2019.09.10 / Viewpoint

During a doctor’s visit, would you ask the doctor for a discount?

You said to me

A. investors say, don't describe the feelings, don't tell me ideals, just say can we modularize, standardize, scale, and replicate quickly, and then calculate the rate of return?

B. Business executives said that our company really needs to find opportunities for innovation and change the organizational culture, but we are not sure about this. Please help our company to come up with a set of plans to explain how to do it, what output deliverables will we accomplish, what benefits can be guaranteed, and how much help will be given to the company's revenue. Let's evaluate again.

C. A senior at a traditional consulting industry said that most people in our company don't know much about design thinking. I think your model is based on "people". We and McKinsey have their own set of data research and logical models. What model do you use? Are there any data and quantifiable things, objectives, how to achieve them, action plans, evaluation criteria and outputs.

D. a customer who is referred said that our company needs to do brand design. Well, first, please use 2 days to understand our company situation, and then come out with a proposal. Let's see how it works first. By the way, our budget is limited, and you need to make it more affordable.

I want to tell you

A. Investor: The design consulting industry we are engaged in belongs to the professional service industry, which is essentially an industry that cannot be standardized, scaled, and quickly replicated. Because the brand experience design we produce is a highly customized solution, it is a high-end model. Even if there is a systematic method of thinking and logic which can collect data and integrate ideas, the design results presented still need to integrate all data through the designers and strategic consultants with rich experience who then present a set of solutions to the client. To put it more bluntly, we are like craftsmen. In addition to our professional ability, the great results depend on our personal experience, cultivation and even artistic talent, which explains why creative services are not a large-scale replication model.

B. Business executives: Management in the modern sense is the product of Industrial Revolution 2.0, emphasizing logic, norms, standards, and accuracy. The organization, work, and business with traditional environment are monotonous, stable, and repeatable. The results of the work are known, measurable, and there are clear measurement standards. In short, the work points to the known results. The current environment is VUCA (unstable, uncertain, complex, and vague). Mobile Internet, artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud technologies will affect our lives more deeply, and customer needs are changing faster and faster. The loyalty for products and services is declining, the stable internal structure of the company is broken, the trend of decentralization is obvious, and the stability of employees continues to decline. Leading performance management method like MBO, KPI and BSC that were established in traditional environment has encountered great challenges. The only constant in the 21st century is change. How can you understand that “knowledge” and “determination” you are used to cannot afford the logic of design thinking, just because the world has changed dramatically. It is necessary to help companies gradually come out with possible answers through the use of different stages in the design thinking process. Through the iterative process, those involved can gradually get rid of the original framework of the problem. In recent years, Harvard Business Review has repeatedly mentioned the importance of design thinking, and even boldly predicted that "d school (design)" will gradually replace "b school (business)" in the future.

C. Senior: Several major consulting companies, such as Ernst & Young, McKinsey, Accenture, and Deloitte, have acquired several design companies. Now they are embracing design thinking vigorously, hoping to build a relationship with consumers through the power of designers and thinking models. " Empathy, use of "insight" to find consumers' unknown and unmet needs, while considering the continuity of business, with the achievability of technology to find innovative opportunities in the smart era. Perseverance in the "quantization" is one of the reasons why the job of traditional consulting companies was taken away by emerging design consulting companies in the past few years.

D. Mr. X: I am honored to meet you, but we may not be able to participate in your company’s project. First of all, because of our limited manpower, we will not participate. Furthermore, we are a design consulting company and not an advertising company. We customize solutions for the client, and there is no way to quickly set a template for you in two days. As for budget issue, the overall plan and service we give to our clients must be "value for money" or even more. Our work results come from many experienced individuals in the team, and the total cost is the time and energy used. For manufactured products, they are already produced. It is better to sell them cheaper if left unsold. For us, the time and effort devoted to each project is exclusive, and the overall opportunity cost is very high. There is really no way to be "cheap".

Man is an animal full of contradictions

Everyone will upload photos to social media when they visit Michelin 3 stars restaurant. How come it seems that not many do the same when they go to McDonald or KFC. I bet no one will rush into the the fast food kitchen and tell the cooks, "You should standardize your cooking."

Dear customers, when you tell the consultant who is looking for problems with the company that you have no time and no money, please think. When you go to the clinic, even if your time is limited, you will patiently wait for your turn. At the end, you would not ask the doctor for a discount.

Thank you for your advice and let us know more clearly. We are professional craftsmen, we do not create a standard product, what supports us to persevere is the love of this world.