“Ann, I love your Clear Thoughts newsletter. I read every edition. They’re all fantastic, and highly relevant to Medtronic.”
Paul Franson, Clinical IT Development Manager, Medtronic
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Jay Primack, Managing Partner, Moriarty & Primack P.C.
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“I wish everyone read this book. Ann Latham’s “Uncommon Meetings” is a quick read, packed with substantive ideas on how to get more out of meetings in less time. Everyone who runs meetings should read it!”
Janet Warren, President, MarCom Capital
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“Ann Latham is one of the best business speakers I have heard. She is very experienced, the quality of her thinking is extremely high, and she knows how to deliver her message in an entertaining, concise, and convincing way.”
Dr. Alan G. Robinson, Isenberg School of Management, Author - "Ideas Are Free"
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“On a collaborative project with Boeing Phantom Works, Ann did a tremendous job in identifying the cost drivers, producibility issues, and productivity barriers of a supplier organization, all of which were impeding the success of our project.”
Ed Gerding, Chief Engineer C-17 St. Louis, The Boeing Company
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“Ann can help you identify the crux of a problem and solutions that will work for you. While others may be good, my 35 years of experience tells me that no one is better.”
Perry Walraven, President and CEO, Performance Controls, Inc. a Subsidiary of Hitachi Medical Corporation
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“Ann’s ability to simplify complex issues such that everyone understood their respective roles was a key part of her success. She truly helped us achieve profitable and predictable growth while improving the quality of our methods and processes.”
S. W. Emery, Jr., Chairman and CEO, MTS Systems Corporation
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W. Lowell Putnam, Chairman/CSO, VCI (Video Communications, Inc.)
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“’Wow’ sums it up nicely. The way Ann works is impressive: she has a great handle on people, makes everyone want to work together, ensures meetings are focused and valuable, and simplifies the challenges and options so all can reach shared conclusions.”
John Heaps, President, Florence Savings Bank
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“You are clearly a gifted facilitator and helped us achieve some important outcomes. The ROI was there.”
Bob Fazzi, President & CEO, Fazzi Associates
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“Ann listens, understands, simplifies, reframes, and provides clear advice. I inevitably leave with a new perspective, better decisions, 3 - 4 specific action items, and the resolve and focus I need to get the right things done. If you are looking for a great coach, call Ann.”
Michael Niedenfuehr, Financial Planner, Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
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“Ann’s book, Clear Thoughts, is the fresh, grounding breath of perspective that every executive needs in order to see clearly despite the daily chaos”
Jane Lansing, VP Marketing, Emerson Process Management
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“Ann uncovers common ground, creates opportunity, and guides the group to new shared conclusions in remarkably little time.”
Laurie Fenlason, Vice President for Public Affairs, Smith College
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“Working with a diverse group of manufacturing and design team members, Ann was able to gain consensus for improvement initiatives, win over even the skeptical, and move the team forward toward production-readiness.”
Dana Badgerow, General Manager, AeroMet Corporation
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“After working with Ann, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone in need of a strategy, plan, arbitration, facilitation, etc.”
Chuck McCullagh, CFO, The Williston Northampton School
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“Ann Latham transformed our thinking about how our organization works. This discovery led us to a strategic model that solves our pain and opens new opportunities. She truly lives up to her brand of ‘uncommon clarity.’”
Suzanne Beck, Executive Director, Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
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“Ann is a captivating speaker, providing important principles in an approachable, common-sense way. Our audience enjoyed her depth and breadth of knowledge.”
Aimee Griffin Munnings, Esq., Director, Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship
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Russell Peotter, General Manager, WGBY - Public Television for Western New England
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Joan Schuman, Executive Director, Hampshire Educational Collaborative
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“The time and stress saved by one phone call with Ann was astounding.”
Rev. Johanna McCune Wagner, Director of Religious Life, The Culver Academies
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Every organization would benefit from the material found in Ann’s audio seminar, “Meeting Mastery.”
Chuck Hatch, General Manager, Packaging Corporation of America
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Better, Lucky or Someone’s Habit?
How do you win and retain customers?
Perhaps you are better than the alternatives. With superior or breakthrough products and services. Providing more value for the money. Exactly what your customers need.
Maybe you are convenient, easy, friendly – a standout for all those "free" intangibles that customers enjoy when doing business with you.
Or perhaps you are someone's habit. The phone number on the notepad. You once had an edge – a superior offering, the best location, a great brand – but now you are not so sure. Inertia and familiarity may be your greatest assets.
Of course, you could be just lucky. It happens. You've built it. They come.
Whether you hold a position of strength, habit or luck, don't assume it will last. The world is not standing still. Customers move on. Competition moves in. Standout value today is expected value tomorrow. If you have a winning business proposition, someone will be eager to share it with you.
Consider Southwest Airlines. They jumped out front with a simple focus: "Fly for Less." But a proliferation of low fare carriers has undermined that position. "Fly for Less" remains prominently displayed on their website but look beyond that and you will see they are now courting the corporate world with two new fare options, "Business" and "Business Select." Several former fare options have collapsed into one "Wanna Get Away" fare. Southwest hopes that beefed up amenities coupled with a great on-time record will appeal to business travelers and once again give them a great competitive edge.
There are a number of factors that can protect your competitive edge and delay the day that your unique value becomes the norm. These factors include patents, market dominance, installed base, territory locks such as airport gate leases and supermarket shelf space, intellectual capital, branding, high cost of entry, and geography.
For example, patent protection is the strategic hub of the major drug companies. Companies like Pfizer rely on the sales of their high-priced, patent-protected drugs to fund research for new drugs. They expect new patents and new drugs to provide new revenue streams as popular drugs such as Lipitor reach the end of their patent life and open the door for generic drug makers to move into that market space.
Territory locks provide another example and can be seen all over your grocer's shelves. Ever bought a bottle of Tylenol? How many options did you have? Adult, children, infant. Headache, muscle pain, arthritis, cold, cold and flu, cold and cough. Extra strength, regular strength. Nighttime, daytime, day/night pack. Gelcaps, go tabs, EZ tabs, rapid release gels, cool caplets, tablets, liquid. Get the picture? Sixty-one options at last count. Do you think we really need this many options to reduce a little pain? Nope. This is not about you and your headache. This is all about competition and shelf space. Retailers have limited shelf space and they are not about to dump Tylenol PM for a no-name painkiller that professes the same benefit as one of those 61 options. Similar examples can be found in every aisle of the grocery store.
But patents, territory locks and the like only provide temporary protection. Patents expire. Grocery stores suddenly find space for Vitamin Water. The only sure way to stay out front is to innovate.
The ability to provide new or greater value requires a steadfast focus on customer's needs and desires. This does not mean that you simply ask them. Your customers don’t necessarily know what they need or want. If Henry Ford had polled people about their needs, he figured they would have requested a faster horse. The trick is to understand the customer's situation, their problems, the things they value, and then find the opportunities to satisfy the needs and desires that they may not even recognize themselves.
Beyond really understanding the customer's situation, it is also smart to look at how their situation is changing. Close scrutiny of trends should uncover new opportunities. Graying boomers, increasing energy costs, water shortages, instant hand-held access to people and information – how do these affect your customers? No business is immune to these changes. And, with change comes opportunity. Picture your customers' lives as these changes progress. Somewhere in that picture is a way to be better, to feel lucky, and to remain someone's habit.
© 2008 Ann Latham. All Rights Reserved.