ARCHIVE from robertdavidhays.com April 11, 2012
I just read a really great article by Roy H. Williams, an advertising, marketing and business guru who founded the Wizard Academy. The Wizard Academy is a non-profit business school designed for anyone with an open mind and a desire to grow their business. Roy began writing his Monday Morning Memo with an intended audience of advertising professionals. I always find nuggets in his work that apply to business, marketing and life.
This particular Monday Morning Memo highlighted an anecdote from one of his personal mentors. Here’s a snipit from the text:
One day Tom told me a story about the 8-track and cassette tapes of his own childhood. “Roy,” he said, “when I was growing up, everyone pulled water from a well. There was this one company that made absolutely the best oak buckets. Every general store sold them. It was the oak bucket everyone bought. Then along came this new contraption called a hand pump. It mounted over the top of the well and the water came to you as you pumped the iron handle up and down. The oak bucket company chose to ignore this new technology. In fact, they even disparaged it. That’s why they went broke and disappeared; they thought they were in the oak bucket business when in truth, they were in the water delivery business. With their brand recognition and their distribution channels, that oak bucket company could easily have become the leading hand-pump company. And after that, they could have become the leading supplier of faucets and fixtures when indoor plumbing came along. But no, they were in love with oak buckets and that’s really sad.” Tom then looked steadily into my eyes, “Roy, never fall in love with oak buckets. Always remember the business you’re in; the customer delivery business.”
Today I’m just doing my best to honor old Tom and pass along his advice
He got me thinking about what business I am really in, and how changes in the landscape of the marketplace and in technology impact what my professional role is. You could say that I sell stuff to dental offices, but that would be a fairly dramatic oversimplification. What I really do is provide a channel of information, education and support to the dental professional. I give you the tools you need to be successful clinically and in the business of your practice. I’m the “Tool Man”.
How would you define your business? As the function of the dental professional has shifted and changed over the past century, and really even over the past decade, how have you defined and refined your business and vision? Are you still selling oak buckets when you’re really in the business of water delivery? Are you prepared to adjust as new technology comes along and alters the way in which you serve your customers/patients?
Ultimately patients want healthy, attractive mouths, and I believe there’s a growing trend toward general wellness and prevention in health care at large. How does this impact your message and product/service offering? Dentistry really pioneered the wellness platform, so we’re ahead of the game there. Do your diagnostic tools offer the best resources for patient communication with digital radiography, intraoral cameras and 3D imaging? Are you offering the latest available restorative treatment options with chairside CAD/CAM, guided implant surgery and the like?
Just some food for thought inspired by Roy Williams, oak buckets, and a desire to be the best Tool Man I can be.
