University and Tech Schools - Do You Know Who Your Customers Are?

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?"

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