The theme of Tipping Point...

In the book, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things can Make a Big Difference”, Malcolm Gladwell explains how to understand the social spread of viral ideas or behaviours, we need to bear in mind only three simple 'laws': the 'law of the few,' the 'stickiness factor,' and the 'power of context.'

The law of the few asserts that "the efforts of a handful of exceptional people" are at the core of social epidemics, and these exceptional people are defined by how well connected they are and the degree of influence they have.

Gladwell identified three particular kinds of people with particular influence: connectors (people who know a lot of people and are in a position to influence a lot of people or spread an idea and make it visible to a lot of people), 'mavens' (people with a focused interest in particular areas, be it where to get the best prices or the relative merits of the newest features of the latest release electronic goods, and a willingness and interest to share that information with others) and 'salespeople' (people with a talent for persuasion, and for changing our minds and making us see or act differently).

The stickiness factor asserts that ideas, to be disseminated effectively and become 'viral,' need to 'mutate' into a form where they readily penetrate and people can 'catch the virus' and absorb or adopt the idea or behavior. Gladwell, with reference to TV shows such as Sesame Street and Blues Clues, argues that stickiness can be deliberately cultivated and refined to maximize the impact and 'spread' of content or behaviour.

The power of context asserts that small changes in environment can make a big difference to outcomes - that people are "extraordinarily" attuned to their environment and respond in different ways following what might appear to be very minor changes.

Aviation MRO IT Trends...

Please go to the link below for a nice article on IT Trends, including the industry's move towards On-Demand Delivery:

http://www.avioxi.com/downloads/Aviation%20MRO%20IT%20Trends.pdf

Early Adopters are the pillars...

In 1991 Geoffrey A. Moore wrote the book, "Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers". According to Tom Byers, Faculty Director of Stanford Technology Ventures Program, the book is "still the bible for entrepreneurial marketing" (2006). Here is a link to nice article by Alex Iskold on Rethinking the book and an extract from the article:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/rethinking_crossing_the_chasm.php

Crossing the chasm is all about getting a technology widely adopted. The most difficult step is to win over the so called early majority of the mass market. This can only happen with the help of early adopters, who are instrumental since they are used as both examples and evangelists.

The problem is that compared to a few years ago, the speed with which new technologies are coming to the market has increased dramatically. All these technologies are aimed at the early adopters. And they love it and they try it. But the question is what happens when your early adopters run off to play with a new great thing before you have a chance to take your technology mainstream?

For example, some people who used to blog regularly, blog less now because they discovered Twittering (microblogging). Or, early adopters who have discovered Second Life might not have as much time to spend on MySpace anymore. These are not even necessarily competitive technologies, they are complimentary, but the fact is that they all compete for peoples' time and attention.

Since today's new technologies are being brought into the market at an unprecedented pace, the early adopters are stretched. They love trying new things and there are so many of them that they can't keep up and adopt as many new applications and services. It might just be the case that a good technology does not make it because the early adopters abandon it to try something new.

The early adopters are the pillars needed to cross the chasm; without them the whole scheme falls apart. You can't make a leap and bring on board the masses if the very foundation you are standing on, the early adopters, leave to do other things...

Tips to glue your ideas (and products)

The key to creating traction is to take your idea, whatever it may be, and present it as a Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional Stories. Here is a review of "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, in which this is further explained:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/070121/29eestickiness_print.htm



It seems to happen every day. A meeting is called to outline a new strategy or sales plan. Down go the lights and up goes the PowerPoint. Strange phrases appear—"unlocking shareholder value," "technology-focused innovation," "maximizing utility." (What does that mean?) Lists of numbers come and go. Bullet point by bullet point, the company's goals float across the screen. Eyes glaze over.
Some ideas have longer shelf lives than others. Nike said "Just do it," and people did. James Carville insisted the 1992 presidential election was about the economy, stupid, and politicians still talk about it. John F. Kennedy announced that the country would put a man on the moon in under 10 years—and it happened. Most managers can't get their employees to remember the salient points of their last presentation...

Read on by clicking on the above link!

John's Six-pack...

John Stone, who spent last two weeks with Ramco Chennai team, recommends highly the following books for reading [will also post some of the thoughts from these books over the coming weeks]:

• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by brothers Chip Heath and Dan Heath
  

• Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore
  

• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
  

• The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley
  

• Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres
  

• The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

Change Management...

As implementors, we are dealing with change in every customer assignment and the following article brings out succinctly the challenges involved and approach that can be followed, for the business in managing the transition:

http://www.initiateaction.com/Implementation2.htm

20 ways in which smarter maintenance may reduce operating costs

Interesting article by Henry Canaday / Overhaul & Maintenance;

 

 

Airlines and shops have driven hard to wring unnecessary expenditures out of maintenance. But spending can be the least of maintenance costs. Aircraft downtime is often more costly than work done during non-earning periods. Cancellations and delays due to flawed maintenance can cost huge sums.

 

Airline operations are affected mightily by the quality and frequency of maintenance, and these effects grow more intense as jet fuel prices skyrocket. A percentage point of extra fuel burn means a lot more in "dollar burn" than it used to. Engine maintenance and modification must maximize efficiency, not just meet hard limits on part lives or on-wing time. Fuel burn also is affected by the weight and drag of airframes, both of which are affected by maintenance decisions.

 

Maintenance choices are being reexamined in light of new economic pressures. This can mean more attention to traditional best practices, redefining best practices to fit the new economic environment or adopting new techniques developed especially for this brutal time.

 

Here are 20 ways in which smarter maintenance may reduce operating costs or gain revenue. {Read the full article in the June 2008 issue of Overhaul & Maintenance}

 

 

1. Never Let Maintenance Set Turn-Time

 

2. Increase Time between Checks

 

3. Reduce Downtime per Check

 

4. Avoid Un-economic Modifications

 

5. Re-Paint Faster

 

6. Emphasize Reliability

 

7. Establish or Contract For Maintenance Control

 

8. Reduce Deferred Items

 

9. Upgrade Equipment and Training

 

10. Keep Weight Down

 

11. Reduce Drag and Extra Power Burdens

 

12. Reconsider Winglets If Available

 

13. Wash Engines Faster

 

14. Make Records To Minimize Economic Engine Upgrades

 

15. Smart Engine Shop Visits

 

16. Sweat The Details

 

17. Maintain Records To Minimize Lifecycle Cost

 

18. Find Reliable Partners

 

19. Renew Fleets

 

20. Optimize Inventory

 

Aviation MRO Industry - Road Ahead...

The following link provides a good overview of the industry (Our solution can help the companies with Operational and Cost Improvement aspects highlighted in the study):

http://www.oliverwyman.com/ow/pdf_files/OW_EN_AAD_2008_PrivateEquity.pdf