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What is Social DNA?
Social DNA is a business's inherent ability to do some things better than others.
There are seven different types of social DNA. The DNA of your business is fixed at inception and remains stable regardless of changes in leadership or ownership.
The traditional business model groups companies by form and function. We class businesses as manufacturing, wholesale, retail, transportation, financial services, etc. The assumption is that a management or marketing technique that works well in one company of a type, like a bank, should be highly transferable to any other bank.
This assumption is wrong because it is the social DNA of a business that determines which techniques work well in that business and which do not.
The short version is, the one size fits all solution to business growth, doesn't!Consider blood type. If I needed a blood transfusion, they would not look for a 53 year old white male, with a college degree from New Jersey, who had been married for 32 years, has a slightly crippled left hand, a full head of brown hair and a deep love for sailing.
Not one single one of those very dominant facets of my life have any bearing on the kind of blood I would need for a transfusion.
Similarly, the form and function of a business does not determine what works or doesn't work. Social DNA does. The management style espoused by Jack Welch when he was at General Electric, would not work well at Hewlett Packard.
Thus there is more in common in a retail clothing shop, a bank and a trucking company that all have an Emerald DNA, than there would be in three banks which had Sapphire, Emerald and Amethyst DNA respectively.
The short version is, the one size fits all solution to business growth, doesn't!
What works exceptionally in a company with one kind of social DNA may actually be damaging to your company, if you have a significantly different DNA.
Here is a thumbnail sketch of the seven kinds of DNA.
Sapphire
A Sapphire company aggressively pushes the limits, whether in R & D, production or marketing. When a Sapphire company is operating as it should, it will define the cutting edge for its industry by showing a different way of doing things. They have a culture of innovation whether it is in products like 3M and Boeing, or in marketing strategy like Home Depot.
Topaz
A Topaz company is typically a low margin business that differentiates by doing common things uncommonly well. Topaz companies are usually a place where someone can start at the bottom and move up based on excellence, since they promote from within. UPS is an example of a service industry Topaz company. Men’s Warehouse is a retail presentation of the same DNA.
Onyx
Onyx companies develop a product or system that is complex in design, but is internally perfect. Onyx companies are rarely first to market, but when they do release a product, it has been thoroughly tested and refined. Hewlett Packard illustrates the Onyx attention to detail in their design and the fact that their equipment is generally "plug and play" regardless of the brand of the peripherals. Proctor & Gamble has refined market research beyond most other companies. They rarely fail when they release a new product.
Diamond
A Diamond company engages the public experientially and relationally, frequently meeting a need the public had not recognized yet. A Diamond company like Walt Disney has a readily identifiable experiential/relational presentation. But Coca Cola is also a Diamond company. While their product is ostensibly a series of drinks, their marketing accurately captures the DNA of the company by highlighting the (supposed) heightened relationships that come from drinking a Coke.
Emerald
Emerald companies give people unusual access to a product or service. McDonalds gave people access to fast food, then the drive through and now, on a lesser note, their enclosed playgrounds give mothers access to a few minutes of free babysitting. On the higher end of the economic scale, American Airlines was the first to give people access to computerized travel schedules, frequent flyer rewards, travel lounges and other ancillary products.
Garnet
Garnet companies have an ability to mobilize large numbers of people through standardization and replication of policies and procedures. IBM was legendary for their procedures which went far beyond regulation shirts and suits. General Electric has more recently demonstrated the ability to produce more product, less expensively, with fewer people, through extra-ordinary attention to processes.
Amethyst
An Amethyst company creates a safe, positive experience for people. The product tends to be excellent as reflected in premium pricing, but people come for the experience not just the product. Nordstroms creates such a positive experience that many people display their license plate frame which says, “I’d rather be shopping at Nordstroms.” Starbucks creates an ambiance that is more central than the coffee they sell.
Each kind of social DNA is unique and unchangeable. The companies who have achieved success are those who have through trial and error harnessed the strength of their social DNA.
Fortunately, you do not have to experiment. Today we have the tools to accurately determine the DNA of your company and help you bring your leadership and your processes into alignment with that DNA.
Call us! Your DNA already exists. It is either fighting you or helping you. We can bring out strength of your company with the tools we have.
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