Moscow, not Melbourne
Moscow has one of the world’s most beautiful — and extensive — subway systems. And, one of the largest number of daily riders: 7 million.
Problem is that nearly all of these passengers are going from work (where they’re sedentary) to home (where they’re the same) via train (where they’re mostly sitting).
So, here’s a public health innovation that offers you a free ride when you do physical exertion. This machine detects 30 squats, then spits out a ticket for you. I think we need these in Melbourne once our new subway opens in 2025!
Question: What tangible incentives can you offer your customers to have them act in ways you want them to?
Small markets
For 10 years now, I’ve used Xero to run my finances and I was amazed to learn that they are the world’s second-largest accounting software company (valued at over $20b!) despite being based in tiny New Zealand — and having 60% of their customers in the antipodes.
So, a small market, but a powerful impact within that market.
Some of my clients are the same. Take the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship, an arm of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne. Peter Wade built a large travel business and, having exited with a large pile of cash, decided to give some of it to Ormond to solve a problem: “We are a smart nation but still too few of our great ideas are generating the future of our economy”.
The Institute works at a deeply human scale, transforming smart, capable people into entrepreneurs, as well as cultivating investors, and opening the minds of secondary students to entrepreneurial thinking. Theirs is a very small market — currently, just a few hundred people are directly touched by Wade’s activities — but it’s a very powerful model with potentially huge reach.
Question: What small markets can you create impact within?
Bosses don’t care
It’s still shocking for me to read research that tells me this: “Managers account for 70% of the variance in engagement” (Gallup). Put simply, people stopping working hard, and then ultimately leaving, comes down to just three words: “Bosses don’t care”.
I worked on two strategic projects this year that dramatically improved employee performance and engagement. One of my recommendations to both organisations is that, instead of ‘exit interviews’, they should conduct ‘stay interviews’ where employees are asked (by their managers) questions like "What motivates you to stay here?" and "What may cause you to leave?”.
Not everyone answers entirely frankly, but in my experience this process gives enough new information to help leaders keep their best people from leaving.
Question: What would happen if you conducted ‘stay interviews’ with your direct reports?
I’m on holidays until January 26th, so the above are a ‘summer edition’ of past 5 Minute Strategic Mindset segments that have been popular with readers. I look forward to being back with you shortly, however, if you’ve enjoyed reading, please click the ‘heart’ so it keeps the 5MSM pulse beating.
See you next Friday morning,
Andrew
Thanks Andrew, I like the concept of "Stay Interviews", To me this is where the performance reviews miss the mark. The focus is on past performance - sure that's important. More important, is the future work. Is it interesting? Will it keep the employee engaged? These are questions not in the review process script.
Once again Andrew you have challenged the paradigm and turned a habit on its head - The Stay Interview what a great idea. The next thing we need to challenge is the 60 minute or less job interview test - some do it better than others - lets turn that on it head!