1st Edition

Creating Value for Leaders Balancing the Interests of Customers, Employees, Investors, and the Marketplace

By Gautam Mahajan Copyright 2023
    360 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    360 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    360 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    Creating value is the foundation of all business. It’s what sets you apart from your competition, secures long-term customers, and brings distinct meaning to your brand and your stakeholders. Without creating value for your business, your unique offering will be seen as just another commodity in the eyes of your target market. Creating value is in every business leader’s vocabulary and uppermost in their overall strategy. In fact, creating value is the purpose of a company according to the Business Roundtable and the World Economic Forum. That is another key reason why more people want to understand and utilise value creation for their benefit and the good of their stakeholders.

    Many companies and leaders seek to create value but do not know how to. As a result, they create and destroy value unconsciously. This book shows you how to create value consciously. To create long-term value, organizations need to put in place the mindset, capabilities, and relationships that enable them to meet the needs of their customers and stakeholders.

    This book makes value creation understood and used by executives and leaders more effectively. The book describes value creation in its various nuances, how it arises, how it is used, and the width and scope of value creation, from how it impacts a company and how that company can become more successful by creating value for customers and other stakeholders. The author also provides tips for CEOs, managers, HR, and other professionals on how to succeed in value creation as a long-term strategy and in day-to-day work. Numerous examples and case studies illustrate the points being made by the author.

    Table of Contents

    Acknowledgements

    Introduction

    The Importance of Value

    Chapter 1: Value

    What is real value?

    Creating Value for yourself means Creating Value for others

    The Impact of Culture on Creating Value

    The Sense of Value

    Using Customer’s Bill of Rights to Build a Customer Culture

    Value of Belonging: the Orphaned Customer

    Why "What’s In It For Me" Can Kill Value Creation

    What does being Secure have to do with Creating Value?

    Creating value, value co-creation and value destruction

    From Value Grabbing to Value Creating: Lesson for Leaders

    Is Value Co-Creation Always Necessary

    The Value Co-Creation Platform

    Wellbeing and Value Creation: Are they two sides of a coin?

    Chapter 2: Value Creation Education

    Example of Value Creation in Education: At the Michener Center, U of Texas, Austin

    Creating Value with Knowledge

    Training vs a Learning Mindset in Value Creation

    Chapter 3: Customer Value

    What is Customer Value and How Can You Create It?

    The 8 Principles of Customer Value Creation

    Some Misconceptions on Customer Value

    The Memory of Your Experience is More Important Than Your Experience

    Customer Value and Customer Satisfaction. Two sides of the same coin?

    Can Customer Value change Customer Behaviour and vice versa?

    Don’t give away too much to the Customer

    Steps in Value Creation Implementation: The Customer Department

    Customer Value Journey: Making the Journey Easy and Meaningful Creates Value

    Customers as Ambassadors

    How SME’s benefit by Creating Value for Customers: a case study

    Does a Customer Seek Customer Experience?

    Customer Centric Circles, the Self-Directed Approach to Service and Mindset Changes

    Ease and Simplicity Creates Experience and Value

    Chapter 4: Customer Value Starvation

    AIR INDIA, WHITHER GOEST THOU AND TATA: How to Create Value

    Adding More Value does not Cost Much; Creating Low Value does Cost You

    Value Creation Implementation Ideas. Avoid Value Destruction

    When Zero Defects are the Norms, Why Not Zero Customer Complaints?

    Nuisance Value: Value Creation or Value Destruction?

    Value Deprivation

    Chapter 5: Employee Value

    Employee Value Added is not what companies think!

    Value Creation by Employees

    8 Tips for Value Creation for HR Professionals: Become Line Managers

    Employee Journey

    Using Employees to Build Market Place Foresight and Value Creation

    Do Specialists create more value than Generalists?

    Chapter 6: Businesses and Institutions

    Value Creation is Output / Input

    Are Companies Loyal?

    The real sources of value: Assets and Performance

    Value Creation and Destruction in Customer Value Constellations

    4 Types of Companies: My Learnings from Value Creation

    9 Reasons Why your Company Isn’t Creating Value

    Building Silos or Breaking Silos? Internal Customers is a Flawed Concept!

    Management by Creating Value

    Does Value Creation Need Financial Incentives?

    Companies Misunderstand Price

    The Case for Value Creation Centres: Value Councils go beyond Pricing Councils and Innovation Councils

    Journey of a Customer Value Creation Evangelist: From Companystan to Customerstan

    Chapter 7: Profits and Value

    How the Pure Profit Motive Destroys Value

    The Great Balancing Act: YOU CAN TIP THE BALANCE! Increase Profits

    Death of Profit: Customer Power Requires a Mindset Change to Improve Customer Retention and Profits

    Value Added Stories to Increase Price

    How Economics Creates Value

    Chapter 8: Value Destruction

    The Ukraine War Showcases Value Destruction and Learning From It

    Look at Value Destruction to Create More Value

    Co-Destruction

    Value Destruction: Non-Value-Added Tasks Destroy Value

    Will Value Destruction Ace Value Creation? Big Brother: Google, Apple and Microsoft

    Power And Value

    Money and Power: Motivators of Conscious or Unconscious Value Destruction

    Chapter 9: Leaders, Executives and Value Creation

    Value Creation and Leaders

    To Create More Value, Leaders Should Not Always Lead

    Fear: Value Creator or Value Destroyer for Leaders

    Trust Creates Value

    Should Creating Value be part of Leadership and Education

    Why Leadership-Development Programs fail: A Contrarian View

    Why Training Does Not Create Great Leaders?

