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You didn't dare go anywhere without a toolkit. Novice customers were an expensive nuisance. Innovation has changed that, and cars have become more customer-friendly.
Originally, COMPUTERS were built from the inside-out BY computer engineers FOR programmers. You didn't dare try to do anything without mind-numbing reference manuals and esoteric codes. Novice customers were an expensive nuisance. But, innovation changed that when they designed the Macintosh computer from the outside-in BY users FOR users. Then Mac computers became more customer-friendly (and PCs have been playing "catch-up" ever since).
To this day, most BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS are built from the inside-out BY executives FOR investors. Customers are an expensive nuisance but a necessary evil. However, innovations in organizational strategies are (slowly) changing that. Some companies are becoming more customer-friendly.
Yes, cars, computers, and business organizations must still be built from reliable components into a system that works. But, work for whom - the designers or the customers? Will managers, executives, and investors ever surrender their military-style dictatorships of CONTROL and DOMINATION?
Imagine a business organization designed from the outside-in, BY customers FOR customers!
============================================================ Does your company work like this? ============================================================
"Semco has no official structure. It has no organizational chart. There's no business plan or company strategy, no two-year or five-year plan, no goal or mission statement, no long-term budget. The company often does not have a fixed CEO. There are no vice presidents or chief officers for information technology or operations. There are no standards or practices.
"There's no human resources department. There are no career plans, no job descriptions or employee contracts. No one approves reports or expense accounts. Supervision or mentoring of workers is rare indeed. Most important, success is not measured only in pr0fit and growth. " -- Ricardo Semler, Semco President, and Author of "The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the way work works. "
I first heard of Ricardo Semler from Sean D'Souza in New Zealand. I did an Internet search on Semler's name and discovered numerous references, articles, and the fact that Ph. D. students are writing dissertations about him and his business methods. So, I ordered "The Seven-Day Weekend" forthwith.
On page 12 Semler says,
"Today, I can honestly say that our growth, pr0fit, and the number of people we employ are secondary concerns. Outsiders clamor to know these things because they want to quantify our business. . . That's one reason we're still privately held. I don't want Semco to be burdened with the ninety-day mindset of most st0ck market analysts. It would undermine our solidity and force us to dance to a tune we don't really want to hear - a Wall Street waltz. . .
"Thanks, but no thanks. We generate enough of our own ca'sh, and we're growing nearly 40 percent a year without public investment. . . Success means little to me if it's measured only in those terms. . . The principles we n0w practice have resulted in tremendous growth . . . from $4 million a year to $212 million a year. . . "
I won't tell you the Semco secret(s), but I will say that if you're interested in changing the way work works, you must read "The Seven-Day Weekend. "
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