Anticipate: Knowing What Customers Need Before They Do

Chapter 9

Managing Change, Performance, and Talent

• Identify your capacity for customer-centric change and the three levels of change companies must manage
• Apply the peak performance model to drive and support your customer focus journey
• Leverage your talent management pivot points to advance your customer focus

In the last chapter, we introduced the four elements of a Level III customer focus (Figure 9.1). We also went into detail on the first two of those elements—develop a value creation mindset and take an ask, act, and align approach (the triple “A’s”). In this chapter, we’ll move into the third element or step, which is ensuring that your internal management system supports and drives your customer focus.

Figure 9.1 Level III—Internal Management System

Key Element 3: Apply An Effective Internal Management System

The management system we are referring to isn’t a system in the technological sense, but a series of management practices and tools that are integrated with the customer focus and work in concert with each other.

This section is not meant to be a comprehensive or exhaustive view of an entire management system, which would include operating, financial, and other management processes. Rather, it deals with the three management areas—change management, performance management, and talent management—that are most vital to an effective customer focus journey.

As part ...