Pay attention to what isn’t there
When is the last time that you noticed or thought about a black hole? Now consider the last time you noticed or thought about a star, planet or other celestial body? If you are like most people, when you look up at the sky, your focus drifts toward those sparkling lights and not to the black voids. In other words, you gravitate toward things that are visible and apparent rather than toward things that are invisible or missing. We typically act similarly in our business lives. But black holes in the business world can represent opportunities for those paying attention.
How do astronomers find black holes? They look for the absence of phenomena that are usually present, such as light and gravity. It is a different way of discerning the world. What is missing that should be there? Business leaders can benefit from thinking this way. You learn as much from non-events, inaction and the absence of an experience as you can from their converse.
Still not sold? Some of the biggest business and product successes filled needs that were not apparent prior to their arrival. The Sony Walkman wasn’t a response to widespread protest over the inconvenience of boom boxes. More recently, many persons were highly skeptical of the need for computer tablets, reasoning that smart phones and laptops offer similar form factors on either side of what the tablet offers. However, the iPad has taken the world by storm and created a new category. No existing and tangible market data point argued for these innovations. Instead, discerning and exploiting what was absent was the basis for these successes.
Bringing this argument back to a more practical place, how can business leverage this approach? There are many everyday examples: Do you offer multiple levels of service and have a complete absence of upgrade requests from existing customers to move from one level of service to another? Why do customers stick where they start? What does this imply about avenues to move customers up the revenue ladder? Consider customer complaints. Companies rightly focus upon customer complaints and look for trends. But what do customers never complain about and willingly pay to get? Is there an opportunity to charge more for those product features? What about commodity costs? If almost all of your suppliers approach you through the years with price increases, but one or two never do so, what might this mean? Supplier price increases get your attention and might even cause you to competitively shop for a better deal. A supplier that you don’t hear from might encourage you to inaction. However, that supplier might be overcharging you or their industry might have a prevailing price that is is going down (think computer hardware). By not asking for an increase and not drawing attention to themselves, they might be maintaining an unreasonably high margin or increasing their margin by holding your price steady. The absence of a reason to investigate (a price increase request) could have you paying more than necessary. However, reacting to the absence of an expected event (periodic price increases) could result in a lower cost of goods sold for your business.
So, open your eyes to what isn’t there. Listen to what cannot be heard. Contact MagnaVaria today and we will show you how.
