11 star implementation

This article is inspired by the thought exercise discussed by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on the podcast “Masters of Scale’’

The aim of the exercise is to think about a product or service in the same way you would look at different levels of service and luxury a hotel provides. For example, a 1 star hotel may have a shared bathroom and a 5 star hotel would have a butler service included in the room. With a 11 star hotel being the most luxurious and personalised experience you could possibly imagine where you spend the day with your favourite celebrity who would take you to dinner in space.

By going to extremes, the aim of the thought exercise is to find a compromise where certain behaviour, results and services do not seem as impossible as dinner in space with Beyoncé.

I now want to go through the 11 star thought exercise using the implementation of an outsource service such as payroll, customer service support, SAAS (software as a service) for a client that is multinational company that operates in many countries.

1 star Implementation
• No project management from the provider
• No face to face meetings
• Everything is in English only, no matter the language of the countries where the product / service will be used
• No standard documentation

2 star Implementation
• Remote / virtual project management support by the provider is delivered by email only
• Service / product provider has minimal knowledge of the different countries the service / product will be used in and if there are specific country requirements
• Standard data collection templates that the client has to fill in

3 star Implementation
• Remote / virtual project management support by the provider is delivered by phone as well as email
• Service / product provider has some knowledge of the different countries the service / product will be used in
• Some standardisation in project documentation
• Support and training is still only in English

4 star Implementation
• Service provider comes onsite for a meeting(s) so to kick off the project(s)
• Cloud storage of project and product documentation that client and provider can access via any device
• Client responsible for internal change management, data preparation and collection in provider’s templates

5 star Implementation
• Product documentation and project support in multiple languages
• Provider shares best practice (not consultancy), the provider does not tell the client what they must do
• Provider is an expert on the different countries the service / product will be used in
• Regular onsite meetings between the provider and client

6 star Implementation
• Country level preparation and support from the provider
• Bring your own data – provider can accept client data in any format
• If multiple products have been contracted – all dependencies between products have been identified and managed

7 star Implementation
• Provider comes onsite and prepares the client’s data for the implementation
• Project and product documentation in every language

8 star Implementation
• Provider provides consultancy (legal, tax, organisational) for the client in every country
• Provider has detailed knowledge of everything happening in the client organisation, so they can identify and manage any issues and risks to the projects

9 star Implementation
• Onsite employee one to one training in local language
• Client does not have to make decisions based on local legislation or practices as the provider will give them the answers

10 star Implementation
• No one in the client organisation has to do any work but sign the contract and give provider access to the data
• Provider can change the product, so it perfectly meets every possible requirement the client has in any country and situation

11 star Implementation
• Inspirational speeches and market presentations done by the most famous celebrity in every country

As Brian says in the podcast –
‘’The point of the the process is that maybe 9, 10, 11 are not feasible. But if you go through the crazy exercise of keep going, there’s some sweet spot between they showed up and they opened the door and I went to space. That’s the sweet spot. You have to almost design the extreme to come backwards. Suddenly, doesn’t knowing my preferences and having a surfboard in the house seem not crazy and reasonable? It’s actually kind of crazy logistically, but this is the kind of stuff that creates great experience.’’

In conclusion, the idea of this article and thought exercise is to think through the most basic and outlandish levels of how a multi country product / service could be implemented. With stars 5 to 8 as activities that are realistic for an organisation to put in place. By improving implementation of their products or services the provider would achieve a competitive advantage.

If you contracted me to do this exercise for your outsourcing organisation, I would first start to map and understand how an implementation works now. This investigation would go into the current implementation methodology, processes and culture. Then I would investigation and analyse for each part of the implementation – what are you trying to achieve and is this the most effective and efficient way of doing it?