    The Leadership Skill of being able to Unlearn: Create Value through Unlearning

    Are You a Value Creator or A Value Taker?

    The Chief Creating Value Officer

    Value Creation Implementation Ideas. Avoid Value Destruction

    Chapter 10: Transformation and Value Creation

    Value Creation for Transformational Growth of an Organization

    Transforming companies through Value Creation not Value Destruction: The Balancing Act

    Chapter 11: Purpose and Value Creation

    Our Purpose in Life

    The Purpose of a Company defined by the World Economic Forum

    Why Purpose Creates Value

    What is Value Creation and the new Purpose of a Company?

    Chapter 12: Sustainability and Value Creation

    Creating Value Through Sustainability

    Value Washing

    Chapter 13: Disruption and Creating Value

    Creating Value in a Disrupted Marketplace

    Marketing and Disruption

    Creating Value out of Value Destruction by COVID-19

    Chapter 14: Marketing and Value Creation

    Marketing must Prevent Customer Value Starvation to Increase Profits

    Can marketing be a value destroyer?

    Pitching your Value Proposition: How to Focus on what Customers Value

    De-Commoditizing Commodities: Add Value

    Customer and Value Migration

    Value of being Anonymous?

    Does Planned Obsolescence Destroy Value?

    My Terms or Yours: What Creates More Value?

    Chapter 15: Value Creation and Technology

    Why Creating Value is a skill needed for the future with AI and Technology

    Technology as a Potential Value Destroyer

    CIO’s Can Be True Value Creators

    Chapter 16: Value Creation in Manufacturing

    Are you adding Value to your Suppliers and Partners?

    The Supplier Strikes Back

    Chapter 17: Value and Values

    Driving Businesses from Values: Values Create Value (And higher profits)

    Value and VBA

    Corporate Unconsciousness: a Wakeup Call

    Chapter 18: Value Waiting to Happen and Innovation

    Value is waiting to Happen

    Appendix A: Short Guide to Customer Value Creation Definitions from the book

    Biography

    Gautam Mahajan, international leader in Value Creation, strategy, general management, and globalization is President of Customer Value Foundation. He is Founder Editor of the Journal of Creating Value, jcv.sagepub.com. He chairs the Global Conferences on Creating Value and mentors the Creating Value Alliance, creatingvalue.co. Value Creation is coined as the Purpose of a company by the Business Roundtable.

    His books are Value Dominant Logic; Value Imperative; Value Creation; Creating Customer Value Can Make you a Great Executive; Total Customer Value Management; Customer Value Investment, Customer Value Starvation Can Kill (with Walter Vieira).

    He is associated with the Centre for Social Value Creation at the U of Maryland, and the Value Creation Wheel Lab at Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon, Portugal. We helped start the Value School at Kobe University, Japan, The Creating Value School at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and the Value Research Center at Doshisha University in Japan and the Creating Value Centre in Denmark. He also chairs the Global Conferences on Creating Value.

    His clients included Alcoa, GE, GE Capital, State Farm Insurance, Wisconsin Energies, Sun Australia, Sealed Air, Rexam, Reynolds, Tatas, Godrej, ITC, Birla’s etc.,

    Mr. Mahajan worked in the US for 17 years with Continental Group, (then a Fortune 50 company). He ran businesses for them. He is one of the inventors of the PET petaloid bottle and noise control kits. He has 18 US patents.

    Mr. Mahajan is past Global President of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. He was Chairman, PlastIndia Committee, Vice President All India Plastics Manufacturers Association, Trustee Plastics Institute of America. He was a member of the US India think tank. Among his honors is a Fellowship from Harvard Business School and Illinois Institute of Technology. He also has 18 US patents. He was honored by the Illinois Institute of Technology with its Distinguished Alumni award. He delivered the first Distinguished Engineering lecture at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago in May, 2012. He has chaired and given keynotes in conferences in several countries. He was the only Indian speaker at the Kotler Marketing summit in 2020, keynoted in 2021 and 2022.

    He can be reached at [email protected]

    "Gautam Mahajan has filled a gaping void in the literature on Creating Value. Not just a tour de horizon of where the field is today, it is a lovingly-crafted resource that can be used as a field book for academics, business professionals and consultants, as well as a spur to leaders whomever and wherever they are to espouse a value-centric approach. Gautam's key tenet - that the art of leading is actually the practice of creating value consciously is an important takeaway for me personally. His book is a non-disguised plea for more conscious business and more conscious leadership - in other words, a message for our times."

