“A factory is its people, not its bricks”
“This week’s movie, Kinky Boots, is a story about reinvention. Charlie Price is trying to save his family business and has to make some changes to their competitive strategy to do so. He also demonstrates remarkable commitment to his employees. You could write a post about Charlie and the factory — what can we learn about alignment, management, and organizational communication from their story?”
I have to say I think that competition in the market is great. It drives companies to do better and be better. However some of the pitch words that were mentioned in the competitive strategy section made me really angry, especially the word ‘cheap’. You would think that with the competitive global market products and services should be getting better. Unfortunately it seems to be going in the opposite direction with products at least. I have definitely, and still am, lured by cheap stuff, the product looks so good and you can’t resist the price. However it does drive me nuts when I find that the pair of shoes I bought for $20 is falling apart in a month’s time. It also seems that consumers don’t buy products because they are honestly better quality, but because of the way the product was advertised. Unfortunately those with the most money will have the best and catchiest advertising and drive the prices down.
Costumer service in America is definitely better than other parts of the world. I cannot complain about it as annoying as it is sometimes when you are stuck on the phone with Comcast for 2 hours.
The movie Kinky Boots was very entertaining and also enlightening to watch since it was based on a true story. It was the perfect movie to watch after reading chapter 10. Charlie’s competitive strategy is one that is quite bold in terms of originality when he decides to be the first to start creating stiletto boots for drag queens. However he doesn’t have much of a choice since his factory is on the verge of collapse. Going the route that he plans to is a great risk yet also a great investment since no one else creates such shoes, and clearly they are in demand.
As for strategic alignment, it’s not so step-by-step for Charlie since he goes back and forth between the idea of completely reinventing his factory. At first he has no strategy and instead relies on the past success of his father and grandfathers. However like most companies, his business is at serious risk due to the competition that has cheaper and better looking shoes. He finally realizes he has to change something. Eventually his strategy changes when he meets Lola, a drag queen, and Charlie realizes that his new target niche needs to be just that, drag queens. He comes to this conclusion and strategy based on the data that is presented to him by Lola: female heels are not created for a man’s weight.
Next, the structure of the factory is slightly changed. It is still a shoe factory however in a new light, from making old men shoes to sexy stiletto boots for men. As for systems, well the technology of the factory doesn’t change much and there really aren’t any divisions of labor in the factory. The only change is that Laura now becomes Charlie’s new advisor, which is nice since she knows both sides of the factory because she used to be a worker.
I do think that the skills of the workers have the greatest learning curb in the whole process. The workers never before had experience making the shoes that Charlie expects them to make now. So therefore there is a lot of wasted resources due to error. He doesn’t want to hire new workers because the whole point of keeping the factory going was to keep his former workers with a job, so he takes the harder, yet more moral route and helps the workers gain a new set of skills on his own dime. And finally style, which Charlie has the most personal conflict with. At first he never even wanted to take over the shoe factory, he had no motivation to keep it going and this was reflected in his management. Then he has waves of encouragement, and also downfall, fighting with having to resurface the look of Price & Sons at the same time fight with his fiancés’ advise to sell the company. He once again takes the greater risk and goes with the new idea of creating the kinky boots. That road also isn’t simple and he has many bumps along the way, especially with the backlash of the factory. Eventually when he finally believes in the product they will be creating, the same enthusiasm is reflected in the employees.
The tipping point in Charlie’s future of the Price factory is when Lola comes to see her prototype shoe and is flabbergasted. The color is not fitting nor the heel. The two have an argument and exchanged some feelings that seem to transverse the same idea but they just don’t realize it. They are both in the wrong place, but together they can create something that will save the factory of four generations as long as they communicate and work together. The funny thing is that Charlie knows absolutely nothing about his new “niche,” that is, drag queens. He slowly begins to bond with Lola and find out more about her past, and they seem to have much in common. Both their fathers disowned them because they wouldn’t fit in. Thanks to this peculiar bond that they have, Charlie gains a better sense of understanding for his new niche, which is important in his production.
The most interesting part from a business standpoint during the movie is how the employees at Price Shoe Company accept the new challenge of making boots for drag queens. At first they seem to be confused by Lola and because they have always been used to making traditional leather shoes for men, it is definitely a stretch for them to start creating these sexy kinky boots. They don’t seem quite motivated and honestly more so repelled. Later Charlie runs into another ditch in the road when his fiancé finds him an interested buyer in the factory, one whom his father offered up to sell to. This is a very groundbreaking moment because it is either selling the factory with the same reputation that it had to someone, not part of the bloodline to reinvent, or Charlie continuing it and completely making it into a drag shoe factory. He finally decides on making the “kinky boots” and gives a motivational speech to have the workers get motivated and start producing the most unique boots for Milan fashion week, something completely out of their previous range and unique, somewhat like total quality management (TQM pg, 310). The workers respond with blank faces, but they go on to produce what they are told to do. Even though the employees don’t take the whole new plan on very easily, the most important is that the boss, Charlie, finally believes in what he is doing and isn’t scared to show it. He is full of energy and ready to show the world what he has got brewing and sewing in his factory.
The true moment of triumph and getting everyone back on their feet and motivated is when Don overhears a fight between Charlie and his fiancé, about how much he truly cares about his workers, to the point where he had to remortgage his home for Milan Fashion Week. This motivated the whole factory to come in at night and work till the morning to finish the shoes. Unlike other CEOs and company directors, Charlie doesn’t have to create the perception that he cares about his employees and wants the best for them, he simply feels it and expresses it which is very important in such a setting. Now there is true unity between coworkers, no rivalry, and a sense of community. This is exactly what “research shows[,] that companies that treat people as their most important asset are also the most profitable”.
I believe that the greatest takeaway from the movie, for anyone that works in a business, especially ones that direct a business, need to know, is that you need to both put certain emotions to the side, and let out certain emotions that you want to hide. There were times when Charlie should have not backlashed Lola, especially during Milan fashion week, and times when he should have expressed his feelings about doing everything he does in the factory to keep the employees with a job. He learns this lesson the hard way and the journey is longer and more stressful, but it makes a great difference in the end.
