Book: Winning The Battle for Relevance by Michael McQueen summary

I have attended ACCA conference last month and got this book from one of the speaker, Michael McQueen, whom talks about how great companies fall and what to do to avoid it.

In summary, Michael talks about how time waits for no man and companies need to up their power of innovation in order to stay ahead of the game. Below is the summary of his book.

Section 1: The Cycle of Relevance

All business has to begin somewhere and, in time, becomes PROMINENCE and prime of its time. This is when the business grow becomes invincible in its line.

However, up to a certain point, the transition from relevance to IRRELEVANCE becomes a reality. It is a very confusing stage as there is no fact or information to show that the business is failing.

In time, if the company know what to do, they could turn things around and regain momentum, but they do not then, needlessly to say, its good bye into OBSOLESCENE stage.

The above is called the Relevance Curve which could be found in our history, empires, community service organisation, culture and etc. Great examples provided are the CDs, MP3 players, public pay phones, etc.

Section 2: The 5 Roads to Irrelevance

Road 1 : Shift Happens

The shifts includes:

1. Societal Shifts – Things come and go with time. What is popular one season will likely be passe in the next.
2. Demographic Shifts – The Generation Y, the up and coming generation.
3. Market Shifts – In the world of consumer electronics, Apple solution of the iPod technology was to invent the ‘iPod Killer’ themselves which came the birth of iPhone.
4. Technological shifts –
   1.  Obsolete technology-induced product
      1. Blockbuster video
      2. Enclycopedia Britannica
      3. Postal services
   2. The Death of paper – Yellow pages advertisement has fallen 40% in the past 7 years
   3. The Death of PC – In India, 59% of consumers reported using mobile devices as their primary web access
5. Legislative shifts – Ie, Audi designing engines that shut off at traffic lights to minimise fuel consumption

Road 2: The Intoxication of Success

Example, Kodak was the demise of photographic but it success appear to be intoxicated by the following factor:

Complacency – Just as comfort is the enemy of progress, becoming complacent in success is one of the most dangerous trap an organisation can fall into

The greatest challenge we have as we become successful is not to rest on our laurels, never feel like we’ve done it. The minute you feel like you’ve done it, that’s the beginning of the end. – K. Shelly Porges –

Conceit – defined as an excessive pride in oneself

Conceit tends to arise in any industry where a small number of key players have dominated and remained unchallenged for a long time – Peter Drucker-

Ivory tower syndrome – We loss sight of the products from the consumer’s point of view

Closed-mindedness – It is natural for success to solidify people’s perception that a certain set of rules, beliefs assumptions have led to this triumph in the past.

Before we can change anything else, we must be willing to change our mind.

Conformity – Like attracts like -You become like those you associate with

Road 3: Preservation Obsession

You can’t keep doing what works one time, because everything around you is always changing. To succeed, you have to stay out in front of that change -Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart –

A Glorification of the past 

An Over-emphasis on process – Try to make uncertainty your friend and being consistent could fail to provoke consistency because employee has been trained to do but not to think.

A stubborn commitment to traditions and rituals  – Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you don’t keep moving

Road 4: Progress Addiction

The below are way of failures if the company is too focus of getting better or being the best that they lose sight of their main purpose:

Grow too quickly

Changing too much, too quickly

Knee-jerk response to competitor’s moves

Moving away from core strengths

Road 5: The Human Factor

We are humans and we tend to make mistakes but knowing our mistakes is a first step to preventing us from failing.

Poor judgement

Denial

Shortsightedness

Section 3: The Battle for Relevance

Below are the steps to counter irrelevance which i personally find it really helpful and meaningful not just for the companies but for myself or my life.

Re-calibrate

DNA = Defining Values + Driving Purpose

What is your company’s value? What are you currently known for?

Why do you exist?

Re-Focus

What would you set to do if your success was assured?

Re-Fresh

Streamlining operations and decentralising power and control

Focus on good stuff

What steps can you take to start refreshing your organisation in the next week?

Re-Engineer

1. Deconstruct – steps, process…
2. Evaluate – Is it effective? Is it necessary? Is it aligned?
3. Innovate –
   1. What would be a better/faster/cheaper/more efficient approach?
   2. What are our competitors doing?
   3. How have things been done in the past?
4. Reassemble

In order to survive, a company’s internal rate of change has to be greater than the external rate of change

Re-Frame

Leverage fresh eyes and foster a culture of curiosity where ‘what if’ questions are encouraged

Re-Position

Get to know your customers

Developing new products, services or features

Exploiting new markets

Adopting new messaging

Embracing new formats or approaches

We cannot change the wind but we can go with the wind rather than against it -to tack

It’s not the strongest that survives, nor the most intelligent but those most responsive to change -Charles Darwin-

Hope you like my summary above. If you have read it this far, do drop me a comment or your thoughts and opinion of my summary. Thanks!