Acclamations for INSPIRE!

Michelle Kaye Malsbury
Bookpleasures.com

Jim Champy, author of Inspire!, is the chairman and head of business strategies for Perot Systems. He had written numerous bestsellers (Outsmart!, X-Engineering The Corporation, Reengineering Management, and the Arc of Ambition). In Inspire he interviewed several business leaders from various industries to help translate the theories he writes about into real life scenarios that can help organizations learn how to make the most out of our bad economic times. (2009, insert)

Inspire! opens up with taking your organization “from tired to inspired”. (2009, p.6) Here Champy writes about how your marketing efforts should define your target audience by considering what you have in common with your customer. (p.10) If you can see yourself as the customer you can create a plan to sell your goods and services to them/you with greater ease. Champy says that [paraphrase] the customer drives the company image. Highlights of this chapter are convenience, affordability, authenticity, value, and purpose.

Some organizations have made their mark by championing a specific cause, i.e. organic products without pesticides. Using a cause to create or supplement your image is a good thing for some products or services because they can be inspirational. Causes are emotional and make your customer feel good about using your product or service. (2009, p.30) Highlights from this chapter hinge on reinforcement, experience, advocate, appeal, and truth.

Can convenience save you money? Champy says yes! Do not overstock your product or service, but have enough in the right locations to service your customers conveniently is the key. (2009, p.42) Convenience translates into every part of your business from how one selects the product or service down to where they go to get it. Simplicity in every facet coupled with good service can help streamline that process and keep your customers coming back for more.

The healthcare and pharmaceutical industry can provide consumers with good service, quality care, and affordable prices without sacrificing the bottom line. (2009, p.59) How can this be achieved? Insurers can cut through the layers of red tape by partnering with the federal government, bundling or layering services/benefits that provide additional discounts to the customer, going paperless to streamline processes and procedures, and placing more emphasis on prevention and wellness instead of after the fact treatments.

Market differentiation is important to getting a leg up on the competition. How can you define your organization better? Your organization can stand out from its competition by being straightforward, uncomplicated, and customer focused. (2009, p.84-5) Good service brings customers back. Select a message that resonates with your target audience, keep your promises, constantly work on improvement, and balance idealism with reality. (pgs.103-6)

Businesses can build on and leverage their past experience. They can even emerge ahead of the pack if they were the underdog. (2009, pgs.147-50) How? Coming from the back of the pack means concentrating on what separates you from your competition without losing your authenticity or core organizational values. Authenticity, customer focus, and adherence to one set of organizational values is what will bring your customers back time and again. It also tends to be a common theme throughout this book and from organization to organization.

Mr. Champy did a lot of leg work to put this book together and it does inspire one to go beyond what they had previously been doing. It inspires organizations to take a chance on doing something vastly different without compromising their company vision/image, and without sacrificing core values or customer satisfaction. In today’s global economy where there is more competition than ever before there are things that businesses can do to keep their customers coming back. Jim Champy shows them the way in Inspire!

K. M. Johnson
Metropolitan State University
Social & Behavioral Sciences, Review

In Inspire! Champy tells the story of successful businesses and how they ingeniously met their customers' needs. Author of other works including the bestseller, coauthored with Michael Hammer, Reengineering the Corporation (rev. ed., CH, Feb'02, 39-3479) and Outsmart!: How to Do What Your Competitors Can't (CH, Sep'08, 46-0393), Champy uses detailed accounts of several companies such as Stonyfield Farm, Go Daddy, and Honest Tea to demonstrate different ideals of inspiring customers. The strategies and tactics outlined in the book are unique to each company based on their individual positioning, from offering convenient and fun cars for rent on an hourly basis (Zipcar) to offering sign language videos for children (Two Little Hands Productions). Some concepts in the accounts are not new but are worth reiterating, e.g., being honest or empathetic. The stories are what make this book memorable, however, and the ideas Champy describes are transferable. Inspire!'s best feature is the range of examples, which are drawn from a variety of industries as well as small and large companies. The book's format is sequential, and each chapter presents a case of a different company and bulleted hightlights on how to connect with customers. Summing Up: Recommended ** Business collections serving general readers, all levels of students, faculty, and practitioners.

Acclamations for outsmart!

Dr. Robert “Bob” Metcalfe
General Partner
Polaris Venture Partners

“Champy’s is a beautiful little book, full of delightful stories and handy checklists that teach how to succeed in businesses by really trying.”

