Introduction
Welcome to The ContraMind Code.
The ContraMind Code provides you with a system of principles, signals, and ideas to aid you in your pursuit of excellence.
The Newsletter shares the source code, through quick snapshots, for a systems thinking approach to be the best in what you do.
The Code helps you reboot and reimagine your thinking by learning from the best and enables you to draw a blueprint on what it takes to get extraordinary things done.
Chief Customer Officer
by Jeanne Bliss
This book by Jeanne Bliss is one of the first groundbreaking books on the role of the Chief Customer Officer(CCO) ever published.
In this book, Jeanne writes about:
If the Customer is the Power Core of the company, how decisions are taken from understanding what will drive the most significant value to customers is vital.
The Customer Bermuda Triangle - Customer is lost in the hand-offs between departments and siloed agenda within companies, making it challenging for companies to practice a ‘customer first’ agenda.
Most leaders say they want to focus on the customer without knowing what they are signing up for.
The lack of consistent metrics in defining the state of relationships with customers dilutes the customer-focused agenda & implementation in companies.
It is essential to have a defined set of customer accountability measures across the organisation.
Take a reality check audit in assessing the state of customer experience and customer relationships in the organisation. This will help you plan a best-in-class road map.
CEO and CCO must build a partnership and a structure which must be aligned to make this agenda work.
Buy this book on Amazon.
The Crash of a Lifetime
by Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki is the author of one of the best-selling books ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad.’
Robert Kiyosaki wrote about the next crash in his book “Prophecy” after the 2008 crash. Since then, financial experts have warned that over-correction by the government and bubbles in asset classes would cause another crash.
Hosts Robert and Kim Kiyosaki and guest Harry Dent discuss what Harry describes as a “crash of a lifetime,” how to the most of such an opportunity, and what can you do to survive. Harry Dent explains that this is no ordinary correction and advises the safest place to put your money through 2023.
Listen to the podcast on:
Turning Products into Companies
In this Harvard Innovation Labs session, Michael Skok, one of the founding partners of Underscore VC and an ex-GP at North Bridge Venture Partners, talks about the challenges of transforming a product idea into a company.
Here are some key takeaways:
Think beyond UX and Architecture to the Whole Product
Importance of creating Ecosystems and Strategic partners in the early stage of product adoption and scaling.
Often forgotten is attention to market strategy and business development.
It’s most important to differentiate between a ‘Feature’, ‘Product’ and ‘Company’.
Importance of the concept of ‘Value Proposition’ when thinking of a product.
Why developing only the ‘Core Product’ at early stages is critical.
Breaking down Silos
When looking at unified customer experience and how a company puts the customer at the core of its strategy, the silos that exist in companies stop this from becoming a reality.
One thing for leaders in different departments and employees in each department in a company is to remember that ‘Customers don’t deal with departments’. Often, fiefdoms get built in a company with influential leaders leading each of these departments and treating the customer as an asset takes a backseat.
Of late, it has also been observed that NPS, Customer Satisfaction Scores etc., don’t tell the true story of how firms treat their customers. The other thing that has been observed is that often‘ broken’ customer experiences are also due to siloed IT systems built over time. This leads to ‘information silos’ within the company and fails to deliver a seamless unified experience to customers.
Therefore, culture plays a critical role in bringing the right attitude and mindset to the company. Culture alone will not make a difference, but the right structure and metrics will have to be in place that helps the company understand the ‘state of customer relationships’ rather than having irrelevant vanity metrics.
Finally, culture and metrics must be supported with ‘integrated’ IT systems that ensure a seamless information flow across systems and touchpoints that will make all the difference in delivering a world-class customer experience.
Some of the lessons we learnt from this week’s mission:
Customer Accountability across the company is the bedrock of being customer-focused. Knowing the ‘State of Customer Relationships’ at every customer interaction point is key to making this mission and purpose come alive in companies.
Look for a sliver of opportunities even when there could be an impending crash, and plan your investments accordingly.
Understanding the importance of value proposition and how to convert a feature to a product to a company requires more than technical prowess. It involves understanding underlying ecosystems, business models and how to leverage them.