Does the path to success change in times of economic uncertainty? That's the wrong question to ask, says Guy Kawasaki.
The right question: Is there ever any certainty in business? His answer: No.
The type of uncertainty may change. But the guiding principles for success stay the same—and become more important than ever.
Kawasaki is chief evangelist at Canva, a software company that makes it easier for people to communicate via graphics. He was also the chief evangelist at Apple during the days of Steve Jobs, has authored 15 books, and is an executive fellow at U.C. Berkeley’s school of business. He’s also the creator of a podcast, Remarkable People.
Kawasaki joined Clari’s Chief Revenue Officer, Kevin Knieriem, and Senior Vice President, Customers for Life, Conor Nolen, to speak to revenue leaders about innovation.
Focus on leadership, not luck
Longevity via a series of successes indicates a strong leadership team, rather than a few lucky breaks.
“When you see a company that is constantly revising itself, so that it stays with and even anticipates trends, you’re seeing a great management team. I don’t think that’s luck,” says Kawasaki.
To leaders, Kawasaki recommends the MAP acronym that author Daniel Pink writes about: mastery, autonomy, purpose.
- Mastery: Employees have the chance to acquire new skills and master their role.
- Autonomy: Employees work in an environment where leaders don’t micromanage or track the time they’re online.
- Purpose: Employees know the company has a higher purpose than making money, that leaders believe in.
At Clari, we often refer to the Autonomy part of this as Revenue Collaboration & Governance, where leaders set strategies and goals, driving to repeatable revenue processes.
Remember the business you’re in
Companies should always remember their ultimate business goals, and how they can deliver those, better. The risk of not doing this is falling behind.
For example, Kawasaki cites that one of Kodak’s engineers invented digital photography, as told by the New York Times, and had the company embraced the technology, it could have made Kodak the leader in this business. Instead, Kodak focused on its role as a chemicals company producing photographs through silver, film, and light.
But if Kodak’s leaders had stepped back to consider their business goal at the basic level, it was this: preserve memories. Digital photography, while threatening their film revenue, would have helped them deliver that brand promise more widely.
Kawasaki can understand how Kodak missed this opportunity, though.
“It’s hard to recognize a truly successful revolution when you’re starting it,” he says. “There are skeptics at the start of every great revolution, which doesn't mean it won’t happen, but the existence of skeptics also doesn’t mean it will come true.”
Innovation doesn’t mean tossing out your existing goals, but it might mean adopting new methods.
Lead customers with vision and empathy
Customer feedback is essential to revise and improve your existing products and services. But Kawasaki says, “It’s very difficult to ask your current customers how to truly innovate and revolutionize the business.”
He adds, “They’ll tell you they want something better, faster, and cheaper.”
And sometimes, continuing on the path you’re already on distracts you from innovation—cue Kodak.
Kawasaki draws on his time at Apple to demonstrate. If leadership had asked customers in the early days how they’d like Apple to innovate, customers wouldn’t have suggested that Apple create products that would make their existing products obsolete. But that’s what Apple did.
More important than asking customers their thoughts is to develop a fundamental visionary understanding of what they will come to realize they need.
Kawasaki urges leaders not to rely on huge market studies to understand customers, but to get to the human level. Developing a deep understanding of your customers relies on empathy. It’s about asking, “What are the challenges your customers are facing, and how can you help?”
Keep the bottom line in mind
Kawasaki doesn’t want leaders to come away thinking that success is all about the warm fuzzies of innovation.
“The most important thing I can tell you as an entrepreneur is that sales fixes everything,” he says. “Let’s just be honest here. If there’s anything worse than losing a sale, it’s leaking a sale.”
At Clari, we call that part of revenue leak, which refers to the loss of revenue that results from breakdowns across the end-to-end revenue process.
Although brand awareness and customer sentiment matter, at the end of the day, investors, shareholders, and boards need to see the numbers add up.
The best way to beat revenue leak is to win the revenue you’ve already earned, repeatedly and predictably.
Learn more about revenue precision from Clari board members Enrique Salem and Aaref Hilaly.
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