Aligning the Dots ISBN: 9781734208719 Seward (?) Business Press copyright and written by Phillippe Bouissou, PhD.
Sub-titled, the new paradigm to grow any business, this book, like most in the genre, opens with “Additional praise” by prominent business leaders, list of trademarks, Photograph and Art Credits and the book’s Contents that contains a statement on “How to read this book” followed by a another “Why you should read this book”. Next listed, 9 chapters, most including detailed pertinent studies; 1. The Growth Imperative, one case study; 2. Alignment of Everything. 3. Introduction to the A4 Precision Alignment™ Paradigm, one study; 4. First Axis: Pain vs. Claim, three; 5. Second – Perception vs. Message, four; 6. Third – Purchase vs. Sale, three; 7. Fourth – Delight vs. Offering, two; 8. Building your Growth Playbook, four; 9. Internal alignment, two studies. A Summary, Index, Acknowledgements and About the Author conclude the book. The content begins simply with an explanation of “How to read this book” describing that it has been written “so that you can maximize the return on the time you invest in it. Skip around and read it in a non-linear fashion if that suits you. Or read it cover to cover.” Accompanying are suggestions for reading the material if you have 3 minutes, ten minutes, thirty or “more time or can’t fall asleep”. A more detailed explanation of “Why you should read this book” then provides an opening to the substantive material of the chapters as listed above.
Discussion: An interesting summary of “What we have learned” after one chapter/section’s presentation. “It’s the beginning of a quiet revolution I call The Reverse Movement, It is a profound change with lasting effects, where products and services and ease-of-transaction are delivered to the customer, not the opposite as it has been up until now.” Another highly interesting section is set forth in the fourth axis of alignment in the A4 Precision Alignment™ methodology which explains the concept presented by the somewhat perplexing title “Delight vs. Offering”; viz. “between the delight the customer is expecting after the acquisition of the product and the experience he or she receives using the product”. Further admonishment is provided to the effect that there is only one business regardless of whether it offers farm machinery, beauty products or anything in-between and that is the delivery of delight at a level the customer wants and expects. The author further reduces a company’s effectiveness to a simple formula: “Growth Contribution = Experienced Delight – Expected Delight.” Further provided are steps required in taking what he titles the “Delightfulness Journey”. From replies to a questionnaire, numbers are gained which provide further information. Importance of asking pertinent questions, gaining necessary date, aligning them properly, gaining critical insight from them and finally applying them properly are stressed. The importance of Internal Alignment, as well as external, is critical for growth to occur. The Summary amusingly includes material “For those who want a quick reference … or are one of those readers who skip to the end.” The last 15% of the book are devoted to a most helpful Index, a sizable number of Acknowledgements and a modestly short About the Author.
5* Somewhat ‘different’ approach to initiate/continue business growth.