    Prof. Alon Rozen, Dean, CEO and Professor of Innovation, École des Ponts Business School (Paris, France)

    "Gautam Mahajan has displayed by this book why he is considered the leading thinker in the creating value thought process. He has written a comprehensive treatise on value creation, showing its width and depth, its usefulness to people and businesses. The work helps leaders and executives become great value creators and more successful."

    Professor Hermann Simon, Founder & Honorary Chairman of Simon-Kucher and Partners

    "Creating Value for Leaders" is an inspiring book and Mr. Mahajan shares all his experience in addressing holistically the complex world of Value Value Creation has been a hot topic for many years… yet there has been only terse discussion on how to create it. This book by Gautam Mahajan is an exception where he discussed not only the process of value creation in details and for which all stakeholders it should be created and how. This must-read book deep dives in to the nuances of creating value and infuses this thought in to every stakeholder’s mind not only for their business but also in their life. There is no doubt that this book will change the thinking of every relevant stakeholder in their idea of purpose in both business and life."

    Dr. V Kumar, Salvatore Zizza Professor of Marketing, Tobin College of Business, St. John’s University, NY

    "Value is one of the most relevant topics for all organizations. Gautam is one of the world's leading experts on the subject, approaching it in a clear and effective way, extremely connected with the demands of companies, professionals and institutions in their most diverse variations. Creating value, sharing value, delivering elements of value to customers and society are fundamental parts of the success of organizations and their respective managers. Gautam's books always bring a relevant perspective on the topic helping professionals in several countries.

    This new book "Creating Value for Leaders: Balancing the Interest of Customers, Employees, Investors and the Marketplace" brings an expanded view of previous books, within a broad market context and its nuances, like conflicts of interest, creating shared value to society, and how to avoid destroying value. Definitely, an essential reading for executives, professionals, and students. There is a space in my personal library for this new book. Enjoy the reading."

    Victor Venancio, Head of Digital Transformation LatAm at ihm Stefanini Group

    "Management. A must-read to understand how to build meaningful and long-lasting business relationships and success."

    Paolo De Angeli, CPP, Head of Customer Experience and Customer Value Management, Borealis AG

    "This is a "to-go book" for value creation. Mahajan took the concept of value creation from A to Z, from customer side to supplier side to employee side. In addition, the impact of technology in this process is examined. I strongly suggest this book to all practitioners, students and faculty members."

    Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu, CHTP McKibbon Endowed Chair Professor, and Dean, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Muma College of Business | University of South Florida

    "My career has been driven by the mantra, "value is defined by the receiver more than he giver" as our work seeks to create value for all stakeholders Gautam’s work captures and extends these ideas in comprehensive, innovative, and relevant ways. The value of this book will be high because users of the ideas will have impact."

    Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Partner, The RBL Group

    "In this book Gautam Mahajan demonstrates his passion for value and the creation of value in business and in society. He shows that value creation is a complex and multi-faceted process, where many stakeholders and their value-related behaviors are interconnected. For example, value created for employees will transform to value for the business and for its shareholders, and also have the potential to be valuable for society at large."

    Chrisian Grönroos, Professor, Hanken School of Economics

    "Anyone can argue that creating value is the key to success. In fact, there are various methodologies that claim to be able to create value. However, in order to take advantage of these methodologies, one must have the right mindset. You will learn the right mindset for value creation by reading this book."

    Youji Kohda, Professor and Executive Dean of Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology, Director of Tokyo Satellite, Vice President of Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

    "Pandemic made us realize the importance of well-being for us. The book gives us various hints to enhance the value and well-being of us and our society."

    Dr. Mari Iizuka, Director, Doshisha University Well-being Research Centre, Professor, Doshisha Business School
     

    "For those who are struggling to understand value creation in the marketplace from multiple perspectives, Gautam Mahajan has the answer. His book, integrating rare insights on how to balance CEO (Customer, Employee, and Owner/Investor) interests, is a must read for integrating the importance of ideas and strategies for value creation, with the culture and mindset changes need to engage customers, while enhancing resource fluidity from – and value appropriation for – owners and investors."

    Rajendra Srivastava. Novartis Professor of Marketing Strategy and Innovation, Executive Director: Centre for Business Innovation (CBI), Executive Fellows Program in Management (EFPM), Indian School of Business

    "Be prepared for a wild excursion that will change your approach to leading your teams, winning and building customer loyalty, engaging your staff and ecosystem, and increasing your own skills and passion.  Gautam Mahajan has built on this considerable range of writings and consulting work this this opus devoted to defining, creating, and delivering Value in its many forms.  You might nod knowingly at some of his stories but return to them later for deeper meaning; you will find new material to challenge your thinking and broaden your horizons."

    Bill Price, President, Driva Solutions. Former Global VP for Customer Service, Amazon