Monday, September 30, 2019

Formula for Success


Break down problems and identify the simple, elegant solution.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Friday, September 27, 2019

Bruce Lee Quote on Limits

"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."



© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Should Companies Force Employees to Take A Lunch Break?

I don't think companies should force employees to take a lunch break.

As a former corporate executive, and now as a consultant, I know that workers are different, and maximum productivity occurs when they they have control over their schedule.  All employees should have the option of taking a lunch break away from their desk—without being forced to.  Some will welcome the break, while others would actually prefer to work during lunch, so that they can work at a more leisurely pace in the morning or afternoon.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

How and Why Corporations Should Team With Startups to Drive Innovation

1.  By collaborating with startups, corporations get access to cutting edge talent, fresh ideas, and an entrepreneurial environment.  The corporations themselves can never recreate this because:

   A. Their bureaucratic structure is designed for risk avoidance and delivery on a large scale, not innovation, experimentation, and quick, iterative cycles of test, fail, and succeed.

   B. Because of this structure, cutting edge talent is not attracted to corporations.


2. A lot of times, corporations are failing to engage with startups because they act as if the startup is another corporation.  For example, I know a true story of a corporation that, a couple of years ago, tried to collaborate with a hot, innovative startup in Silicone Valley.  The product would have really helped the corporation, which was losing market share to an innovative, new disruptor.  However, just before they sealed the deal, the corporation's legal department dumped a huge legal document with hundreds of pages onto the startup.  The startup neither had the resources nor the patience to deal with that, so they killed the deal.


3. A good example of a successful partnership is Coca-Cola's collaboration with startup Wonolo (an on-demand, technology-driven flexible staffing company). Coke actually helped fund them.  The secret to their success together is that:

     1. The startup had skills that Coke did not possess.  Coke's corporate structure is designed to create beverages, not run a staffing company.  However, they had a big problem because they distribute to so many outlets, many of them small.  If some of these retail points run out of product, their existing structure wasn't flexible enough to quickly provide more product.  As a result, they lost money.  Now, with Wonolo, Coke's local manager can use the app to hire flexible workers to rush Coca cola products to the retail outlet.

     2. For Wonolo, they gained funding from Coke, a large customer, and access to advisors inside the company.  What's also important is what they didn't get—micro-managed with oppressive rules and contracts.


In conclusion, the key to making collaborations work between corporations and startups is space.  The corporation can fund them and offer resources, but they need to take a hands-off approach to startups, otherwise they will eliminate the flexible, entrepreneurial, cutting-edge environment that made them attractive in the first place.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Cloud, Change Management, and ERP


As a former start-up CEO, bank executive, and now consultant, I've worked on many ERP and digital transformation projects.  In every case, I've found that most of the issues have resulted from miscommunication (on both sides) and over-complexity.  User-focused change management and on boarding was an after-thought, with user training and orientation done in one overwhelming swoop at delivery time. Developers and designers failed to fully understand the users' current work-flow in order to design critical tasks to be familiar.

Today, the cloud can make change management much more effective.  Since the cloud handles infrastructure, designers and developers are freed up to focus more on the business logic, and customization of work-flow to match the users' current method of work.  Secondly, the ease of deployment in the cloud means that mock-ups and limited-functionality demo instances can be set up during the deployment phase, so that users can be trained in phases, and provide feedback to designers while development is still taking place.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

What’s your "Moby Dick"?

Captain Ahab was obsessed with the white whale to point of losing his ship, crew, and life. Do you have a strong obsession or passion? Can you channel it positively instead of destructively? 

hashtagstrategy hashtagdreams hashtagplanning


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Three Factors For New Product Success



Click on image to enhance.



© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Disruptive Innovation = Simplicity


Disruptive innovation = simplicity Because progress occurs by making things faster, cheaper, and easier. hashtaginnovation hashtagdisruptiveinnovation hashtagsimplicity hashtagstrategicsimplicity


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Simplicity: 21st Century Super Power

Simplicity is a super power, and the future of the 21st century's Attention scarcity age. Our creativity is sapped by complexity and having to make decisions. The amount of info in the world is increasing. To scale, we need to be able to quickly train employees and educate our customers about our products/services. Simplicity allows us to do this. hashtagsuccess hashtagsimplicity hashtagstrategicsimplicity hashtagbusiness



© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Happiness and Doing


Nothing I do makes me happy. I am just happy, and I bring that happiness to the things I do. hashtagtruth


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Data Science: Pipes and Straws


Data Management: Organizations need both fat pipes and narrow straws hashtagDataAnalytics hashtagdatascience

© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

How to Have a Fulfilling Career


Having a fulfilling career: It's 20% choosing the right field and 80% finding the right company / boss. #business #hr #careermanagement


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Apps and User Settings: Use Groups

When you design an application, it is an audit and security risk to give all users access to every function.

But, there are two ways to set user access—and one of them is much better.

1. Direct user settings - For each user, you enable system settings, such as limits and access.

2. User Groups - Settings are done at the group level, and users are assigned to a group.

In my 30 years of experience, I have seen both types of applications.  From both an administrative and a security/audit point of view, the group option is always best.

Apps should be designed so that new groups can be created/modified/deleted, and users are never directly assigned any settings.

As the number of settings becomes complex, the group model is even more important.  It is easier to track one group for each user, then having to track multiple settings per user.

For example, if you have 30+ different settings and, for a user, you need to temporarily give them a higher level of permission for one function, it is easy to forget to set the value back, and hard for auditing to catch it.

However, if you create a new group, with "temp until XX/XX/XXXX" in the name,  set the permission here, and change the user's group to this new group, it is much easier to track.

© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Disney is the Master of Synergy


They have perfected the system of transforming their intellectual property (such as Marvel, Star Wars, or Disney Princesses) into multiple products and services, and using them to cross-promote each other. Their main engines are the Disney Channel and their theme parks. Whenever they acquire a new franchise (such as Marvel), they can create movies, merchandise, rides, TV specials, etc. and they can promote them to viewers of the Disney Channel and visitors to the theme parks. Every product and service strengthens the brand, and makes it more likely that a customer will consume another product. hashtagsynergy hashtagdisney hashtagstrategy


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

"net" = "not entirely true"

'Let’s start with this warning: The acronym "net" stands for not entirely true. Anyone on the human side of the web can say anything at any time for any reason.' 

- Don Lancaster, back in 1997 (even more true today)


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

ALL Companies Are Now Tech Companies...and Need A High-Level IT Strategy

As a former start-up CEO, bank executive, and now strategy consultant, I know that ALL companies are now tech companies. While there are plenty of vendors who provide app design and cloud services, I find that the one thing that companies need, above all else, is a high level IT strategy. Too often, I have seen that companies, and their vendors, focus on tactics (the How?), like apps or website design, without thinking about strategy (the Why? and What?). To really grow your business with technology, you need alignment between the business and the technology. Unfortunately, many consultants in IT strategy work for, or are aligned, with vendors, so they focus on fitting the strategy to their pet technology. However, there are independent consultants out there, such as myself, who don't align with vendors or specific technologies, and stay unbiased. hashtagcloudservices hashtagitstrategy hashtagconsulting hashtagerp


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Sell Them Fish First!




Ever hear the saw "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach him to fish and you feed him for life" ?

Well,

1. If a person is malnourished, he needs the fish! He / she is in no shape you learn to fish.

2. This is the Attention Scarcity Age.  Most people just want the fish, and don't care about fishing.

3. Until they taste the fish, they won't trust you or have the confidence to learn to fish.

So, sell them the fish first!


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Benchmark Against Yourself



Many consulting firms have their ONE BEST benchmark.  They evaluate their clients against it, and then create a large report detailing the changes needed to completely convert them over.

To implement all the changes, the client would have to spend a lot of time and money.  Afterward, the chances are, their ROI would be average at best.

I've seen companies invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in new IT systems, such as ERP, when all they needed was a custom app, added to their existing system, to eliminate functional gaps.

That is why my firm specializes in advising.  By not offering implementation services, I avoid biases (unconscious or not) towards large changes, or specific vendor systems.

