The
other night my wife, two other colleagues and me had the privilege of dining
with 82-years young, #PeterSchutz, retired CEO of Porsche AG Worldwide following
fascinating rides through both Caterpillar and Cummins Engine.
A graduate
of the Illinois Institute of Technology, the German-born Schutz returned to
Germany to lead Porsche from 1980 until 1988. The company was in the midst of
its first money-losing year in 1980. During the Schutz tenure, Porsche's
worldwide sales grew from 28,000 units in 1980-81 to a peak of 53,000 units in
1986.
Peter is one of those individuals that you expect to learn
something from and I may as well add, he works his audience like you'd expect
- as a demanding but congenial educator would. Finishing his salad, he
posed this question; "Who would you say a college or university's customer
is?"
That "deer in the headlight" look came over all four of
us who sensed we had been sucked into the vortex of a trick question. What
seemed to be the obvious answer swung between either the parents, the students
or whoever was actually paying the tuition bill. The restaurant was noisy but
even so, when Schutz blared, "No, of course not! The customer is industry,
it's business and commerce - the folks that use the "product" these
schools are supposed to be manufacturing!" One sensed we weren't the only
ones on the receiving end of this hearty proclamation.
Schutz puts forth a convincing argument based on the premise that
schools of higher learning don't get it. He used this example for the purpose
of creating the analogy that correlates to many businesses that don't really
know who their customers are.
Once introduced to the notion that many schools and educators, (some
of my best friends are educators) misdirect their good intentions toward their
perceived customers, the students or their parents, you have to think about
that for a minute. In context, the manufacturing analogy is also fair.
Institutions of higher learning that misdirect the shaping of curriculum to
meet the demands of the "raw materials," their students, rather than
those that will need and be willing to pay handsomely for the finished product
are likely turning out goods with a very short shelf-life, if at all.
We're aware of the labor statistics today and while many
businesses are reluctant to hire, given the pervasive economic and regulatory
uncertainty, there are also millions of job postings and opening all across the
country.
The morning after our dinner with Mr. Schutz, I spent four hours
with thirty executives, business owners and CEOs who were asked what their
greatest challenge at the moment happens to be. I'm guessing you've been in
similar company lately and you know what the vast majority of them say.
"We cannot find the talent and experience coupled with the requisite work
ethic to fill the openings we have. If we could, we'd be hiring." I've
heard this mantra for several years now. I spend more time reading the job
postings in the local classified ads than I do the sports page or comics. I'm
fascinated with this paradox.
I listen to those who say, "I can't find a job" and have
come to appreciate that in as many cases as not, it is often a lack of proper
training or of course, a lack of willingness to either work or be
"re-tooled."
This brings us back to the big question. Do institutions of higher
learning really know who their customers are? If the charge that schools are
not turning out good "products" is at all true, then wouldn't it
stand to reason that the folks running these schools ought to be thinking
seriously about what their mission and purpose is; just as any business must do
in order to survive and succeed?
Peter Schutz learned this lesson earlier in his career when the
company that employed him as an engineer perceived that the customer that paid
for the trucks and engines they built was the company that wrote the check.
They were wrong. The real customer was the person who drove the truck that sat
on top of those powerful engines. It wasn't until they came to understand that
reality that they were able to separate themselves from the pack of
competitors, who, for any number of reasons, had almost put them out of
business.
There are great schools in this country, some of the best in the
world. However, Schutz likely is not the only one in the room who is asking the
question of these great schools and perhaps your business too... "Do You
Really Know Who Your Customers Are?"
Really Know Who Your Customers Are?"
Jim Naleid
is a Life-long Entrepreneur,
Change-Agent and Thought Leader, Managing Director of Naleid & Associates
and Regional TEC (“The
Executive Committee”) Chair leading a group of executives to become Better
Leaders, Making Better Decisions with Better Results. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimnaleid
