What It Takes to Build an Organizational Culture That Wins
In a world of short-term thinking, an effective organizational culture provides the ultimate competitive advantage. In Win from Within, James Heskett offers a roadmap for developing one.
^ADJ: Two key points, firstly easier to change strategy than culture (so true) - culture is not the “fluff” its how the organisation acts ands behaves, what it accepts and promotes, how it get stuff done. Second item, there are tradeoff’s between Track A and Track B, an example high reliance on controls v. Use of Good Judgement. I often see organisations struggle with these trade off’s what the benefits of a particular track, but not able to commit or differentiate, and then wonder why the culture does not support and enhance the effectiveness of the strategy.
Tesla Delivers Automotive Delight
With a Delight Score of 965, Tesla ranks amongst the highest products we have benchmarked with the Delight Scale. Similar to what we found with Peloton, the software upgrades which improved the features and functionality of the car over time was a large factor in Tesla’s high score and customer delight. This affirms the pattern we have seen with products that are not stand-alone hardware experiences but include software and/or service components that keep making the product feel fresh and engaging.
^ADJ: I often read articles that go along the lines of “traditional manufacturers will soon catch-up to Tesla” and my thinking is yes they will, but it is going to take them significantly longer than they think it will take, given the number of “moats” that Tesla has built across: Software Engineering (Agile, Over the Air updates), Manufacturing (hours to manufacture, and Scale), Business Model (direct to consumer, no dealers), and Battery (Chemistry and Scale).
How to Attract Top Tech Talent
Labor markets are tight for many types of workers, but that’s especially true for employees with technical skills. Demand for these workers by non-tech companies has increased even as tech giants like Facebook and Amazon seek to hire thousands of them. To fill these roles at a time when highly-skilled people have many opportunities, seek to broaden the funnel of potential candidates by thinking harder about what skills are truly essential (and which are trainable), and by making your company more appealing to potential workers.
Pay Attention to Deviations from Mainstream Incentives
A comment that Charlie Munger’s made: “all my life I’ve underestimated the power of incentives”
How the West Got Russia’s Military So, So Wrong
Summary: Good equipment and clever doctrine reveal little about how an army will perform in a war
^ADJ: One of the big frights in business is when your assumptions are turned upside down, which then leads to what assumptions do we hold true, how have we tested those lately, what has changed?
Mystery drone: How the Air Force fast-tracked a new weapon for Ukraine
Summary: Right time, right place
^ADJ: My thinking - what portfolio of products and services do we have “ready to go” if the stars aligned?