Harvard Trends

It is less about how fast CEOs are willing to move than how quickly their most reliable customers are prepared to change.

Ron Johnson's bold overhaul of the sagging American retailing icon J.C. Penny went too far too fast.

_______________
    
Failure simply means leadership went too fast or didn't go fast enough. That's rationalization, not insight.

_______________

 When "reckless" moves succeed, they're retrospectively rebranded as "bold." When "timidity" triumphs, it's celebrated as "patient" and "safe."

Failure simply means leadership went too fast or didn't go fast enough. That's rationalization, not insight.

How fast are your customers willing to change?

Your own rate of change is determined less by the quality or price/performance of your offerings than the measurable readiness of your customers and clients.

_______________

Electrolux's  70% rule helps identify and clarify their customers' readiness for change.

_______________

Their internal readiness matters more than yours. Their inertia matters more than your momentum.

Electrolux, has implemented a new "70% rule" for testing its new product innovations to make sure it's not getting too far ahead or falling too quickly behind either its customers or competitors.

Electrolux CEO Keith McLoughlin has declared that new product prototypes have to enjoy at least a 70% customer preference rate in blind competition with best-selling rival products. "

Speed to market" isn't what's driving the change.

The goal is assuring that the firm's ability to innovate is effectively aligned with the customers' willingness to value them. The 70% rule helps identify and clarify their customers' readiness for change.