The Nardelli Reign Ends
Many have already started to post on the subject of Bob Nardelli's resignation from Home Depot, inlcuding Church of the Customer's post on "General Bob".
I have posted earlier about Bob Nardelli's reading of Pine and Gilmore's "The Experience Economy", and was hopeful that the giant of Home Depot could reach deep into its grass roots to create some remarkable experiences. This however was not to be, and then I start to ask why...
1. Why do seasoned executives time-and-time again become so insulated from their customers? In Nardelli's case he had 24/7 surveillance in the stores to see what is happening real time in every store.
2. How do companies built on customer-centricty loose their souls? Like it or not, Home Depot grew because of a passion of providing local service and products.
So, what went wrong? I think Ben hit the proverbial nail on the head with his comment:
His vision of military precision was largely out of synch with what most on-the-ground soldiers actually experience: a lot of improvising in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
Far too often, managers and executives forget about where the real battle takes place. It's not in the meetings or the board rooms. It occurs every minute on the sales floor (physical or virtual), where customers intersect with the business operation. This meeting space is where experiences are created. Managing them remotely, especially via a "spy-game"wizadry does not lend itself to the world of experiences. It only creates a perception of understanding - absent the other four senses.
So, so long to Mr. Nardelli. And hopefully to the detached omniscient management style he appeared to have brought to the table. Sorry Bob, you were so close and reading the right things, but in the final analysis it boils down to one thing - EXECUTION.
I have posted earlier about Bob Nardelli's reading of Pine and Gilmore's "The Experience Economy", and was hopeful that the giant of Home Depot could reach deep into its grass roots to create some remarkable experiences. This however was not to be, and then I start to ask why...
1. Why do seasoned executives time-and-time again become so insulated from their customers? In Nardelli's case he had 24/7 surveillance in the stores to see what is happening real time in every store.
2. How do companies built on customer-centricty loose their souls? Like it or not, Home Depot grew because of a passion of providing local service and products.
So, what went wrong? I think Ben hit the proverbial nail on the head with his comment:
His vision of military precision was largely out of synch with what most on-the-ground soldiers actually experience: a lot of improvising in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
Far too often, managers and executives forget about where the real battle takes place. It's not in the meetings or the board rooms. It occurs every minute on the sales floor (physical or virtual), where customers intersect with the business operation. This meeting space is where experiences are created. Managing them remotely, especially via a "spy-game"wizadry does not lend itself to the world of experiences. It only creates a perception of understanding - absent the other four senses.
So, so long to Mr. Nardelli. And hopefully to the detached omniscient management style he appeared to have brought to the table. Sorry Bob, you were so close and reading the right things, but in the final analysis it boils down to one thing - EXECUTION.
