Comments on: “Use our minds first, not our money”

By: Mark Graban

Mark Graban — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:06:16 +0000

I love that phrase, your title, as it has a nice ring than “creativity before capital” which is the phrase I’ve most often heard.

I also like how you, apparently in a constructive way, challenged people and asked what alternatives they considered. That’s a classic Toyota approach, as I’ve seen taught by John Shook. You never just accept an answer, you probe and ask “why did you choose that solution?” or “what alternatives did you consider?”

A very powerful approach, as long as it is done with “Respect for people” in mind.

By: Ted Eytan

Ted Eytan — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:45:58 +0000

I like this expression, a lot, Lee, because it doesn’t disrespect the idea of asking for money, and respects people’s brainpower, all at the same time.

I notice that sometimes when these conversations come up, people have become distanced from the impact to the customer.

What I do is bring that back in. For a hypothetical technology that costs $1 million for example, I will say, “Do you think from our members’ perspective that they are willing to add $2 per person to their health care premium to purchase this?” It definitely helps me “Ask why.”