“Jim Champy, co-father of corporate reengineering, weaves the wisdom of Santa Anna, Charles Darwin, Peter Drucker, Paul Samuelson, Captain Queeg, and Jim Champy through short stories and charming checklists of business success.”

“To outsmart or be outsmarted, that is the question in modern business. Jim Champy has found the answer, in fact many answers, by looking inside amazingly successful companies. And he tells their simple stories in this book that is so delightfully short it can be read on one flight.”

Ray Stata
Chairman of the Board
Analog Devices, Inc.

“In Outsmart, to better understand how to compete and thrive in today’s chaotic, high-risk business world, Champy analyzes the success stories of nine diverse, high-growth companies. Through the lens of an insightful, celebrated management consultant, Champy abstracts the essentials which underpin the success of the smartest he could identify and then poses questions about how the lessons learned from their experience can be applied more universally to create new businesses or to rejuvenate the performance of established firms.”

“Champy’s engaging prose, fascinating success stories, penetrating reflections and provocative challenges to the status quo capture your full attention from the first page to the last and leave your mind swirling with new thoughts about how to exploit opportunities in a very different world.”

Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande
Founder and Chairman
Sycamore Networks, Inc.

“This book shows how to spot opportunities in a world that looks, at times, like everything is done. Jim has strung together nine pearls that reveal the essence of entrepreneurship.”

Frances Hesselbein
Founding President & Chairman
Leader to Leader Institute

"Jim Champy’s call to action in Outsmart!: How to Do What Your Competitors Can't is filled with the power of ideas, courage, innovation and shared beliefs and values, the culture of the company."

"This small but mighty handbook is a great gift to leaders of the organization of the future."

Denis A. Bovin
Vice Chairman, Investment Banking
Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.

"At a time of accelerating change for businesses everywhere, it is clear that chaotic conditions represent opportunities for the prepared corporation. In this remarkably readable and incisive book, Jim Champy provides case studies of fast growing, innovative companies who have created and implemented successful strategies that are practical, market tested and reproducible in today's global marketplace. There are a wealth of lessons to be learned and applied from the experiences detailed here-insights that can help create sustainable competitive advantages and make the difference between dramatic growth and stasis.This timely contribution to the business press can be read in a few hours, and its lessons will endure for years."


