“Dad, my car got stolen,” the words coming fast and in panic from his cell phone.

My home-bound college student had just lost everything he owned while he sat in the restaurant.  “Even my birth certificate and social security card,” he declared. 

For a couple of days all he owned were the clothes on his back and his iPhone.  He was able to stay on top of a police investigation, cancel credit cards, start on the insurance spreadsheets, apply security protection on his identity and keep us informed of his activities  . . . all on his phone.

On his arrival home we went to the Apple Store to get a replacement for the brand new laptop that was also stolen in the car.

Who would know that I become addicted to a “Game Changer” while shopping for a laptop.

Apple, who is getting famous for their game changing products has done it again.  This from me,  the  “operations guy” for a company that sold five to seven thousand personal computers a day.  Even in the fast paced PC business, things have become somewhat predictable.

Then along comes the iPAD.

Henry Ford once said, “If I listened to my customers, I would have built a faster horse.” 

To build game changing products like the iPad, the Model T, Intel’s Microprocessor you have to think more than customer satisfaction.  You have to think differently.  You need to live in the customer’s future. 

Recently I found research that indicates when you focus on customer satisfaction (fixing today’s issues), improving product offerings and the like you will get 10%, 20% or 30% growth. 

BUT . . . if you focus on where the customer needs to GO (THEIR future needs) then you can grow your business 100%, 200% or 300%.   The actual number is 9.6 times growth in PROFITS. 

This focus on the customer’s future is at the core of game changing business. 

So as I am blown away with the new world my iPad has opened for me I think back to a something I heard when I was selling IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Apple, Microsoft, Cisco and the other big names in the industry.

It seems Steve Jobs was talking to some executives and he said, “Why would we want 20% or 30% growth?  I want 100 to 300% growth.”  That quote is well over 20 years old.  So far he is doing pretty well on following that model. 

Ah, but you ask, “So Kordell, how do I create and innovate to get into the customer’s future?”

Stay tuned.