Ron Baker offers an interesting discussion about value delivery where he demonstrates the Adaptive Capacity Model using the airplane as a metaphor. The illustration at the top of this post sets the scene.
In this model, Ron suggests that:
And here’s the biggest question of all: Where does the customer want to sit?
The firm DOES NOT decide this, the customer does. How? Ask them. We have firms who slide the picture of the plane over to the customer and ask, “Where would you like to sit in our plane.” This forces the firm to communicate the value proposition for each section of the plane, just like the airlines have (quite effectively I might add).Keep it simple with this. I know from experience how we can add many layers of complexity that don’t mean a whole lot. People will draw their own conclusions from the metaphor, that’s the beauty of thinking for one’s self.
Ron goes on to say the metaphor can help the firm decide how it organizes its client groups according to different value delivery check points. I don’t have a problem with this in principle but I do in practice.
Experience shows that clients want value but at the lowest possible price. They consistently push those boundaries and as practitioners we tend to give way – often far too readily. In order to make this model work, we have to be confident we ‘know’ the value we can deliver to each class of passenger. That takes a good amount of effort to work out.
As an alternative, I have recently found that when practitioners adopt a factory style of production in relation to compliance work, they can adopt the EasyJet model of service where there is no real distinction between where you sit. These practices adopt fixed prices but, like the low cost airlines, concentrate on ensuring they squeeze profit from each menu item. They are among the most profitable firms I know. And with the happiest clients. Why? Because for these clients, who constitute the majority of those who cross our doorstep, the work is mostly viewed as a commoditized necessity where price is a sensitive issue but where service delivery has a value. Just as with the low cost airlines, it’s about delivering on the promise of safely landing on time, most of the time.
loading...
loading...
