Pressures to reduce costs and increase customer loyalty are greater than ever. Bill Price argues that the best place to start is by eliminating the need for customer service. This game-changing approach treats service as a data point of dysfunction since it is almost always needed either to fix mistakes or resolve customer confusion. Eliminating the need for service, therefore, is the best way to satisfy the vast majority of customers.
Grade levels: Senior High (10-12)
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Drive Business Performance
With examples from Fortune 500 companies, Aziza and Fitts provide a six-stage approach for developing a culture of performance, including increasing visibility into operations, moving away from a gut feel to more data-driven decision-making, and articulating and incenting future success. At each stage, organizations must also exercise three critical capabilities: monitoring operations, analyzing data against best practices, and planning for success.
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Executing Your Strategy: How to Break It Down and Get It Done
Business failures occur when leaders fail-to align an organization with its strategy, to break down plans into doable chunks, or to ensure that project leaders get needed resources and apply them in priority order. Dr. Levitt emphasizes the critical need to revise your strategic portfolio to fit the demands of a dynamic environment. He details the imperatives that enable you to do the right projects, and do these products rights” Clarify and communicate purpose, Align structure and culture with strategy, Create clear goals and metrics and Move outputs effectively into operations.
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Leaving Microsoft to Change the World
While John Wood was a top executive at Microsoft, he made a life-changing decision to found Room to Read, a non-profit organization which now provides educational access to 1.3 million children in developing nations through its 400 schools and 5,000 Reading Rooms. What John brought to this organization was a vision for scalable solutions to world problems, an intense focus on results, and an ability to attract a high-level group of employees, volunteers and investors.
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On to Tremblant
Episode Three revives the dream of one lucky driver who just missed the cut at the conclusion of Episode Two – a space has opened up for them in Mt. Tremblant. Convening at the mountain resort, the 16 racers are divided into two rival camps – Team Mazda and Team Castrol – each team moving into luxury chalet digs. Each team, in their new team uniforms, assembles on world-renowned track at Le Circuit to meet their instructors, familiarize themselves with the facilities, hear the ground rules at the Jim Russell driving school and sit in the open-wheel racecar for the first time. Then, the star judges, including Paul Tracy and Derek Daly, makes their first appearance and address the hopefuls before they face a battery of fitness tests.
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Bubble Boy Moves Ahead
It’s back to class for the Star Racer competitors. After a safety review, the class moves out onto the track where the key lessons are underscored and then into the F-2000 Van Diemen Racecars for controlled lapping. It becomes evident very quickly who are smoothly making the transition to open-wheelers and which racers are struggling. In the background, the reserve racers also go through the process – nipping at the heels of the qualifiers. The racers take the school test and results are posted – driving the spirit of competition to a new high. The on-track performance of the drivers is evaluated and leads to the first elimination round of the Finals. Two drivers are going home – will they be team members who will be replaced by the reserve drivers, or will the reserve racers see their dreams on the track dashed?
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Down to 12
Today, the racers will face time trials that will send two drivers from each team home. Rivalries between the Karters and the Others – and between Team Mazda and Team Castrol – take hold. At the track, the instructors go through the time-trial instructions and the racers strap into their cars. The track record is set as a marker on the big screen and one by one the racers tear up the track at Le Circuit while the rest look on. Who makes disastrous mistakes under pressure? Who rises to the challenge to turn in perfect laps? The judges evaluate each driver and deliver their verdict, sending four drivers home. Now down to 12, the chalets merge as Team Mazda moves into the Team Castrol house.
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Team Castrol’s Race Day
The day of reckoning arrives for Team Castrol. It’s race day at last and the six remaining Team Castrol members head to the track. Only four will return to the chalet for dinner as two more drivers leave their racing dreams on the track. The Team Mazda members will face an off-track surprise challenge of their own before moving to the main track to watch the Team Castrol race. With the competition watching, the Team Castrol drivers take warm-up laps and then go through a qualifying session. The pole position is awarded to the fastest qualifier and the starting grid is set. The race passes in a blur and at the end, the checkered flag flies as the race winner takes a victory lap. Then, one by one, the racers are called before the judges to hear their evaluation and learn their fate. Potential, character, teach-ability, performance and teamwork are evaluated – how will each racer measure up against the challenges and responsibilities on the pro circuit should he or she win the coveted prize? Four drivers will hit the track another day; two are sent home.
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Mazda’s Semi-Final
Today, Team Mazda revs up for their semi-final challenges on the track, while the four remaining Team Castrol members face an off-track surprise challenge. The Team Mazda drivers go through last-minute details with the instructors and the pit crew, strap in and hit the track for warm-up laps. The green flag falls and it’s go time. The victory lap goes to the race winner then, each racer is called before the judges to hear their evaluation and learn their fate. Potential, character, safety, coach-ability, performance and teamwork are measured. For four drivers, the goal is within their grasp; two drivers are heading home. The last eight savour this moment – only one race stands between each finalist and his or her Star Racer dream. Tomorrow one of them will pull ahead of the rest to win the ultimate prize.
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Finale
It’s all on the line today as the eight final racers arrive at the track. The judges pass through and offer invaluable advice, and the instructors lay down the ground rules, including a mandatory “pit stop” during the race. The drivers rev their engines, hit the track to warm up, and proceed through the qualifying laps. They take their place on the grid and when the green flag falls, it’s anyone’s race. Then, final victory as one driver wins the race of races and earns the title Star Racer.