Do you think strategically?

Two examples that show very clearly what strategic thinking is. 

Do the test, asking two questions to an audience, whoever answers them both faster and correctly will win: 

 

-1- There are two equal bottles with an equal amount of different types of liquid (200 mL), but having the same color and no odor. If I take two spoons of 15mL from bottle A, and put it in bottle B, mix it well and then take two spoons of 6mL from bottle B, and put it in bottle A... Which of the two bottles will get more polluted? 

-2- In a tennis competition with 80 participants, we organize the groups so as to have the minimum possible number of elimination games. How many games will we need to have a champion?

In the first case, those who know a little algebra and logic can quickly formulate an equation with the milliliters informed...

In the second case, those who are used to matching groups of teams will quickly arrive at the groups and count the number of games to get to the champion.

Those who think strategically will be even faster.

In the first case, the amount of pollution is the same, because the quantity of polluting content in a bottle is exactly the one that has been taken from the other and vice-versa. There is no way it can be different.

In the second case, the strategic thinker will promptly say that are 79 games. To have a champion 79 competitors must be eliminated, with each elimination happening with one game, so...

Strategic thinking is to think hither, not thither - which would be incremental thinking, deadly poison to those who want to walk new paths...

Author: Claus Jorge Süffert 

Does the client know what he or she wants?

Many years ago I came across an image that defined marketing in a way I considered at the same time innovative, enlightening and simple. It was practical.

It showed that there are several gaps when a question is examined:

gap 1 – the difference between the perception and the expectation a client has about a product (good or service). This is what we call customer satisfaction. and it should not be confused ( so I used) with

gap 3 – difference between what I want to produce and what I deliver - product compliance. Note that these small boxes are separate from each other. The one on the bottom is controlled by production technology. The one on the top is controlled by customer process mastery. The main connection between the two is

gap 4 – the difference between what I produce and deliver, and what my client perceives of it. I may be delivering a big box, which can be stacked, but my client needs an easily disposable package - this is an example of such a gap. Through client communication (advertising is included here) I can manage their expectations. The client's satisfaction will vary via improvements in my product only if he or she expects less - or perceives more of it. If the client is not satisfied, our first measure will be to eliminate the

gap 2 – by correcting my (project) specifications or eliminating production failures (product compliance).

So far went the article I read. But I realized that the client doesn't always want what he or she needs. A student wants easy tests, long breaks, but they needs to acquire knowledge. Someone applying for a loan at the bank wants a quick approval for their request - but a judicious review of their project is required to keep them from getting into trouble...

It is only an understanding of our client’s process that will allow us to approach

gap 0 – the difference between what the client needs, and what I am willing to offer!

In short, it is possible that your client is not sure of what he wants - but he is willing to pay someone to solve his needs...

Written by Claus Jorge Süffert.