Jay R. Galbraith

Reviews the book 'Organizing for the Future: The New Logic for Managing Complex Organizations,' by Jay R. Galbraith, Edward E. Lawler and associates.

Organizing for the Future The New Logic for Managing Complex Organizations Book

This article focuses on customer-centric companies. A customer-centric company is one that tries to find as many products as possible for its customers. A product-centric company is one that tries to find as many customers as possible for its products. Many companies feel the need to become more customer-centric when they do not need to. There is nothing wrong with being product-centric. Just because a company gives the customer a prominent place on its radar screen does not mean that it is customer-centric. A customer-centric company bundles and packages stand-alone products so that the package, also known as the solution, creates value for customers in ways that they couldn't do themselves. So creating solutions to avoid becoming a commodity is the primary driver toward becoming customer-centric. Many companies create a solutions unit or customer segment units that contain people who have an in-depth knowledge of the customer. But creating customer-facing units is only the first step in organizing around the customer. Customer-centric organizations are process-intensive.

Jay R. Galbraith

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