Partial book profile
Designing the Customer-Centric Organization
A guide to how companies can truly organize around the customer by aligning strategy, structure, processes, rewards, and people to deliver integrated solutions rather than stand-alone products.
The full book profile is not available yet.
What it’s about
In an era where products commoditize rapidly and profits collapse, the customer relationship has become the new foundation of profitability. Jay Galbraith argues that most companies that believe they are 'customer-focused' are still fundamentally product-centric, and that true customer-centricity requires literally organizing around the customer—not merely placing customers prominently on the radar screen. Using his Star Model (strategy, structure, processes, rewards, people) and a practical 'strategy locator' that scores companies on the scale/scope and integration of their solutions, Galbraith shows how to determine exactly how much customer-centricity a firm needs and how to build the requisite lateral networking capability. Through detailed case studies of Degussa, an investment bank, IBM, Nokia, Procter & Gamble, Citibank, and a semiconductor company, the book demonstrates the low-, medium-, and high-level applications of customer-centric design, culminating in the front-back hybrid organization. It is a comprehensive, evidence-grounded handbook for executives navigating the customer revolution.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- An executive or organization designer at a product-centric company who wants to build lasting, profitable customer relationships and compete in a customer-driven marketplace.
- The problem
- Products and services commoditize rapidly, collapsing profit margins, while customers demand integrated solutions and consistent relationships across all touch points. The reader feels they are already customer-focused yet senses they are leaving money on the table and losing to more integrated competitors, and is anxious about the scale of reorganization required.
- The plan
- Understand the true difference between product-centric and customer-centric organization.
- Use the strategy locator to score your scale/scope and integration and determine your required level.
- Select the matching lateral networking capability (informal, teams, integrator, matrix, or line unit).
- Align all five Star Model dimensions—strategy, structure, processes, rewards, people—with the chosen level.
- Drive the change incrementally and lead through management processes that resolve front-back conflicts.
- The payoff
- The company forms long-term relationships with its most valuable customers and captures the value of integrated solutions. · It presents a single, consistent face to the customer across all touch points. · It builds a durable competitive advantage that competitors find hard to match.
See our guide
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Additional reading
- Angel Customers and Demon Customers · Selden, L., and Colvin, G.
Cited by the author as providing the financial rationale for customer-centricity by arguing that superior results come from managing a business as a portfolio of customers.
- The One to One Future · Peppers, D., and Rogers, M.
Cited as foundational work describing the shift to customer relationship strategies, which forms the strategic basis for the organizational designs in this book.
- The Customer Revolution · Seybold, P.
Referenced for articulating the macro trend of power shifting to the customer, which creates the imperative for companies to become customer-centric.
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