Sometimes, conventional wisdom is just a bunch of baloney.

Contrarians know this, and there’s no better time to see what they’re up to than now, when everyone is crying over poisoned milk.

Japanese Beer maker Asahi Breweries entered China’s dairy sector on Sunday with a new liquid milk product, according to China Daily.

What idiots, you might think. Who the hell wants to drink milk in China after it was reportedly tainted at the hands of one Chinese company and ended up killing babies?

Well, young squire, this ain’t no ordinary poison milk.

It’s almost twice as expensive as the country’s milk products already on the market, according to the Daily, which noted:

As incomes and consumption power rise, Chinese consumers are putting greater emphasis on food safety and health, rather than price, according to Okuhara Nobumasa, general manager of Shandong Asahi Green Source Milk Products Co, the Asahi milk producer founded by Japanese firms Itochu and Sumitomo.

“We believe the liquid milk market, and particularly the high-end sector, has great potential in China,” Nobumasa said.

Indeed, while the milk market is expanding year-on-year, beer is a saturated market.

So chalk up three potential contrarian victories for Asahi: 1) Launching a milk product during a milk scare, 2) Making it the priciest milk out there when traditionally, milk hasn’t been viewed the same way as a Rolls Royce, and 3) Manufacturing milk when everyone’s seemingly more thirsty for beer, and you already make that.

The Data Warehousing Institute’s website provides an excellent glimpse into contrarian minds, and urges businesses to incorporate untraditional thinking into corporate workspace.

Understand, however, that the purpose of such thinking is to stop masses of cube workers from being so square, and envision trapezoids, dodecagons, or whatever shape gets a square peg in a round hole (as Mission Control had to figure out to get U.S. astronauts back home safely after a failed Apollo 13 mission).

To ensure contrarian dialogue without injuring overall workplace morale, the Institute recommends:

• Be strategic: Managing personnel can involve as much alchemy as chemistry sometimes. There are certain personality types that just don’t get along. Interview these parties separately whenever possible. While sparks can fuel ideas, too much friction can cause an outright conflagration. Be sensitive to how opposing team members interact.
• Stay professional: Don’t take things personally. In any organization larger than one person, egos will be a significant factor. Remember that professionals always accept feedback—even criticism—with open ears. Getting defensive only complicates an issue, and rarely offers any substantive value.
• Solicit feedback: Remember the 80/20 rule: 20 percent of the team will provide 80 percent of the input, unless efforts are made to involve the more reticent types into active dialogue. Some people will need to be encouraged much more than others, but still waters run deep, so a little pumping can go a long way.
• Remain vigilant: Stay on top of things. A common misconception in any business is that there’s a point at which the work is done. Business, like life, is a process. The work of a business is only done if and when that company goes out of business—and that’s usually not a coveted corporate goal.

Oh, and pass around some Asahi for good measure. You don’t have to worry about anyone getting pissed - or poisoned – anymore, and the wonders of vitamin D never cease to amaze.

    Channel: Movers & Shakers     |