(First of two parts)
FINALLY, I got to finish reading the book entitled “The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time,” given to me by my eldest brother, Junior.
I quote from the book, “A truism of life is that success equals the sum total of all the decisions one makes. It is the combination of thousands of decisions that lead to greatness.”
A common denomination of these decisions is the fact that they stand out because they were counter-intuitive, as they went against popular or common practice.
Written by Verne Harnish and the Editors of Fortune, the book shortlisted the companies that have stood out.
Here is the list with my short notes on what the authors believe were defining decisions that made their companies great.
Each of these great decisions and lessons may not be applicable to most other companies and cannot just be copied as is, as the culture, circumstances, size and situation of each company is different, but they are worth listing and sharing:
1. APPLE – The board brought back its founder, Steve Jobs, after favoring and having professional management for some time. Steve brought back the magic, energy and entrepreneurial vigor that a founder had. The rest is history.
2. ZAPPOS – This online shoe retailer made one desperate decision to stand out in a crowded business by offering free shipping and free returns, giving fanatical attention to customer service. From a 30-day return policy, they increased it to 365 days!
*Reading this brought back memories of my earlier Imarflex days, some 35 years ago. I was reluctant to advertise lifetime free service that my mentor and supplier, the late Mr. Paul Tan, was introducing in the Philippines. He made a great decision that propelled his company forward.
3. SAMSUNG – In the early 1990’s their chairman sent some of their brightest young employees to the corners of the world for a year to learn the language, immerse themselves in the culture, and build networks that Samsung would one day benefit from.
Their mission was to imbibe the spirit of the country, meet people, make contacts, and write a report.
Before being sent, they joined a “boot camp” where they were awakened at 5:30 a.m. to jog, meditate, learn table manners, dance, and avoid sexual harassment.
Samsung practiced: Act local. Think global.
4. JOHNSON and JOHNSON – How they handled the case of Tylenol being laced with cyanide leaving 7 people dead, is a classic case of crisis management at its best. Their chairman had long lived by the creed that a leader’s first responsibility was to those who use their products and services. Thus, when the tragedy broke out, they quickly revealed publicly all that they knew and did everything necessary to take care of their customers. They recalled $100 million dollars worth of Tylenol and then reintroduced them in tamper-resistant packaging.
They were guided by two questions: How do we protect the people? And how do we save the product?
5. 3M - The company has been one of the world’s most innovative companies, creating everything from sandpaper, masking tape, Post-it-notes to DVD’S. They gave their technical team members time to daydream. Allowing them to spend 15% of their time on their own projects has kept the company’s innovation engine working. Thus, in 2009, 3M launched more than 1,000 new products.
They found out that most of the time, intrinsic motivation is stronger than extrinsic motivation in sparking creativity and innovation. Highly creative people are focused on the task, not on themselves. Trying to push creative people usually doesn’t work. They aren’t pushed, they are driven.
However, they are guided by this: “If a deadline has to be met, meet it; then do your 15% some other time.”
6. INTEL – “Intel Inside” campaign was a critical decision that made the consumers care about the chip inside their computer. It made their brand synonymous to quality.
7. GENERAL ELECTRIC – The CEO had to make a tough decision to lay off more than 100,000 employees, about 25% of its total workforce, in a company that had a bloated bureaucracy that had too many layers. At the same time, he spent millions to modernize their training center. While they had a standard array of functional courses, the crucial part of their curriculum centered on leadership. The dynamics of openness, directness, responsiveness, coaching and listening, rather than preaching and controlling, were key features of their training programs that brought immeasurable benefits to the company and its people.
8. MICROSOFT – Once or twice a year, Bill Gates would have his “Think Week” and retreat from the world, to focus deeply on topics crucial to the software maker’s future. He would be away reviewing selected reports and recommendations of his research and development team members, and chart the company’s future.
9. SOFTSOAP - It created an entirely new concept in the soap industry by introducing liquid hand soap. To prevent the big companies from immediately copying it, the small company bought the entire U.S. supply of plastic pumps – some 100 million units, a risky decision that bought it time to establish its foothold in the industry. It identified the bottleneck in the process and controlled it.
10. TOYOTA – After initially failing to penetrate the U.S. market due to poor quality vehicles, Toyota launched its quality system, now known as the Toyota Way. Better quality reduced expenses while increasing pro.ductivity and market share. Production was treated as a system, involving suppliers, consumers, and the factory. Industrial processes included a cycle for observing variations and deviations, and changing the process to reduce them. Defects should be analyzed, changes made and the process refined until it was done right.
It stopped moving workers around and assigned them responsibility for individual machines. A major key in its success was systematic preventive maintenance and immediate attention to problems.
Toyota was committed to “the relentless pursuit of perfection”.
*In my early years at McDonald’s, I did not give much attention to preventive maintenance. I learned the hard way. The Toyota Way confirms our early management principle of Management By Exception (MBE).
My dearest children,
You may never have to make such major decisions that affect tens of thousands of lives nor bring your businesses to such heights, but at your own scale and within your own range of authority and responsibility, each decision and sum total of all your decisions will impact your life, the lives of your family, and the lives, future, and destiny of those who work with you and deal with you.
Pray for wisdom. It is a gift from the Holy Spirit.
Keep to heart our 29-year old motto: For God in all we do. Be the best you can be! (BTBYCB)
Build competence. Exercise authority and power prudently and judiciously. Maintain a simple lifestyle. Stay humble. Listen to advice. Consider all options (CAO). Decide and act. Exhaust all means (EAM). Persist and Persevere (PnP).
Remember, the buck always stops with you!
Pray. Give your best, and let God do the rest!
James 1:5 “But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all.”