Page 175 - Midas Touch

little thing that you do becomes the little thing that the business does, it
will not count. Until my friends’ specialties became their business’
specialties, they would remain trapped in the S quadrant. In their cases, it
was their specialties, things only they could do, that kept them small.

Here are few examples of little things that count.

Little Thing #1: Faster pizza

Pizza is one of the most popular foods in America and the world. Almost
every town in America has a pizza parlor, and every grocery store carries
frozen pizza. It’s hard to pick up your mail and not find a “two-pizza deal”
coupon in some circular. It’s a highly competitive business, crowded with
competitors on every corner.

Decades ago, Domino’s Pizza burst onto the crowded pizza scene with
“pizza in 30 minutes or less.” A pizza in 30 minutes or less is an example
of a little thing that counts. Domino’s was aware that, when people get
hungry for a pizza, they don’t want to wait. So in 1973, Domino’s
redesigned their entire business in the B quadrant around this 30-minute
promise. Their already-successful business boomed. Thirty minutes is not
a big thing. But for Domino’s, it was the little thing that made a big

difference.

Unfortunately, in their haste to keep their 30-minute promise, there were
two accidents involving delivery vehicles. Domino’s was sued for millions
and has since dropped the promise. Nonetheless, when I think of ordering
pizza, Domino’s 30-minute promise still comes to mind, even though they
no longer guarantee it.

Domino’s 30-minute promise is an example of a little thing that counted.
It was a promise that an entire business in the B quadrant was built around.

Today, Domino’s has locations in over 60 countries. Thirty minutes or not,
they still sell a lot of pizzas.

Little Thing #2: Always low prices

Walmart, the biggest employer in America, built a business around one
little thing that customers want—low prices. Sam Walton, founder of

Walmart, did not just cut or discount some prices. As he grew from the S
quadrant to the B quadrant, he built the entire business around that one
simple brand promise—low prices. Low prices are the DNA of Walmart’s