Why do I wake up at 5:30 every morning?… We’ve all seen those articles on LinkedIn: Richard Branson does it, Tim Cook does it and Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson certainly does it.

Now, I’m not knocking getting up early and undoubted there are benefits; extra time in the day to exercise, read and get focused on what needs to be done. As I get older I also like to get up earlier, it’s a good time of the day.

However, in reading an article on the topic (Italian homework – English translation), it struck me that my early morning routine was far from that of the stars of business and screen, often cited as examples. So here is my morning routine in all its glory:

• Wake up, the cat is hungry and is meowing
• Downstairs, scoop cat litter tray
• Feed cat
• Boil the kettle, trying to ignore the cat, who is now complaining for more food
• Make tea, leave bag in
• Read the news on phone, avoiding social media, although WhatsApp already active with 20 messages discussing who is or is not going to rugby this evening (I don’t play)
• Upstairs, wake family, a gentle “it’s time to get up”
• Downstairs again. Start on packed lunches, nothing complicated today sandwiches
• Encourage cat to go outside, refuses it’s raining
• Upstairs, “really time to get up”, briskly open curtains and windows
• Bathroom, clean teeth, get changed. No formal meetings or videos today, so signature lockdown polo shirt and feece top
• Back to family: “Are you getting up yet”?
• Downstairs, more tea
• Cat uses litter tray again. Suddenly I dont feel hungry now. Clear litter tray, open door, cat now back on sofa
• Shout upstairs…. “where are you, need to be downstairs now”
• Get breakfast things out
• Alarm goes off…. time for cat injection (diabetes)
• Inject cat, avoid claws at all cost
• Movement upstairs, shout “don’t use all the water, a quick shower please”
• Feed cat again
• “What is going on, you are going to be late!!”
• WhatApp now buzzing, school lift on their way
• “is everything ready”?
• “downstairs now”
• Reminders for sports kit, muscial instrument, lunch, mask and bag… (phone is never a problem)
• Successful departure for school – on time, just
• 20min on bike
• Shower… lukewarm
• Make more tea
• Start work, first meeting

Do you think ‘the Rock’ has cats?? I do seem to be missing the quiet focused contemplation, meditation and educational reading. I am just not sure how to fit it in, until there is no school run or I become an international movie star… Now there’s an idea 🙂

All of this of course is a lockdown enabled routine. Pre-lockdown it was simpler. Get up, go to airport/train station, commute to destination, start work.

On balance I know which I prefer!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Other key stories this week

• EU watchdog takes deep dive into banks’ use of tech
• Analysis: Britain’s subprime lenders buckle under weight of complaints
• Council Tax arrears soar at ‘worrying rate’ amid concerns over missed payment rule
• Office re-entry is proving trickier than last year’s abrupt exit
• One in ten single parent households saw debt rise during lockdown
• UK house prices rise at fastest rate since 2004 amid stamp duty rush
• UK Covid recovery at risk as furlough scheme phased out, say economists
• NatWest sells Irish lending division to AIB

We were discussing global collections trends on a call this week with a panel of people from around the world. Digital, digital journeys seem to be a common theme everywhere, as was a focus on customer-centric treatment. It is fascinating how similar the conversation was and you can really see how ideas ebb and flow around the world.

Fashion victim

However a great, albeit awkward, question got me thinking. How much of this discussion reflects fundamental changes, responding to a need in the market, vs just being the fashion of the day.

It also comes down to a more fundamental set of questions. Is there value comparing processes with others, where does that value sit, to what level of granularity is needed, and where are we limited to having to talk in broad generalities before getting into specific details? All of this I was mulling on for the rest of the week.

People are people

Some broad themes are undoubtedly similar. As much as we can celebrate our differences, in many ways we are the same. People are people, with similar drives, needs and with customers, being a subset, are of course people too!

As such much of the motivation, likes and needs of customers at a fundamental level are very much the same, wherever we are in the world and largely drives basic strategy, together with technology to support it.

Local nuance

This being said, beyond the broadest level, businesses and markets do have nuances that also need to be considered. Some examples include

• Business strategy differences – eg prime or sub prime portfolios needing different treatment strategies
• Country legal and regulatory differences – eg predictive dialler usage influencing strategy
• Geographic differences – remote locations vs city-based customer base requiring different collections approach and infrastructure
• Demographic differences – High expat and population age differences needing nuanced approaches or business strategies to mitigate risks
• Cultural differences – General approach to borrowing, debt, collections and the work environment

All of this can result in making exact comparisons beyond generalities tricky. The design of optimal strategies can need to be specific to a particular business environment. This is especially true at a detailed KPI/metric level, not impossible but caution is needed.

Strategy guru

How contact is made, when it is made, the mix of channels and support options for customers can all be improved by reflecting local nuance, market and portfolio conditions. It is these exact details where the competitive advantage sometimes resides. This can be especially true against peers in a market, a tailored design helps.

Just as in other fields, global mass communication is increasingly allowing easy process and product comparison. It has already created economies of scale and similarities for many products, everything from cars to computers and even in the grocery aisle.

Collections is likely no different… learning from other markets will become ever quicker and easier, notably helped by the pandemic to speed things along recently.

Picking up new ideas can undoubtedly make a difference, but it is still not one size fits all. Local and business customization will remain important to be relevant and competitive… something we need to keep top of mind as we start to return and revamp our strategies and processes…

Be the strategy guru not the victim just following the fashion… have a good weekend everyone

Other stories of interest this week.

• Lloyds to close 44 more branches
• UK online shopping boom fuels cardboard shortage as households hoard boxes
• Making ends meet: how the ONS is producing more detailed income estimates
• Online shopping boom drives rush for warehouse space
• Government borrowing eases in May
• Comment on the EU granting the UK data adequacy
• The problem isn’t remote working – it’s clinging to office-based practices