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Joseph Dager

Joseph Dager

Business901
Business901 is a firm specializing in bringing the continuous improvement process to the sales and marketing arena. He has authored the books the Lean Marketing House, Marketing with A3 and Marketing with PDCA. The Business901 Blog and Podcast includes many leading edge thinkers and has been featured numerous times for its contributions to the Bloomberg’s Business Week Exchange.
  • 0 comments 281 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-14

    I have found talking to little or too much are both ineffective ways to proceed in a sales conversation. When we discuss a Lean Sales Person, many people think of this problem solving person that is out finding the root cause and how their product/service could benefit the customer.  I have expressed my views on that subject as a problem solving salesperson ends up typically being an average salesperson. More on that subject in this blog post, Lean Salespeople are Challengers, not Problem Solvers.

    I think we need when having a Lean Sales Conversation it is not about asking 5 Whys to find the root cause. Rather, I like the CAP-Do approach where we concentrate more on the downloading of information at the beginning.  This conversation is not what I would call one of...

  • 0 comments 393 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-11

    At the recent ASQ Charlotte Section Annual Conference 2013, Quality Conference of the Carolinas, I was originally scheduled to facilitate a breakout session on “How to become Famous on LinkedIn”. At the last moment, we swapped around a few of the facilitators and Satish Kartha stepped up and facilitated the session.

    In preparation, I created this mind map for an outline which I share below.

    LinkedIn


    There were three books that I found to be quite useful in preparation, all of which I own.

  • 0 comments 124 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-08

    I see statements from the Lean StartupTM folks that The Lean Startup is changing everything. I think that is rather silly because it is not The Lean Startup that is causing the change. The Lean Startup is just adapting to the way the world is changing.

    Lean works well for groups that do not rely on an external environment to function, ones that can be self-reflective and internally focused on improvement. However, that business model is getting smaller and smaller. The rapid expansion of knowledge is decreasing the advantages of past proprietary offerings in product/service and in operations. What is...

  • 0 comments 249 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-05

    This is a response to a recent LinkedIn thread, What do we have to do to have Lean survive a leadership change?. This is part 2 of 2 my response. The first blog post, Is Lean Playing to Win? Part 1 of 2.

    If a leadership change occurs, the first challenge is to grow revenue. If Lean has been implemented and you are not the market leader under the operational tagline of faster, better, cheaper – what will Lean do for you? If you were acquired do we see revenue growth coming from operational efficiencies, when there is little demand? If Lean wants to survive Leadership, can our focus be internal?

    I am a proponent of...

  • 0 comments 614 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-04

    In a recent LinkedIn thread, What do we have to do to have Lean survive a leadership change?, I found most of the comments following the age old line that the reason for Lean failures can always be summed up in one word, leadership. I even left the following comment; “My first thought when I read this thread: Will Lean continue to blame leadership even when they are dead and gone?” Leadership is responsible, however, I think Lean has to step to the table and take some responsibility of its own. The comments made me reflect on 2 recent books published. I think they sum up the answer.

    If Lean is to sustained through a leadership change, I believe that Lean Thinking needs to address the issues of leadership better. Many in the Lean world jump into the operational issues...

  • 0 comments 219 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-30

    I have always viewed Lean as a knowledge building exercise versus one of a problem solving method. I believe that is what has attracted to me via Appreciative Inquiry to the Strength-Based approach. It was what I was doing with better definition.

    I could be wrong in this statement, but I find European "Lean" more attuned to Strength-Based Lean and Service-Dominant Logic type thinking. U.S. Lean is still based primarily on Goods-Dominant Logic type thinking, and I always felt limited itself. Even, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses (Build/...

  • 0 comments 193 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-29

    Some believe The Death of Innovation, the End of Growth is here. Others believe it is a race against technology, The Key to Growth? Race with the Machines. I believe growth is not easy. However, why not simplify the process and use an established methodology, a way of thinking to your business. Don’t leave a good idea fail because of a poor process. Processes are not easy. Change is not easy. Lean will not offer you a step by step process to make growth work. As Michael Jordan said, “If you want a guarantee, go buy a toaster.” It does offer you a better opportunity. Below is the Lean Scale Up Infographic that serves as a visual overview of my blogs this past week and a description of a Lean Scale -up.

    ...

  • 0 comments 364 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-27

    Erik Brynjolfsson examines the effects of information technologies on business strategy, productivity and employment. As machines take on more jobs, many find themselves out of work or with raises indefinitely postponed. Is this the end of growth? No, says Erik Brynjolfsson — it’s simply the growing pains of a radically reorganized economy. A riveting case for why big innovations are ahead of us … if we think of computers as our teammates.

    Erik Brynjolfsson examines the effects of information technologies on business strategy, productivity and employment.




     

  • 0 comments 198 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-26

    In this week when we are talking about growth can we ignore the fact that it is more difficult to grow than it has been. The US economy has been expanding wildly for two centuries. It is no longer growing, in fact the last seven years there has been a decline.  Robert J. Gordon is among the most influential macroeconomists in the world.

    From a recent Ted Talk, Gordon lays out 4 reasons US growth may be slowing, detailing factors like epidemic debt and growing inequality, which could move the US into a period of stasis we can’t innovate our way out of.

    The opposing viewpoint from Erik Brynjolfsson on tomorrows blog.

  • 0 comments 206 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-26

    Are you looking at growth strategies from a customer’s viewpoint? This past week I have referred to the concept of Service Dominant Logic several times and how your value proposition can be viewed from the point of use. This type of thinking opens up a new context for innovation and growth. It moves you past transactional thinking and into the customer’s world. However, for long term growth it is not enough.

    One of my favorite authors, Michael Schrage, author of Serious Play, recently published a new book taking these concepts one step further....