BUILD YOUR OWN GARAGE --- BLUEPRINTS AND TOOLS TO UNLEASH YOUR COMPANY'S HIDDEN CREATIVITY by Bernd H. Schmitt and Laura Brown. The Free Press, 2001
PREFACE --- The parables about creativity in this book were the result of a collaborative process. Organizations face the challenge of using creativity while still trying to keep their organizations in one piece. Namely, they must stay receptive to divergent ideas from employees and input from consultants and advice from professional publications, including such websites as www.buildyourowngarage.com.
May all your creative collaborations be as much fun as this one has been! (pxi-xiii)
Dictionary definition of the word "Garage" = A building or compartment of a building used for housing an automotive vehicle. Also, a place for projects. A place to put the outrageous, impractical things so that the rest of the house will not get messed up. A place where orderly people are uncomfortable!
Thus the "Garage" is a crazy, iconoclastic place where ideas are thriving and where websites and innovative projects are born. A place for lateral thinkers: where the sharp edge of intelligence is not blunted in endless meetings, and where ideas can be born, nurtured and released into the world --- all in the space of the same working day!
Enjoy our book called Build Your Own Garage!
Special metaphysical greetings to both Apollo and Dionysos to whom this book is dedicated.
FIRST LEITMOTIF --- The "Garage" nurtures chaos that bears a dancing star! (p1)
In the beginning there was chaos. The County Library despised it. And to protect itself from chaos, it created rules and procedures. But then came the "Garage," which used its "bizz, buzz, and stuff" to create a dancing star!
The "Garage" became the envy of all organizations!
1) CHAOS AND THE "GARAGE" (p3-16)
2) ENTERING THE "GARAGE" (p17-58)
Summary = This chapter presents a model of organizational creativity that will be used throughout this book. The model is based upon the idea of the "Garage," which brings together the analytical and rational planning side of business, the "Biz," with the passionate and dynamic side of business, the "Buzz," to produce creative "Stuff." In the "Garage" there is a tension between the "Bizz" and the "Buzz" that captures and nurtures chaos. The result of managing this tension is creative encounters!
Most organizations are suboptimal. This means that they fall short of being a "Garage" because they are missing one or two of the above three components or because these three componenets are underdeveloped. Thus the key goal for most organizations is to unleash its hidden creativity!
The next chapter presents the "Blueprint" and the "Toobox" of the "Garage." They are a set of principles, approaches, and techniques that can be used to generate and improve organizational creativity and to sustain it over time. The "Blueprint" and "Toolbox" are excellent practical starting points for transforming an organization into a "Garage."
3) THE BLUEPRINT AND THE TOOLBOX OF THE GARAGE (p59-88)
Summary = (p87-88)
SECOND LEITMOTIF = With it sat enthroned the "mastercrafts," wisest of things! (p89)
4) THE TECHNOLOGY OF MASTERCRAFT (p91-119)
Summary = (p119)
5) THE BRANDING MASTERCRAFT (p121-152)
[1] "Knowing Susan..." (p121-140)
[2] What does the business parable mean? (p140)
[3] Is everything a "brand?" (p141-143)
[4] Mastercrafting the brand --- the five steps: (p143-152)
(1) "brandCORE" = (p144-146)
2) "brandID" = (p146-147)
3) "brandEXEC" = (p147)
4) "brandLEVERAGE" = (p147-148)
5) "brandSCORE" = (p148)
[5] Organizational alignment around the "brand promise!" (p148-152)
[6] Summary = Branding has changed! It is no longer associated just with logos and signage. Instead, many projects and initiatives may be examined through the lens of "branding."
As a result, the "Garage" must make the mastercrafting of its brands (both the "organizational brand" or vision and the various "product brands" or public services) a key priority! (p152)
The next chapter presents "mastercrafting" the customer experience. The creative organization brings "Bizz, Buzz, and Stuff" to the management of its interaction with customers!
Managing the customer experience includes anything from the service interface to experiential communications to customer lifespan management, and more!
6) THE MASTERCRAFT OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT (p153-185)
[1] The Haiku on Board (p153-170)
[2] What does the business parable mean? The business parable uses the activity of writing poetry to explore the essential nature of the "customer experience!" (p170-172)
[3] Customer experience management --- "CEM" (p172-173)
[4] What are experiences? (p173)
[5] Customer relationship management --- "CRM" (p173-175)
[6] Experiential communications (p175-177)
[7] Service performance (p177-181)
Poor service can be one of the most nerve-racking experiences that consumers endure. But in the "Garage" service provides a great experience if it follows three general principles. Service must be:
(1) "Prompt" = Time is of the essence in many service situations. Customers usually want the product, the repair, the missing component NOW!
(2) "Competent" = The service personnel must be able to handle the service request. This is not just a matter of knowledge and training but of having the right technology --- database, supply-chain management system, and fulfillment system (see chapter four).
(3) "Responsive" = The service personnel must take the customer's perspective, empathize, and be responsive. In a complaint situation, customers may be upset. Thus service personnel need training in handling feelings and emotions!
These three RULES make up professional service handling. They are the "Bizz" of service management!
[8] Customer lifespan (p181-183)
[9] The employee experience --- Finally, managing the "internal customer" experience, especially in a service business, is just as important as the "external customer" experience! What destroys the experience? Lots of things, including: (p183-185)
1. Hierarchies
2. Bad offices
3. Motivational blah-blah PR
4. A sense of entitlement, arrogance and lack of humor!
5. Patronizing organizational training programs!
6. Stupid, endless meetings
7. Silly approval processes administered by sadistic bureaucrats!
Organizations need to show more originality in rewarding employees instead of providing "employee of the month" awards, giving them a gift with the organization's logo on it, or inviting them to a free dinner.
Organizations need to reward employees by following three simple rules:
1. Employees are asked and can decide. This rule applies to the design of their offices and office equipment, the choice of meetings, and the types of celebration gifts they would like to receive.
2. Employees are treated as individuals (even within a team!). No unnecessary defaults or general approval processes.
3. Employee experience management must be done from the employee's perspective, not the organization's! Save the blah-blah PR for the outside. On the inside of the organization, deal with pride but do not brag!
[10] Summary = Mastercraft --- even handcraft --- the experience! (p185)
7) CHAOS AND THE DANCING STAR (p187-196)
[1] "The sleeping beauty of the organization..." (p187-190)
[2] Unleashing your organization's hidden creativity! (p190-192)
[3] Mission as informed direction (p192-193)
[4] Strategy as structured opportunity (p193-194)
[5] Competence as a flexible strength (p194-195)
[6] Implementation as "Peak Experience" (p195-196)
[7] Empowerment as independent initiative! (p196)
[8] Conclusion --- The "Garage" represents a new way of thinking about an organization's business. This new thinking moves away from the purely mechanical, heirarchical, and analytical mode of business that underlies the traditional management structure.
This model encompasses an organization's business that is not just managed by rational principles but is focused on direction, opportunities, and flexibility! It represents an organization's business as giving birth out of chaos to a dancing star! (p196)
NOTES (p197-198)
INDEX (p199-204)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS (p204-206)
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