Why in the hotel every time block the bed so that you have to make incredible efforts to squeeze under the blanket, depicting a piece in the envelope? Why is the toilet paper holder located in an uncomfortable place available to the longest guests or octopus? Because the hotel operator turned off common sense.
Lindstrom worked with many major corporations - from Google to Burger King, with companies from different industries - from air transportation to mail. Initially, he specialized in branding issues, where he became an authority and wrote bestsellers "The Feeling of the Brand" and BUYOLOGY, then moved to consulting in the field of business transformation and corporate culture, was recognized as one of the most influential business thinkers. The idea of the book "The Ministry of Commission" (in Russian it is planned to go to the Myth publishing house) appeared when Lindstrom saw the trend: companies are becoming absorbed by the bureaucracy, rules and other "corporate nonsense", without seeing the world outside.
Almost any stupidity and inconvenience with which we are faced as consumers, you can find a source - problems within the company, which for some reason refused to use the principle of common sense and from empathy. Famous truth - contact others as you want to contact you, - periodically ceases to work in business.
Companies can declare customer focus, assess the satisfaction of consumers of their products and services, organize focus groups and surveys, but at the same time do not see real problems. Lindstrom worked with a large bank specializing in credit cards, and found a way to return adequacy to him. He invited the Top Managers of the Bank to the meeting, intensively negotiating the time locking of their cards. One of the tops, having arrived in the company of colleagues to the meeting place, tried to pay a taxi corporate card, but could not. At the request of Lindstrom, he called the bank's call center, waited, listened to the vigorous music, he wrote a lot of numbers (first 5, then 2, then 7), listened to music, memorized phrases "Your call is very important for us, please stay on the line" , was redirected from one specialist to another ...
After that, the work of the Client Department was completely changed.
The book has a lot of similar examples, on which Lindstrom proves the importance of priority of common sense in business. This may relate to the creation of products, customer relations, organizational structure, KPI establishment, and so on. Otherwise, the bureaucracy kills ideas, formalities are becoming more important than effectiveness, specific personalities pervert initially correct principles in their favor, and companies are in an alternative reality, where work is accounted for, which is so instituted, and not as customers and employees want.
"Does anyone ever actually read the forms of the questionnaires that we all fill all the time? When I go to the procedures and I am proposed to fill out the form, I sometimes put a tick in the "Yes" field in response to the question "Are you pregnant?". No one has noticed it. Maybe I really pregnant? "
Lindstrom not only tells funny stories about corporate stupidity and oddity, the fresh set of which is devoted to remote work, including Consonance in Zoom. It offers a change plan that allows the company to get out of the rules cell, gain courage and start transformation - through the creation of the company itself of the "Ministry of Communar," which was submitted to the name of the book.
Simple intuitive solutions instead of confusing and impractical - this approach allows you to move forward and also retains money - verified in practice. When you find yourself at the next meeting, you will prepare another report or packaging scissors into a strong plastic packaging, which does not open without scissors, it is worth stopping and thinking - what's the point?
The MINISTRY OF COMMON SENSE: How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate Bullshit
Martin Lindstrom.
John Murray, 2021