After 30 years of experience, I know there are many paths to excellence.  I don't try and convert clients to any single model.  Instead, I like to start where they are, recognizing the value of their existing business, and then identifying the key changes that lead to dramatic ROI.

As a consultant, I want to work with a scalpel, not a demolition crew.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Great Leaders Develop Their Team Members


Whenever I managed a team, I was never afraid to give my teammates more responsibility and help them improve their skills. I never thought about hoarding knowledge or credit for myself for job security. 

What I found was that, not only were my team members happier and engaged, but it reflected on me, and made me look better. 

© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Successful On-Boarding For New IT Resources

To create a successful on-boarding process for new IT resources , set it up by project—not per system—so that ONE form could be filled out that would get the person access to all the resources they need. hashtag


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity® expert who drives innovation and revenue growth. Visit PuriConsulting.com

First Mover Advantage

A connection on LinkedIn asked "What qualities do Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson or Bill Gates or Mark Cuban or Barbara Corcoran have that most entrepreneurs don't have?"  

My answer is that they were successful primarily for vision.  

They were one of the first in the markets they succeed in—or at least they entered before the field got crowded. 

We are in the Attention Scarcity Age. There are too many entrepreneurs competing for too little available attention.  First movers / leaders in any field have a huge advantage.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Monday, September 2, 2019

World War I Trench Design and School Safety: Not All Important Innovation Has A Positive Vibe

Usually, it's pleasant to write about interesting innovation.

But I recently read about and innovative idea that, while interesting because it's lateral, out-of-the-box thinking, I wish was unnecessary.

In Michigan high school, as a response to school shootings, is redesigning itself according to principles developed by trench engineers in World War I.

The engineers had designed the long trenches to be serpentine so that, if an enemy breeched any part of it, they would not be able to shoot down the length of the trench.  Only soldiers nearby would be in danger, and other soldiers would be able to regroup, protected by sharp turns.

The school is using these principles to make, for example, serpentine hallways, panopticon main offices that can look for intruders from all angles, and push-button door cutoffs.  In classrooms, there will be areas to hide that are protected by shadows, so that a shooter looking in from a window will not see anyone.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Iteration


Iteration is the most powerful concept for business success.

© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity® expert who drives innovation and revenue growth. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Sunday, September 1, 2019

The Value of A Pure Advisor

There are many consulting companies that will both advise on strategy, and then implement the findings.

But clients are usually better off hiring a pure advisor such as myself, and then hiring a separate consulting firm to implement.

Why?

Because hybrid advisor/implementors have a bias for big, "sexy", high-tech, complicated changes.  Even if it is unconscious and unintentional, it is still there.  They tend to gloss over simple changes which, while trivial to implement, lead to tremendous value.

Also, on the other hand, if they identify a change that would yield great value, but is beyond their competency, they make think "How would I implement this?", and then be reluctant to recommend it.

As pure advisor, however, I have a clean, blank slate.  I am like a detective, looking for clues.  I actually love small changes that yield big results.  They give my clients the best ROI.  As I identify changes, I focus on value to the client, not on the triviality or complexity of implementation.

It is analogous to the brainstorming process.  When brainstorming ideas, you don't want to be simultaneously editing.  The editing / critiquing mode comes later.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Praveen Puri is the Strategic Simplicity® expert who has delivered over $400 million in value. He helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

How To Spice Up Commodity Products to Increase Revenue and Profit Margins

Let's say you sell a product, such as a heavy-duty blender that you drop ship from a contract manufacturer.  You sell it for $X, buy and ship it for $Y, and you make $(X-Y).  How can you increase your revenues and profit margins?

One way is to build high-margin information products that you can bundle with your product.  In the case of the blender, you can "upsell" a deluxe set that features the blender and a recipe book.

The value of the recipe book is in the quality of the recipes, which isn't dependent on the printing / shipping costs of the book.  Thus, the recipe book can increase both your revenue and profit margins.

© 2019 Praveen Puri

Praveen Puri is the Strategic Simplicity® expert who identifies the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com