process encouraged a lot of discussion which was extremely valuable. The map helped them to learn not only the “what” but also the “why” of the problem. The result: the students were able to see how some of the dynamics were self-reinforcing and propose tentative solutions to problems that were yet to manifest. They were engaging in strategic thinking.
When creating a concept map, often the hardest thing to do is NOT jump ahead to the solution, but to slowly, meticulously and patiently STEP your way through the problem. By slowing down, and mapping the relationship between various factors you actually are forced to consider the assumptions that you make in your decision making process. This can be really valuable. By slowing down, you can actually consider all the issues, not just the main one. You might find that by looking at the relationships between components that you can solve a much larger organisational issue with much less effort and far more elegantly.
The secret is to think: ”If this, then that”.
Example: Let’s say you want to lose weight. Even though you know what it is that you need to do, (exercise more/eat less) you still can’t get around to doing it. Why?
This is where concept mapping can help. The stating point is “Overweight”. That is the ‘what’. Overweight (leads to) less energy. Now in a Concept map, you would draw this as follows:
This is a cause and effect relationship. It shows the way in which you begin to construct a map. You start off with a problem and you move forward to see what the effect is. Your next branch would emerge from “Lack of Energy”. It could looks something like: ”Lack of Energy” (decreases) “Motivation”. From “Motivation” you might have another branch that changes the problem. E.g. “Motivation” (can be increased by) “Outside forces”. ”Outside forces” (can consist of) “Motivational speakers”"Personal trainers”"Friends”"Inspiring videos” etc. The important thing to remember here is that you can have multiple branches coming off of a single node. See below:
This is by no means a finished map - you should be able to see how it can continue to be expanded as you look for issues that can lead back to helping you solve the original problem.
Most people only think of problems linearly. Of course problems are usually a lot more complex than that. Often relationships exist that are hidden from plain sight even though they are in ‘plain sight’. For example, one of the issues that our overweight friend might be facing but doesn’t ‘realise’ is the lack of safe lighting in their area - so they don’t exercise after dark. Once something like this is mapped out, then they can start to think about ways to solve that issue (join a gym, exercise at luchtime, join a group etc).
Concept mapping is a good way to sit down and begin to think through all the issues of a particular problem. It forces you to consider all issues.
HINT: I do all my concept mapping on paper. I use a Moleskine diary and pencil. Maps can become messy, and often when you begin considering relationships, you may begin to edit those relationships as you gain more insight. Nothing beats pencil and eraser for this. Computer programs are cool-and-all, but by taking your problem ‘analogue’ (I often go to a favourite cafe to do all of my SERIOUS thinking) means that you are not trapped in the same environment that causes most of your problems. Get a fresh perspective. Go ‘offline’ and take a pencil, paper and eraser with you. Go somewhere different. The beach. The mountains. The park. You’ll be surprised at what a difference it makes.
Let me know if you found this post interesting and that you would like to hear more about different thinking approaches. Also, if you are interested in the software that I used to create the maps in this post - let me know. I can point you in the direction of the website where you can download it for free if you are and education provider/charity etc etc..
Jason.
THE BASIC ‘BUILDING BLOCK OF VALUE’: EFFICIENCY.
April 24, 2008 — jasondownsIt’s been a bit over a week or so since I’ve written, so it’s definitely time to get back to it. Sorry, if you have been wondering where I went.
A while ago, I wrote about the need to be focussed on what the customer wants - to be responsive to their needs. Today, I want to talk about why it is also important to be efficient in everything that you do - and it’s not just about saving money!
HOW TO SMASH THE COMPETITION: Step-By-Step
April 8, 2008 — jasondownsI am constantly surprised by the fact that most people (and this includes businesses) don’t continually invest in those things that give them a sustainable competitive advantage. What do I mean by sustainable competitive advantage? I mean smashing the competition and while they are down, making sure that they don’t get up again without you having something to say about it.
At a personal level, this means being better, faster, more effective than your co-worker. At a business level it means being the leader in your industry and always two or three steps ahead.
Today I want to talk about being better than your co-worker, and I don’t mean just a bit better, I mean significantly better and better in measurable ways.
Here’s how you do it:
- Decide on what is important to be good at and focus on that. Ditch all the rest.
- Do a quick search on the net to find out how others who are experts at whatever it is that you want to be like got there, and what tools they used.
- Buy and read the book/download the tool/ get the DVD/do the course/whatever-it-takes to understand how to do it.
- Apply.
- Keep Applying.
- Apply again and again and again until it is a habit.
- Keep applying some more.
Below is a scan from some notes that I took the other week when I was attending a colleague’s lecture. The lecture went for an hour and was on the historical perspective of Scientific Management (not the most interesting of subjects to me, but I wanted to see how my colleagues were presenting in class in case I could learn anything about how to improve my own style). I sat in the last row, furtherest from the lecturer and tried to keep a small profile.
As the class filled up, I found myself surrounded by students, some of which had printed out the notes beforehand, and others who had not. During the lecture I found it interesting to watch who was taking notes and what method they used….
What did I find? Most just flipped along with the lecture slides on the PowerPoint Presentation and some jotted down a few points: most did nothing.
(click image to make larger etc)
I first learnt about mind-mapping about five years ago, and have been using the tool somewhat sporadically over that period. Last year, though, I decided to get serious about it to see if it was really useful, or if I was wasting my time.
- Mind-mapping increases my concentration on the topic at hand enormously
- Mind-mapping increases my ability to recall information faster and more accurately than any other method that I know
- Mind-maps are personal - it is very difficult for anyone else to read them and understand them - this means that you are an important part of the mind-map. Without you, the data can’t be easily de-coded (this puts you at the centre of the information dissemination game; a valuable place to be).
The map above covers all the main points I would need to be able to know in order to feel confident in answering a question on that topic in, say, an assignment or exam. It is contained in one page and not spread out over 60+ slides that were designed by someone else. Most of all, though, it was created by me using both hemispheres of my brain and as such, the data is locked inside - not forgotten.
I pinned this map to my wall when I returned from the lecture, and didn’t look at it again until this morning. Upon pulling it down and glancing at it again, all the information came flooding back and I feel super confident that I GET IT!
What does this mean in terms of efficiency and effectiveness? It means that I don’t have to spend hours slogging over old notes in a hope that I will remember them when it is important. It means that all the time that I don’t spend trying to decode someone else’s work (the original PPT slides) I can spend doing further research or study on another topic to vastly increase my knowledge in this or another related area.
What does this ultimately mean? It means that because I learnt a skill that makes me far more effective and efficient at understanding new material that I can use these gains to skip even further ahead of the competition. It means that the competition has to work more than twice as hard - just to keep up. It means that I have a competitive advantage that is sustainable, and that eery day I practice developing this skill, is another nail in the coffin for the competition.
So, I have a question for you - what is a key skill, competency or capability that you, or your business needs to develop that will give you sustainable competitive advantage?
Find out what it is; learn it; apply it consistently, conscientiously and continually and watch yourself smash the competition.
THE CUSTOMER COMES FIRST - A LESSON FROM SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS.
April 3, 2008 — jasondownsOne of the things I love about working at a university is that sometimes we are lucky enough to get world-class people come and give us their time, experience and wisdom.Today, we were fortunate to have Gurcharan Das speak to a small group of us and give us his thoughts on strategy and customer service.

