Retailer L.L.Bean and healthcare provider ThedaCare have historically emphasized historically emphasized providing unique solutions for each customer, but they are currently focusing on operational excellence to compete successfully. Can you do both at the same time?

1. Customer Intimacy, Meet Operational
Excellence
Brad Power
FCB Partners Webinar
October 2, 2013

2. 1
There are three common strategic themes
or “customer value propositions.”
Best Product
Consistent Best Total Solution
Operational
Excellence
Customer
Intimacy
Product
Leadership
Travel agent
Financial
consultant
Source: “The Discipline of Market Leaders”, Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema

3. 2
L.L.Bean Is Increasing Operational
Excellence to Address a Performance Gap
Product Leadership
Operational
Excellence
Customer
Intimacy
Competitively
Disadvantaged
World-Class
Competitive
Parity
Industry
Leadership
X = Where we are
performing today
G = Goal
X
X
XG
G
G
Performance
Gap

4. L.L.Bean’s Journey to Operational
Transformation
From
• Home grown
systems
• Complexity, heroics
• High cost
To
• Standard systems for
back office functions
• Standard processes
• Operational excellence
3

5. 4
ThedaCare Is Using Operational Excellence
to Differentiate Itself
Product Leadership
Operational
Excellence
Customer
Intimacy
Competitively
Disadvantaged
World-Class
Competitive
Parity
Industry
Leadership
X = Where we are
performing today
G = Goal
X
X
XG
G G
Performance
Advantage
Opportunity

6. ThedaCare’s Journey to Operational
Transformation
From
• Ad hoc improvement
efforts
• Inconsistent clinical
performance
• Average cost
To
• ThedaCare Improvement
System
• Consistent clinical
performance
• Lowest costs in the state
5

7. Can You Have Both Customer Intimacy and
Operational Excellence?
6
Standards for
consistency, reliability,
and low cost
Autonomy to make
customer-specific
decisions

8. Continue the Dialogue
 Hammer Forum:
Connecting Across
Boundaries
Best Practices Conference
October 17-18, 2013
The Westin Copley Place
Boston, MA
 Process Redesign
Hammer Process Mastery
November 19-22, 2013
The Colonnade Hotel
Boston, MA
 The Power of Process
Hammer Process Mastery
November 25-26, 2013
The Colonnade Hotel
Boston, MA
 Leading Business
Transformation
Hammer Process Mastery
December 3-5, 2013
The Colonnade Hotel
Boston, MA
7
Version 1: 30th October 2007