Focus On The Fundamentals
When David Novak became Chief Operating Officer of Pepsi in 1992, he focused on simplifying their problems and getting the fundamentals of the business right. For example, Novak put his attention on the company’s trucks efficiently leaving the warehouse with enough product on board.
Focusing on the fundamentals was nothing new for Novak. As told in his excellent book How Leaders Learn: Master The Habits Of The World’s Most Successful People, when he took over Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1990, Novak discovered they were no longer marinating their chicken and fixed it. In 1993 as head of Pizza Hut, it came to his attention they reduced the number of toppings on their pizzas. Novak writes on page 206, “Somewhere along the way leaders had lost sight of the fundamentals.”
He adds, “New marketing initiatives are sexy and can give sales a boost, but if you don’t put enough pepperoni on the pizza, it doesn’t matter how cool your commercial is. You won’t succeed in the long run.”
Chaos At Delta
I thought about his story this week with the chaos experienced by those flying Delta Airlines. Per 1440 Digest, from Friday, July 19th through Tuesday the 23rd, the airline had cancelled over 7,000 flights. Thousands of passengers have been stranded in airports for days. Part of this was due to the CrowdStrike issue but other airlines returned to normal operations more quickly. Several of my friends and our organization have been affected by the situation. You likely know people who have as well.
The situation was so bad the US Department of Transportation has launched an investigation. An ABC News video detailing the situation is shown below.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian is recognized by many as an incredible leader. I have heard nothing but superlatives about him from friends who have worked for the airline. But his leadership is being tested at this time.
The First Thing a Leader Should Do When Their Organization is NOT Serving Their Customers Well
Bastian would do well to follow Novak’s lead. First, keep things simple and get back to the fundamentals. Bastian should focus on having reliable technology and ensuring the booking, check-in, and onboarding process is the best in the industry. He should also prioritize limiting delays. And if something does go wrong for customers, standardizing the customer service process is key.
A nice commercial will not serve Delta well if the check-in process is ineffective, planes don’t safely leave and arrive on-time, baggage is lost, and passengers are stranded in airports for days.
Conclusion
John Maeda, a Vice President of Design and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft, says, “Simplicity = Sanity.”
Pepsi, KFC, and Pizza Hut turned things around by keeping things simple and focusing on the fundamentals. I’m a raving fan of Delta and confident they will do the same.
To get Novak’s book How Leaders Learn: Master The Habits Of The World’s Most Successful People, click HERE or on the image below.
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