Gurcharan Das is probably best known from his time as CEO of Proctor and Gamble in India and as VP and MD of Proctor and Gamble world-wide.
One of the most important things that I gained from his talk was to ask this question: ”Who is paying my salary?“
This question was answered time and time again by stories that he shared that all had a common theme - the customer pays the salaries.
Now, for those of you who have a strategy background, or who can remember your Strategy 101 class, you won’t be surprised by his claims that there are basically three ways in which you can gain competitive advantage in your market:
- By having a superior price
- By having a superior product
- By having superior service
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU STOOD UP AND ACTUALLY APPLAUDED A PRESNTATION?
April 1, 2008 — jasondownsIt is no secret that I love a good presentation. Something with passion. Something with zeal. Something with a message.
Unfortunately, I hardly ever get to see one.
Well, today I viewed a presentation on www.ted.com that had me standing up and applauding at the end of it.
Because (for some reason I don’t understand) the embedding code for the video isn’t working, I’ve provided you with the link here.
Spend the 17 Minutes it takes to watch it.
You’ll be glad you did.
(Haven’t got 17 minutes? You can download it for free to your iTunes and from there to your iPod. What did you think the long train ride to work is for?)
THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC ‘INDUSTRY’
March 28, 2008 — jasondowns
- If you were an artist, and all the effort that you go to in order to create music was essentially given away for free what would you do?
- If you are a music fan, and you could get all of your favourite artists tunes for free, what would you do?
- If you are a record company and you sink lots of dollars into an artist to establish and promote them, what would you do?
- Concerts at $100 per ticket, not songs at $0.99
- Memorabilia at $30 per t-shirt, not digital photos for $0.00
- Subscriber services for ’special’ events, experiences, involvement opportunities for $premium$.
(The original image used in this post can be found here. It is used under a creative commons licence - for free. Thank you!)
YES, WE CAN. (Does your company have a vision statement? Does it need one? )
March 26, 2008 — jasondowns
I know that this video is a little old now, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t provide some good lessons. Have a listen to this speech (it’s only 4 minutes long; time well spent) do you get the message? If you were going to cast your vote (spend your money, buy this product) would you consider doing a little more research? Might you at least spend some time finding out a little more detail?
Politics aside (I’m writing from Australia - so while interested in the result I can’t really participate (directly) in the process of determining the outcome) it strikes me that this particular candidates’ message (his vision) rings clear. I’m all about change.
Now I want you to think about your business, or the businesses that you deal with. What is their vision? Do you care? Does your company have a vision statement? Does it need one?
(I’m using the word Vision throughout this blog, but often Mission is also substituted. I could go into a long, boring post about how they are different, but it seems that most businesses don’t understand the subtleties so I’ll stick with convention and not differentiate - sigh.)
Generally, the purpose of a vision statement is to provide direction; to give people who are interested (stakeholders) an idea of what it is that your firm stands for. Typically, a vision statement is conceived by ‘people at the top’ - CEOs, Boards of Directors, Small Business Owners, Founders etc. More typically, a Vision statement is created, photocopied, stuck on a wall somewhere (or on a website) and forgotten.
What would happen if you put your vision statement out there for all to see? What would happen if you put it front and centre? Who would come and listen to you give a short 4 minute speech about what it is that your company does?
Now you might be thinking that it’s ok for a politician to use stirring and evocative language - they have speech writers for exactly that purpose. But what about me? How can I do it? Well, the good news is that it is easy. Just three simple steps:
- Tap into your passion.
- Tell people what you stand for.
- Live it.
Pare what it is that you do back to it’s essential meaning. Cut away all the crap - but most importantly: look forward.
People (customers) want to know that if they are going to enter into a relationship with you or your business, that you are going to do something meaningful in the future. They want to know that if they align themselves with you that you (and by extension, they) are heading in the right direction.
The world is littered with bad vision statements; statements that are poorly worded, or consist of weasel words, or don’t really say anything meaningful at all.
Here is an example of not how to do it:
Q: What is Apple’s mission statement?
A: Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
Source: http://www.apple.com/investor/
When you read this, do you instantly think of Apple as innovative, design focussed, fun, funky and cool? I don’t. Yet their message that comes through in their products, presentations and advertising screams COOL!
If you look closely at the words of Apple’s Mission Statement, it really is only a statement of the things that they have already done - it’s a history lesson, not a statement that points to the future. Which do you think is more effective: their extremely badly written (and buried) Mission Statement or the words and actions that each at Apple live and breathe by?
If you are thinking of spending some time to write your Vision Statement, don’t. It would be a much better use of your time to figure out what it is that you actually stand for and then live it with passion.
Disclaimer: I don’t actually own any Apple products - but I’ll be buying one of the new MacBookPro this afternoon. I’m a convert - but believe me, it wasn’t their Mission Statement that convinced me…
HOW TO MAINTAIN FOCUS FOR LONG PERIODS (and how Twitter can help)
March 19, 2008 — jasondownsDo you wish that you could maintain focus on a task that you have to do for long periods?

