1.5 Put Players in the Right Roles—Shift as Needed

Whether you are building a baseball team or designing a supply chain, getting the right players is just one step in the process. Jim Collins described what comes next: “Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” Matching players to roles is critical. Yet, the way most companies do this won’t deliver a true—i.e., inimitable—competitive edge. To be a supply chain champion, you have to think differently about how to mix and match key capabilities. Theo Epstein does.

With Epstein at the helm, the Cubs tinker incessantly with player roles. That’s one reason Epstein hired Maddon: Maddon’s teams led the league in distinct batting lineups and in-game positional shifts every year from 2006 to 2014. The goal: Tweak the lineup to improve the Cubs’ chance to win any given game. Imagine sending your catcher out to pitch. Maddon did just that, inserting David Ross to pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers. Ross had never pitched in the MLB, but he recorded a perfect inning. Maddon’s penchant for moving players around led the Cubs to acquire Ben Zobrist. Maddon called Zobrist a “super-U”—someone who can play multiple positions (in fact, during his career, Zobrist has played every position except pitcher and catcher). Maddon explained that “a real, legitimate SU guy is a position, and it permits you to do so many things with your lineup daily and so many things to get progress daily.” Proactive role shifting made the Cub’s improbable season possible.

In 2015, many pundits had already written Best Buy’s obituary, claiming the electronics retailer couldn’t survive Amazon’s assault and consumers’ affinity for showrooming (i.e., visiting a store to check out a product and buying online at a lower price). Yet, Best Buy did survive, showing how role shifting can create a competitive edge (even against Amazon). How did Best Buy do it? Consider three pivot points that enabled Best Buy to become an experience retailer.

1. Reduced Costs. To contest showrooming, Best Buy began matching prices. To reduce costs and make price matching economically viable, Best Buy deepened collaborative relationships with suppliers, especially in the areas of merchandising, forecasting, and replenishment.

2. Repurposed Bricks. For brick-and-mortar retailers, Amazon’s onslaught turned what once was an asset—i.e., physical store—into a liability. By shipping online orders direct from local stores and encouraging in-store pickup of online orders, Best Buy can deliver with Amazon-like speed, turning its 1,600 physical stores back into an asset.

3. Reimagined Roles. Brick and mortar wasn’t Best Buy’s only proactive role shift. Best Buy invited top suppliers like Samsung, Apple, LG, Microsoft, Sony, and Google to set up shops within its cavernous stores. Best Buy charges rent and benefits from high-margin sales of high-end appliances and electronics. What’s in it for suppliers? Answer: The opportunity to create immersive customer experiences without the cost of owning stores. Google Guides, full-time Google staff, offer tutorials and tech classes, helping customers discover, play, and have fun. Samsung Experience shops are located in every Best Buy store.

Role shifting has been a boon for Best Buy. In 2017, Best Buy shares surged to an all-time high. However, as the Cubs know from first-hand experience, some role shifts backfire. Boeing discovered this the hard way with the launch of its vaunted 787 Dreamliner. Poorly conceived and managed shifts cost Boeing five years in first-mover advantage and, by some estimates, $20 billion in design, production, and launch costs. To avoid such misfires, you really do need to do the work entailed by all five Rs. Despite the risks, as Table 2 highlights, game changers from rivals’ strategic moves to disruptive technologies dictate that you begin to experiment with proactive role shifting.