	Home Acclamations Articles Biography Contacts Other Books Podcasts/Video	Acclamations for INSPIRE! Michelle Kaye Malsbury Bookpleasures.com Jim Champy, author of Inspire!, is the chairman and head of business strategies for Perot Systems. He had written numerous bestsellers (Outsmart!, X-Engineering The Corporation, Reengineering Management, and the Arc of Ambition). In Inspire he interviewed several business leaders from various industries to help translate the theories he writes about into real life scenarios that can help organizations learn how to make the most out of our bad economic times. (2009, insert) Inspire! opens up with taking your organization “from tired to inspired”. (2009, p.6) Here Champy writes about how your marketing efforts should define your target audience by considering what you have in common with your customer. (p.10) If you can see yourself as the customer you can create a plan to sell your goods and services to them/you with greater ease. Champy says that [paraphrase] the customer drives the company image. Highlights of this chapter are convenience, affordability, authenticity, value, and purpose. Some organizations have made their mark by championing a specific cause, i.e. organic products without pesticides. Using a cause to create or supplement your image is a good thing for some products or services because they can be inspirational. Causes are emotional and make your customer feel good about using your product or service. (2009, p.30) Highlights from this chapter hinge on reinforcement, experience, advocate, appeal, and truth. Can convenience save you money? Champy says yes! Do not overstock your product or service, but have enough in the right locations to service your customers conveniently is the key. (2009, p.42) Convenience translates into every part of your business from how one selects the product or service down to where they go to get it. Simplicity in every facet coupled with good service can help streamline that process and keep your customers coming back for more. The healthcare and pharmaceutical industry can provide consumers with good service, quality care, and affordable prices without sacrificing the bottom line. (2009, p.59) How can this be achieved? Insurers can cut through the layers of red tape by partnering with the federal government, bundling or layering services/benefits that provide additional discounts to the customer, going paperless to streamline processes and procedures, and placing more emphasis on prevention and wellness instead of after the fact treatments. Market differentiation is important to getting a leg up on the competition. How can you define your organization better? Your organization can stand out from its competition by being straightforward, uncomplicated, and customer focused. (2009, p.84-5) Good service brings customers back. Select a message that resonates with your target audience, keep your promises, constantly work on improvement, and balance idealism with reality. (pgs.103-6) Businesses can build on and leverage their past experience. They can even emerge ahead of the pack if they were the underdog. (2009, pgs.147-50) How? Coming from the back of the pack means concentrating on what separates you from your competition without losing your authenticity or core organizational values. Authenticity, customer focus, and adherence to one set of organizational values is what will bring your customers back time and again. It also tends to be a common theme throughout this book and from organization to organization. Mr. Champy did a lot of leg work to put this book together and it does inspire one to go beyond what they had previously been doing. It inspires organizations to take a chance on doing something vastly different without compromising their company vision/image, and without sacrificing core values or customer satisfaction. In today’s global economy where there is more competition than ever before there are things that businesses can do to keep their customers coming back. Jim Champy shows them the way in Inspire! K. M. Johnson Metropolitan State University Social & Behavioral Sciences, Review In Inspire! Champy tells the story of successful businesses and how they ingeniously met their customers' needs. Author of other works including the bestseller, coauthored with Michael Hammer, Reengineering the Corporation (rev. ed., CH, Feb'02, 39-3479) and Outsmart!: How to Do What Your Competitors Can't (CH, Sep'08, 46-0393), Champy uses detailed accounts of several companies such as Stonyfield Farm, Go Daddy, and Honest Tea to demonstrate different ideals of inspiring customers. The strategies and tactics outlined in the book are unique to each company based on their individual positioning, from offering convenient and fun cars for rent on an hourly basis (Zipcar) to offering sign language videos for children (Two Little Hands Productions). Some concepts in the accounts are not new but are worth reiterating, e.g., being honest or empathetic. The stories are what make this book memorable, however, and the ideas Champy describes are transferable. Inspire!'s best feature is the range of examples, which are drawn from a variety of industries as well as small and large companies. The book's format is sequential, and each chapter presents a case of a different company and bulleted hightlights on how to connect with customers. Summing Up: Recommended ** Business collections serving general readers, all levels of students, faculty, and practitioners. Acclamations for outsmart! Dr. Robert “Bob” Metcalfe General Partner Polaris Venture Partners “Champy’s is a beautiful little book, full of delightful stories and handy checklists that teach how to succeed in businesses by really trying.” “Jim Champy, co-father of corporate reengineering, weaves the wisdom of Santa Anna, Charles Darwin, Peter Drucker, Paul Samuelson, Captain Queeg, and Jim Champy through short stories and charming checklists of business success.” “To outsmart or be outsmarted, that is the question in modern business. Jim Champy has found the answer, in fact many answers, by looking inside amazingly successful companies. And he tells their simple stories in this book that is so delightfully short it can be read on one flight.” Ray Stata Chairman of the Board Analog Devices, Inc. “In Outsmart, to better understand how to compete and thrive in today’s chaotic, high-risk business world, Champy analyzes the success stories of nine diverse, high-growth companies. Through the lens of an insightful, celebrated management consultant, Champy abstracts the essentials which underpin the success of the smartest he could identify and then poses questions about how the lessons learned from their experience can be applied more universally to create new businesses or to rejuvenate the performance of established firms.” “Champy’s engaging prose, fascinating success stories, penetrating reflections and provocative challenges to the status quo capture your full attention from the first page to the last and leave your mind swirling with new thoughts about how to exploit opportunities in a very different world.” Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande Founder and Chairman Sycamore Networks, Inc. “This book shows how to spot opportunities in a world that looks, at times, like everything is done. Jim has strung together nine pearls that reveal the essence of entrepreneurship.” Frances Hesselbein Founding President & Chairman Leader to Leader Institute "Jim Champy’s call to action in Outsmart!: How to Do What Your Competitors Can't is filled with the power of ideas, courage, innovation and shared beliefs and values, the culture of the company." "This small but mighty handbook is a great gift to leaders of the organization of the future." Denis A. Bovin Vice Chairman, Investment Banking Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. "At a time of accelerating change for businesses everywhere, it is clear that chaotic conditions represent opportunities for the prepared corporation. In this remarkably readable and incisive book, Jim Champy provides case studies of fast growing, innovative companies who have created and implemented successful strategies that are practical, market tested and reproducible in today's global marketplace. There are a wealth of lessons to be learned and applied from the experiences detailed here-insights that can help create sustainable competitive advantages and make the difference between dramatic growth and stasis.This timely contribution to the business press can be read in a few hours, and its lessons will endure for years."