In this post, I share one of the techniques that I have learned in order to be able to be productive for longer. The advantage of being more productive? You finish earlier!
As part of my job, I am often faced with marking piles of assignments or examination papers. These papers, by their very nature, are often very similar to each other, and it is easy to ‘drift off’ while reading them. This is frustrating as it means that I have to go back and re-read the paper in order to give an accurate grade and appropriate written feedback.
The following tip is a proven strategy I use to keep my mind on what I am doing:
When you sit down to do a lot of repetitive work that requires concentration, have a blank pad of paper and a pen nearby. When you find yourself drifting off and thinking about something else other than what you are reading, stop, jot down the thought, put the pen down and go back to your reading. The secret is to know that you will review the list later (when you have more time) and anything that is still important on the list you can then put into action if you need to. Becasue you have jotted down the thought (captured it) your mind can relax about it and it doesn’t continue to drift off as you develop the thought. You can always come back to it later when you have more time (and mental space) to think about it.
When you first begin doing this, don’t fret if you find yourself stoppping frequently and jotting random thoughts down; just get back to what you are doing immediately. Over time, you will find that the length of time that you can concentrate on the task at hand increases.
I use a similar technique when I am out and about and don’t have a pen and paper handy - I use Twitter. When I have a thought, and it threatens to distract me from what I am doing at the moment, I send a Tweet via my mobile phone or over a wireless network via laptop. The thought gets captured and recorded, and I can get back to the task at hand knowing that I can review my Twitter account any time that I want.
Below is a recent list of my Tweets (a fair proportion of them are in relation to some research that I am doing - forgive the spelling, many of them were created on the run):

jasondowns Simplicity is best.

