Global CIO: CK Prahalad, Management Genius And Humanitarian: RIPGlobal CIO: CK Prahalad, Management Genius And Humanitarian: RIP

"And why, my dear Bob, would we want to do that? Is not a best practice, by definition, one that's widely known, broadly aspired to, and already far down the path toward becoming a commodity? Could we not serve our readers better by instead trying to imagine what is yet to come: next practices instead of best practices?"

In our very first conversation, back in 1996, we began to form the basis for our first project as we talked about how the idea of "customer satisfaction" had become outdated and in some ways counterproductive.

"Precisely that," CK said. "What happens when you're satisfied? Say you eat a large Thanksgiving meal and you say, 'I am perfectly satisfied.' What happens next is, you sit down and fall asleep—that's what happens when you're satisfied.

"So if I'm a business owner, I don't want my customers to be merely satisfied—in such a case, I'll never hear from them again and I'll gain no idea from them as to how I might improve my standing with them in the future.

"Therefore I don't want my customers to be satisfied—I want them to be delighted and excited! I want them calling me up and writing me letters and sharing with me their excitement and telling me how I can make my product and their experience even better. And that's why customer satisfaction can be a dangerous thing."

CK Prahalad—gentle man and gentleman, scholar and visionary, strategist and creator—excited and delighted not only all those fortunate enough to know him directly but also the many millions who got to know CK and his dynamic compassion through his books, articles, lectures, advocacy, and ideas. I have never met anyone like CK and doubt I'll ever have such great fortune again.

But the true treasure of a life so well-lived is that CK's impact and ideas and inspiration will live on in ways great and small. And so it is that I say farewell but not goodbye to my friend via this beautiful anecdote from an obituary in The Times of India that sublimely captures the mind of a man who always sought to see the world as it could be rather than as it merely is:

"The story goes that Prahalad learned his first management lesson, ironically it seems now, at Union Carbide, which he joined in 1960 when he was only 19 after completing his BSc in Physics from Loyola College in Madras," The Times of India article says. "One day, after noticing that many temporary workers were using old or torn gloves (managers gave out new gloves according to seniority), Prahalad argued for distributing new gloves to the workers who handled the most dangerous stuff instead. It was more a common sense than path-breaking thought but Prahalad's manager was impressed and began mentoring him by bringing him business books."

RECOMMENDED READING:

Aid is Not the Answer

CK Prahalad: Guru of poverty and profit dies at 69

The New Age Of Innovation: Formulas For Success (about the book co-authored by CK and his longtime colleague and friend, M.S. Krishnan)

Transforming Your Business Model (also about the book co-authored by CK and his longtime colleague and friend, M.S. Krishnan, called "The New Age of Innovation")