Blind Beliefs, Bespoke Burdens, Bottling the Brand ???
TL;DR
BUSINESS
?? Blind framework worship is bad for your business.
In the modern business world, frameworks like SCRUM, Design Thinking, Lean, and OKRs?(which are topics for themselves, to be honest) have achieved near-mythical status.?
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Promoted as a universal remedy for organizational inefficiencies, they promise a fairytale of streamlined processes and heightened productivity.?
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However, there are oversights in this cult-like loyalty:?
- These frameworks were born out of specific contexts.
- They were designed by companies with unique cultures and problems.
Attempting to implement them wholesale in a different environment is not just impractical.?
It’s counterproductive, and possibly even just plain stupid.
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Each organization is a living organism with its own DNA.?
The rigid application of frameworks often leads to a bizarre ritualistic practice where ticking boxes in the process becomes more important than achieving meaningful outcomes.
I’ve witnessed companies stubbornly adhering to these methodologies - even when it was clear it wasn’t working - ignoring the reality that their unique circumstances demand tailored approaches.?
Success isn’t measured by how faithfully you follow a process but by the results you achieve.?
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Shocking, right?
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Frameworks should serve as guides, not the gospel.?
The real value lies in understanding the principles behind them and adapting those principles to fit your company’s specific needs.?
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This flexibility encourages innovation and ensures that processes support, rather than hinder, progress. Ultimately, it’s about using these tools to craft a strategy that works for you, not bending your organization to fit a predetermined mold.?
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Isn’t it time to question the gospel of rigid frameworks, stop just ticking process boxes, take the parts that work, and start shaping your own path to success?
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SOFTWARE
??Bespoke Software is Holding Your Business Back
The age of bespoke enterprise software is over. But plenty of companies didn’t get the memo. Time again, we encounter large companies being held hostage by two guys in sandals and Metallica shirts.
And it doesn’t matter if the developers are internal or from an agency. Recently we talked to one of the biggest banks in the Adria region. The internal IT team developed their planning solutions 10 years ago. Every single person that worked on that project is gone. Now what?
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Recently I heard another horror story. A high-stakes acquisition of a big retail chain almost failed because they were held hostage by a tiny local company that built their ERP.
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You sink hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros into a black box that only a few people know how to maintain.
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But at least, it’s finely tuned to your needs. This is complete bollocks! Everyone thinks they are special and complicated. Even if that’s true, unless you’re the company that runs a quarry on the moon, you should strive to do things the way the rest of the business world does.
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I’m not saying that business processes should adapt to the solution, that would be very SAP of me. I’m saying that if the whole world uses leads and opportunities in CRM, you should too.
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If you’re not convinced, here are some of the issues of bespoke software:
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1. High Initial Costs: Developing custom software will cost much more than you expect. You will have a huge upfront investment exceeding the costs of off-the-shelf alternatives by ten-fold.
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2. Long Development Time: Bespoke solutions take time to build. During this period, your business might miss out on opportunities or lag behind competitors who have opted for ready-made solutions.
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3. Maintenance and Support: Custom software needs ongoing maintenance and support. And support is costly and resource-intensive. Unlike commercial software, which benefits from regular updates and security patches, bespoke software relies on your team or a dedicated vendor for these critical tasks.
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4. Scalability Issues: As your business grows, your software needs will evolve. Custom solutions might not scale as easily or cost-effectively as commercial products designed to handle a wide range of scenarios and user loads.
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5. Vendor Lock-In: Engaging a specific developer or development team for your custom software can create dependency. Back to the developers in Metalica shirts from the beginning of the story. They can move to Sweden, or maybe even join a band.
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6. Integration Challenges: Custom software is hard to integrate with other tools and systems. Nobody bothers to build and document an API - because well, the customer didn’t order that.
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Since we all agree that bespoke enterprise software sucks, what to do instead?
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?? Choose a modern, highly customizable platform that quickly onboards business users. Good software allows business users to learn configuration faster than technical users can learn business needs.
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HERO OF THE DAY
??? David Tran, the Sriracha Business Wizard
I’ve never met anyone who tried Sriracha and didn’t like it.
The sauce is perfect. ??
During the last Sriracha shortage (yes, those are a thing), some sellers hawked bottles for as much as $160.
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The genius behind this beloved sauce is David Tran, founder of Huy Fong Foods.?
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A major in the South Vietnamese army, Tran fled Communist Vietnam in 1978 with his family on a Taiwanese boat named the Huey Fong. This name, which means "Gathering Prosperity," inspired his company’s name.?
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He settled in Los Angeles, selling his unique Sriracha sauce from a blue Chevy van, using recycled baby food jars for packaging.
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Tran’s recipe, inspired by a Thai chili paste from Si Racha, includes vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, and chilis. He made his product stand out with a rooster logo, reflecting his birth year, 1945, the Year of the Rooster and later introduced the iconic squeeze bottle with a green cap to signify freshness.
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Despite his success, Tran has never altered the original ingredients.
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Remarkably, Sriracha’s wholesale price has remained the same for 38 years, with a bottle still selling for under $10. This adheres to Tran’s philosophy of offering a “rich man’s sauce at a poor man’s price.”?
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This approach has kept Huy Fong Sriracha at the forefront of the global market, turning it into a pop culture phenomenon.
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Tran’s first major customers were Asian restaurants and shops, but it wasn’t long before the rest of the world caught on.?
From making $2,300 in his first month, his monthly revenue now approaches $13 million.?
Despite this, Tran never trademarked Sriracha, only the green cap and rooster, saying:
?“I never worry about other brands because we're too busy making it. I can't make enough of my product to meet the demand, so let them have it and work together for the consumer. It’s free advertising.”
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Investors have tried to buy Tran out for decades, but he has always resisted. In 2020, McCormick & Co. acquired Cholula Hot Sauce, a competitor, for $800 million on $92 million in sales.
A similar price-to-sales ratio would value Huy Fong at $1.3 billion. Tran didn’t even flinch.
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What’s most incredible is that Huy Fong still operates with the same 10 distributors it started with. They don’t have a sales team and have never advertised; Sriracha’s massive success is mostly based on word-of-mouth.?
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David Tran’s philosophy is simple and modest:?
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"My American Dream was never to become a billionaire. We started this because we like fresh, spicy chili sauce."
See you in a month ??