Business can learn a lot from the design world. First and foremost, if business leaders simply started their day like a designer and asked, “What do I want to create today”, we might be a little further down the path of adapting businesses to be more in line with society today as opposed to society 150 years ago. The reality is that much of modern business management theory is descendant of practices over a century old and better suited for a society unveiling the benefits of mass production. They do little to inspire leaders and workers of today’s 2.0 world of interactive innovations, and service connectivity.
I recently read an article in the WSJ titled, Latest Starbucks Buzzword: ‘Lean’ Japanese Techniques. I have to say I cringed a bit after reading what the Vice President of Lean Thinking has been up to with a stopwatch and Mr. Potato Head. The article reminds us that Lean Manufacturing got its start at Toyota, a car manufacturer. Again, it all relates to a bygone era. And I’m not alone. The article reports that, “some baristas fear the drive will turn them into coffee-making automatons and take away some of the things that made the chain different.”
Designers focus on the experience, and certainly the Starbucks I know, love and have frequented in at least 6 different countries is legendary in introducing the US to how absolutely indulgent a coffee experience could be. Something our European brethren figured out long ago. Perhaps a better place to start might be, “How can we update the experience to provide better value for our customers?”, or better yet, ask the customers what would get them back in the door. Maybe half-price Wednesdays, a free extra shot, more coupons . . . anything but the dreaded stopwatch. At the end of the day, a cup of Joe won’t really break the bank, but if it smacks of a fast food experience I probably won’t bother now or when the economy improves.
Dutch Brother’s Coffee, who had the courage to start-up in the Pacific Northwest of all places, certainly proved that you can provide a great coffee experience on a budget. Dutch Brothers is a drive-thru coffee shop, nothing fancy, with 147 stores to date. They live by the Optimist’s Creed dubbed the Dutch Creed, which is basically a poem of well-being. Caring relationships with coffee growers and employees shines directly through to the customers. In a period when Starbucks is closing locations, Dutch Brothers opened 21 locations in 2008 and is set to open another 20 in 2009. And they do with the tradition of all drinks 100% free for the entire first day that a new store is open. People line up hours and sometimes even a day in advance when a new location is opening. They are 100% focused on the experience their customers have, making sure no one leaves without a good laugh or a at least a smile on their face. Again, the focus is on happy partners, happy employees, and happy customers. Good old fashioned authentic caring for one another and always looking for the upside has taken this company on a wild journey. The two brothers were simply looking for a new way to survive when their family dairy farm was hit with hard times.
Much of business can learn from designers. From viewing everything as a creation to making sure that rules and tradition don’t get in the way of good ideas. Younger generations are not only looking for a paycheck, but an experience that they can relate to and provides some kind of meaning to the life they are trying to create. They are not afraid to bring emotion and feeling into anything. Traditional business, says little to the experience of the employee or the experience of the customer, and certainly anything squishy like feelings is totally taboo. This is the way business and the corporate world is heading and those that wake up to it first and make an effort to bring creativity, passion, trust, and collaboration back into the workforce will win.
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