eKourier July 2010

Nev’s Notes... Entrepreneurs are Disruptive... E ntrepreneurs, those people who create something original in business, must The entrepreneur sees something others don’t see. It could be an idea, an invention, the application of an idea, an improvement on something existing. The entrepreneur is often a non-conformist and a contrary thinker, someone who thinks outside the box. Because the entrepreneur is different, he or she is often not appreciated, or the ideas that are put forward are not appreciated. The entrepreneurial person may be socially inept and difficult. Often the person with the new idea, the different slant on things, gets frustrated with the existing order, with the product or service or system and with the administrative and functionary ways that many within a firm go about things, he has to leave and either start something himself, or find a receptive ear outside the firm. When a firm is ”successful” people may not want the boat to be rocked. They may resist new ideas that will It’s hard to imagine it was only this time last year we began deploying StorMan v8 beginning with NZ. v8 brought about much needed change and innovative ways of interacting with our customers, not to mention automation which we are still getting through in terms of implementation. Well, we are about to do it all again and the best is yet to come! Although v8 was somewhat customised for KSS, the next planned major release v8.2 is the product of our development agreement with StorMan and has been in the making since 2008. The roll out will commence later in the year, focusing on front end stability with the big features being turned on necessarily be disruptive.

try out something new, be as open and receptive

necessarily require some change. The people within a successful firm may be comfortable, and they have done things in an established way for a while….. they know ‘how things are done around here’. It can take a crisis or change for a firm to be receptive to something new and necessarily disruptive. A bankruptcy, a new owner, a crisis or a big change are often the catalysts for disruptive new ideas to be considered. Or it requires a culture of continuing change and being receptive to the new and the disruptive. Such a culture is not common in established and reasonably successful firms. Change and trying out new things means making mistakes, trying, testing, trying again. In KSS we like to think we embrace new ideas and are constantly evolving and improving. So the challenge in a so-called successful company is to foster and encourage experimentation and the trying out of new ideas. Ideas can be fragile things. The person with the idea is mostly unsure if it will work and may be easily discouraged. And in a ‘successful’ firm, eventually, “nothing fails like success”.

to it as you can be. Consider if trying it could be a high-class success or a high-class failure, and if it is worth a shot. “Give it a go” is often better than “We’d better not. “ The “Bossleneck Syndrome” can inhibit innovation. The “Its not Policy” syndrome can thwart new ideas. “Entrepreneur, those people who create something original in business, must necessarily be disruptive. The entrepreneur sees something others don’t see...” “Sometimes it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission” is a policy I adopt quite often with bureaucrats and governmental decrees and restrictions; it can also be something in a company that can be adopted, with consideration, to try something new. Weigh up the consequences, then decide if it’s worth the Begging Forgiveness (“Gee, I didn’t know I needed approval to try that. Sorry !”) explanation if you get reprimanded for your initiative. Nev Kennard

So next time there is the opportunity to

StorMan, the Way Ahead

progressively to better manage change. More news to come, in the meantime a glimpse of what we and KSS customers have to look forward to:

Customer Interactive Website | Automated Rent Increases | Auto Direct Debit Payments | Automated National Corporate Solutions | Automated Insurance | Automated EOM | Dynamic Revenue Management | SMS Enhancements | Call Centre Module | Delinquent Recognition | Loyalty and Reward Program |

Promotions Vouchers and Coupons | Automatic Bill Plan Specials | plus hundreds of smaller features and improvements. Jeff Xanthos

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Kennards Kourier July 2010