jasondowns Is strategic thinking just a power issue? Getting the dominant frame accepted cements your power in the organisation.

jasondowns .. a bit, it’s hopless, everyone has thought everything through, Oh well.

jasondowns Disbeleif, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. i don’t beleive the theroy, I’m angray and thik it’s wrong, mayeb I can change it ..

jasondowns I wonder if there are similar stages of the five stages of grief when you are lokoing at researching an area of theory.

jasondowns I think strategically, therefore, I am. (Find the source of the original quote)

jasondowns You become a strategic thinker when someone tells you that you are, or you assume your own agency.

jasondowns We have to think differently about power in 2.0 world. Meritocracy? Who gets heard gets power.

jasondowns Melbourne Rocks! What a great autom day.

jasondowns Mobile tweet.

jasondowns Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design by John Creswell.

jasondowns …and to envision potential futures significantly different from the present.

jasondowns ….to discover novel, imaginative strategies which can re-write the rules of the competitive game….

jasondowns strategic thinking is a distinctive management activity whose purpose is:

jasondowns Ask Carlene: websites, blogs etc as academic sources in FRED? Valid?

jasondowns What about a taging system that is democratic and evolves as people review the data? Tags are voted for. Themes emerge. ThinkMap again?

jasondowns “Themes as Tags”? Coding can become more active. Using uber-themes just locks me into other people’s thinking.

jasondowns The more I think about it, the more I think I am going to reject the idea of knowledge and thinking as being linear.

jasondowns Themes don’t emerge from the data - they reside in our head. It’s our interpretation of the data through our inner lense that shows themes.

jasondowns Wonders if ThinkMap might be a useful way to present my thesis. (FRED)
What tips do you have for maintaing your focus? I’d love it if you shared them…
Jason.
(The image used in this post is from Flickr; it can be found here)
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND TWITTER
March 13, 2008 — jasondownsThe quotes used in this blogpost come from the following online resource:
Setting the world all a-Twitter - BizTech - Technology - theage.com.au ”
“THINK Twitter,” says Rob Levy. “Immediate, quick, interaction between hundreds of people: ‘Hey! what? Yes?’. One dot, two dots . . . a line. Twitter. Enough said.“
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I’ve posted before about how in large firms one of the main problems is is that those who make strategic decisions are shielded from the good ideas by layers of management reports. Well it seems that it is not only the management reports that are getting in the way - it’s the middle-ware and the structures of the organisations themselves that are problems.
Web 2.0 is all about collaboration, but how do we take the hottest trend of the last couple of years and turn it into something useful for our (music) businesses? Should we even care?
The answer to the second question is: ”Yes”.
In the same way that people are using Twitter to keep in touch with friends, find out about the latest party information, or just disseminate useless trivia, the Music Industry could use the Twittersphere to keep people in touch with their favourite artists.
Imagine if during the day you got (ir)regular updates in real time from your favourite artist.
Imagine: ”I’m very excited about the upcoming concert in NYC…“
Imagine: ”I’ve just completed sound check - the acoustics are awesome!“
Imagine: ”Hello friends - I’m going to do a ’secret’ gig @ <clubname> after the concert.“
The idea of a record company (or the artist themselves!) using the Twitterface to manage the community of loyal followers. It would work: As long as it wasn’t spam.
The Music Industry and record companies might get concerned that the are losing control of the music distribution and retailing game due to digital downloads and piracy. Well, there is one thing that you can’t copy: The Live Experience. People want to be part of a community - they want to be surrounded by others who love the same thing that they do. The record companies should be giving it to them.
“But the collision between Web 2.0 and the enterprise has re-invigorated middle-ware, Mr Levy says. As the power and potential of large-scale collaboration, sharing and social networking becomes clearer, “speaking the same language” is no longer just a way to get into the game, it is the game. ”
And that’s it. What the record companies need to do is change the way that they see themselves. They used to be boring (but all-controlling) middle-ware. Now they need to reinvent themselves as helpers, not blockers, of the interface between the artist and the fans. Couple the idea of record companies becoming enablers - spreading the word about the artists that they represent - and the new 360 contracts where the artist signs over nearly everything to the record company to manage and you have a bright, shiny new business model for the Music Industry.
The best thing about this model? It lets the musos get on and do what they do best: make beautiful music.




