December 19th: May Your Days Be Merry and Bright ??
The previous day’s discussions had lasted for several hours, but the outcome was worth every minute spent. A few people didn’t see the need for change, saying things like, “We’ve acted in the same way for more than a century, so why change a winning formula?” The others had tried to convince the dissenters that a winning formula in the past was not necessarily a winning formula in the present, and definitely not in the future, but they couldn’t be moved. Still, the vast majority took an active part in the discussions to find new solutions.
They had chosen Rudolph to present what they had agreed upon. “Let me start with the target group. We have two target groups, children and their parents. They may seem very distinct, but since their fundamental needs are basically the same, we’ve decided to treat them as one.” Dr. McKinley nodded at this.
“Then let’s move on to this one thing both children and their parents have in common: The need and desire to spend time with their loved ones in peace and harmony. They may not all acknowledge this yet, but we really do think that it’s true.” This time Rudolph looked at Santa and Mrs. Claus, who clearly agreed. This was exactly how they had always felt about true Christmas spirit.
“Of course, solutions are very important and we have discussed them at length. We’ve reached the conclusion that we cannot solve this on our own, but,” he had paused for effect, “we can definitely assist by continuing to give gifts to the children. However, more importantly, and this is really key, we must do our very best to remove the pressure that many parents feel and also the disappointment many children experience, due to the commercialization of Christmas. We can do so by spreading Santa’s view that Christmas is not about what’s under the tree, but who’s around the tree.” Santa clapped heartily in agreement with this point.
“I’m not done yet,” Rudolph had continued. “At the same time, we must strive to fight the commercialization of Christmas and we can do so by convincing or even forcing shops and brands to stop the excessive use of Santa Claus in their marketing.” At this point everyone clapped.
“The way we have chosen to spread the message is through today’s commonly used tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media. This will also make us appear more modern. And finally, concerning the test, we are convinced that our value proposition ‘resonates’ because based on what the focus group said, there is a real need and desire to emphasize Christmas as a time of joy. We also feel that it ‘differentiates’ because very few talk about the joy of Christmas, whereas billions of dollars are spent all over the world on promoting the message that Christmas is about gifts. And finally, we know that there is ‘substance’ because Santa Claus is unique and by using him as a spokesperson, we will have more people listen to our message, as opposed to anyone else with the same message.”
“The staff did a good job yesterday,” Dr. Abacus McKinley said to Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and John Smith when they met after Rudolph’s presentation to discuss the next step. “A really good job, indeed. And they are definitely on to something. I’m a little worried about the differentiation, but we’ll see.”
“But what about the part about Christmas being so commercialized?” Santa was clearly a little skeptical. “Of course they’re right, but I’m not quite sure what we can do about it.”
“That is going to be a challenge,” said Dr. McKinley. “Our entire lifestyle is based on consumption, so from a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist, it would be necessary to invent it.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Dr. McKinley,” Mrs. Claus intervened. “I mean, there are a lot of bad ism’s in the world, like imperialism, communism, and
Nazism, and we have pretty much defeated them all. So why not commercialism?”
“Sorry, Mrs. Claus, but we can’t. It’s impossible, but we can do something to moderate it.”
“And that would be good enough for me, for now. But there’s another thing that’s even more important right now—the staff. They sure did a great job yesterday, but that was just the beginning. Now they have to find ways to make all the good stuff happen. That made me think. Who says an elf has to be in the workshop making toys? And does a pixie girl have to be reading and responding to letters? And what about the reindeer? I know that they can’t make toys or respond to letters, but why does Rudolph always have to be in front? I mean, if you’re not the lead reindeer, the scenery never changes, right?”
“What’s your point, Mrs. Claus?” John Smith said, clearly concerned about possible changes in his workshop.
“My point is this, John. The four of us should ask all our employees whether they do what they are best at and find most interesting. Because if they don’t, then we have tremendous lost potential. And what’s worse: Sooner or later they will find something else to do and I assure you, it would be a terrible thing for Santa to look over his shoulder now that he’s finally trying to lead and find no one behind him.”
Main take-aways:
?? There will always be resistance to change among some employees, no matter what
?? A well thought out value proposition is a prerequisite for successful change
?? It’s important to let the employees work based on what they’re good at and have fun doing
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