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Cameras, Pictures or Memories?

15 March, 2024 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Photographers Customer Needs

What Does Your Customer Need? “Your customer doesn’t want a drill. He wants a hole.” You have no doubt heard that one before. Working through customer requirements is difficult, particularly when customers don’t know what they want. Do Customers Want Cameras? I found a story in an old 1990s textbook (The Leader’s Handbook). It goes […]

Filed Under: Blog, Wild Cards Tagged With: customer requirements, data is not information, gemba, Konica, Peter Scholtes, test and learn

The Problem with NPS (Or do I Look Fat in This?)

3 August, 2013 by James Lawther 14 Comments

fat man

I am 45. They say that when middle-age is upon us our broad minds and narrow waists swap sizes. It is happening to me, (certainly around my waist, and as I no longer enjoy finding strangers in my kitchen first thing in the morning, probably my mind as well). I need to lose some weight […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: customer requirements, customer surveys, net promoter score, nothing new under the sun

Should you Standardise?

31 March, 2013 by James Lawther 5 Comments

There is a line of thought that says standardise your processes. After all without standardisation you just have anarchy. But every customer is different There is another line of thought that every customer is different: So no customer wants a standard outcome. If you insist in giving cookie-cutter service all you will do is create […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: bad process, customer requirements, standardisation, variation

Do You Design Against Demand?

5 March, 2013 by James Lawther 5 Comments

Here is a very simple 2 step improvement idea for you: Understand the customer demands that are placed on your organisation Design your infrastructure and processes to meet those demands. Or, to put it a little less managerially, find out why your customers call you, then work out the best way to give them what […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: customer requirements, economies of scale, efficiency versus effectiveness, form follows function, Olympics, service design, video

Is Less Really More?

18 September, 2012 by James Lawther 2 Comments

My 9-year-old daughter is lovely… Most of the time… But if you really want to see her wind me up, come with us to order a pizza.  She will not make a decision.  How hard can it be? Hawaiian, or Mighty Meaty, or Volcano Supreme?  It isn’t as if she even likes the spicy ones. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: complexity, customer requirements, less is more

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