Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons - Market Placement

Mark Di Somma wrote a great post about the Swiss Army Knife on his blog back in 2008.  What he wrote is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it.

Here is a summary of his points -

• Competition can come from unforeseen places. 
• The place of manufacture and production can be used to leverage an advantage.
• Visual branding is vital.
• Who you are perceived to be selling to can also be an important marketing tool.
• The amount of time and care you take to produce your product can set it apart from it's competitors.
• Create a legacy that future generations want to interact with and own.

Here are my thoughts -

• You never know where your competitors may be coming from - so keep in touch with latest trends and fads.  You can start here for some ideas.
• Consumers are aware and passionate about who made and where made the products they are buying.  Use this as a positive.  Small countrys and towns have great appeal.
• One example of a great branding is Fuel Advertising.  They have a mock fuel pump for a door handle at the entrance of their offices.  This is a great idea!
• Way back in time Harley Davidson used to market their motorcycles to Joe Average.  Clean cut, nice guy motorbike riders.  What they didn't realise straight away was that their motorcycles didn't appeal so much to the masses as to the rebels.  So they changed who they were aiming at and completely changed their business.
• Quality is everything.  There is no excuse for selling, making, teaching crap.  There are few spaces for competitive and sustainable company's to do crap.  The same goes for managers.  Learn, train and be the best at what you do.  Quality counts.
• Do it right today and people will come back for more tomorrow!

Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons - Adaptability

The key to the knife's success - adaptability and simple design and construction.

Being small, compact and safe - you can take one anywhere!

How about your management skills - can you transport those anywhere as well?

Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons - The Knife

The Swiss Army Knife is just that - a knife. It is a knife bundled up with extra components that make it indispensable.

knife: noun - 1. An instrument for cutting, consisting essentially of a thin, sharp-edged, metal blade fitted with a handle; 2. A cutting edge; a blade.
verb (used with object) - to apply a knife to; cut, stab, etc., with a knife . (Dictionary.com)

A knife has one primary purpose - and that is to cut. There are any different types of knife available to people. Many different knives serve many different purposes but not all knives are suitable for all situations. The size of the knife determines where and when it can be used.

Example - you wouldn't use a slasher (long blade) to remove a splinter. Nor would you use a butter knife to blaze a trail through think underbrush.

The Swiss Army Knife (SAK) is a fantastic knife (with a small and appropriate sized blade)because of it's adaptability. It isn't threatening in it's size but it can punch above it's weight when required to. The SAK could remove a splinter or alternatively it can be used to separate and cut through vines, ropes and leather boots.

What lessons can we draw from the SAK knife blade?

• The knife blade is usually the first item people look at and pay the most attention to. Work on developing a stand out skill or function that people can see from the start and makes others sit up and take notice of you.
• A knife needs care and attention paid to it to ensure it retains it's edge and it's function. The same is true for the manager. Managerial skills must be kept oiled and sharp.
• Don't overstate or make too much noise about your skills. When the time comes you apply your skills in an appropriate form and size which is determined by the task at hand.
• Try to make sure your particular area of focused skill is appropriate to the rest of your abilities.
• Blunt knives (as well as skills) are highly dangerous and ought to be avoided or fixed as quickly as possible.

Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons Intro.

What is old yet hasn't aged, has hardly changed since it's conception, is an essential item for Boy Scouts and was made popular in a TV program?

After posting a photo of a Swiss Army Knife it got me thinking. Could I use the army knife with it's many tools, facets and quirks as an analogy and an illustration for managers.

The answer? Yes. Yes I can. (LOL)

In order to appreciate the knife we must first understand it's history and where it has come from. Here are some facts about the knife -

• The knife is 125 years old. Great designs, functionality and usefulness make the knife an essential item.


• The knife was originally designed to provide soldiers with - a knife, a can opener, a reamer and a corkscrew. These tools enabled to the soldiers to complete a wide variety of tasks including the assembly of their weapons.


• There are five main variations on the original model.


• MacGyver made the knife glamorous by showing off it's usefulness while trying to get out of many a sticky situation.

So what can we learn/apply so far?

• Usefulness and adaptability lasts. If you are useful and can adapt to different situations - you will always be in hot demand. The ability to apply yourself in arrange of ways is the best trait to have!


• Train and gain competence and expertise in about four or five different areas. Those areas can be overlapping or poles apart. The main thing is to make sure you have a range of skills and not just one skill.


• There are basic skills and competencies that can be carried over across all managers and managerial positions. Find out what those are and work on them.


• Situations that allow you to apply your skills practically is a good thing. MacGyver was always getting himself into sticky situations. What did he do? Every time he went back to basics and used the tools he had to change his situation.

Keep reading the blog as I work my through the basic elements of design and functionality of the knife. Learn with me lessons on management and managing that you can apply now!