9 Comments Add your own

• 1. Chuck Rylant  |  March 9th, 2007 at 9:10 pm

  Outstanding lecture today! Inspiring and insightful.

• 2. Chun-Te Peter Wu  |  March 9th, 2007 at 10:54 pm

  Thank you Mr. Lane for the insightful session.
  The take-aways that I gained from today’s session is a successful company’s focus and deliver the customer “need.” While most of us (including me) were thinking of the obvious “why not make the cool, sleek, sexy looking sun glasses?” Dioptics were able concentrate and focus their efforts on the niche market of post cataract surgery care and sunglasses for prescription eye glasses wearers. Instead of competing with fashion wear company like Oakley, Mr. Lane was able to recognize the other markets besides fashion of sunglasses by doing his marketing research, partnering with Alcon labs and eye care doctors and sell its products that benefits patients and customers.
  The VUCA philosophy is also an interesting concept, it allows us to somehow find order in the middle of chaos by adapting and going with the flow. It helps us to solve problems in unthinkable ways. Here in the US, only police, ambulance, and firetrucks will be able to go into the oncoming traffic lane, Mr. Lane’s car ride incident in China is a very good example of how a problem can be solved in unconventional ways in this fast paced world. Again, thank you for coming to speak with us.

• 3. Katie Hofman  |  March 9th, 2007 at 11:14 pm

  I thoroughly enjoyed the lecture today. There were several key points that were of interest to me. I respected Mr. Lane’s dedication to doing work that he felt was morally right. While that might mean Dioptics won’t be “competing with the big boys” it does mean that he is giving back to the community. I thought it was admirable that he made his decisions based on what people needed rather than what they wanted. At the same time, Dioptics is still able to offer competitive products that have appeal to the segments they are targeting. Dioptics plan reminds me of our MarkStrat simulation in marketing as they are not trying to be everything to everyone. Instead they have identified specific segments and are providing the best goods at a fair price to those segments.

  The second point that I really enjoyed was his international perspective, both what he learned from Dioptics early missteps and also his insight as to where the international business environment is going. I felt that Mr. Lane was very grounded and realistic and offered a great perspective that realized the faults in the system, but also gave reasons for why the system isn’t all bad.

  As a final point, Mr. Lane was a very engaging speaker who was both informative and entertaining. This was a great pre-departure meeting.

• 4. Steven Rodger  |  March 10th, 2007 at 12:27 pm

  Mr. Lang’s lecture was inspirational because it gave a substantial example of how imperative conducting business in the Asian market has become, specifically China. I was also impressed by his personal philosophy to provide products that people need versus just ones that people want. Hearing transcripts of Dioptics operations with their overseas factory made his business dilemmas a reality. Operations out of China seem like a more attainable option for a business after listening to Mr. Lang’s lecture. Additionally, it was reassuring to see how a successful business man can switch industries and still be content and profitable. His entrepreneurial ways were stimulating, and informative. Lastly, his lecture proved how crucial it is that a speaker be entertaining and humorous in order to keep the audience engaged.
  Giving away samples of products was another added bonus. Seeing actual products and photographs of the Dioptics factory in China brought his story to life.

• 5. Felipe Hernandez  |  March 12th, 2007 at 10:49 am

  Mr. Lane is just one of those businessmen that exudes competence. I liked his story and think it’s proof that people with drive, knowledge, leadership ability, and knowledge of consumers can succeed in any business whether it be toothpaste, wine or sunglasses.

  He very clearly and precisely defined what customers are and their importance to any organization. In academia, we often get caught up in the technical skills and theorizing what customers are and what they need. It was refreshing to hear from a person who is on the front lines.

  I perceived his most important message to be his talk about being proactive rather than reactive. I totally agree that if a customer has to complain, you probably have not been doing your job and paying enough attention to their needs. This can be applied wider to bosses or professors, if they have to complain about your behavior or effort - you are probably not on the fast track to success. Further, it is definitely much easier to keep and maintain a customer than it is to attract new ones.

  As an aside, the timing of the free samples couldn’t have been more opportune, these sunglasses are a lifesaver in this fantastic weather.

• 6. Andrew Gardner  |  March 22nd, 2007 at 6:08 pm

  I very much enjoyed listening to Mr. Lane. It was refreshing to hear of a business that successfully targeted a different segment of the market. Rather than facing tough competition in the economy or luxury market segments, Dioptics was successful at splitting the difference. It seems like such a simple idea (target a less competitive market segment), but very few businesses take this approach. I will always remember this lesson.

  Mr. Lane also sparked my interest in what steps businesses take in order to find a reliable manufacturer in China. Dioptics was lucky to be able to find information from other businesses in the industry that lead it to find its supplier. But what steps do less fortunate companies do? My first thought was that there was a need for an outsourcing consulting company. My business plans were quickly destroyed after a Google search turned up hundreds of such businesses. My question is, what other sources do companies use to find manufacturers in China?

• 7. Derrik Fischer  |  March 22nd, 2007 at 8:23 pm

  I also enjoyed Henry Lanes presentation. He is a very motivating and engaging public speaker. I think a key issue that I got out of his presentation is that if you are going to do business in China, you can’t simply do it over the phone. You actually have to get off your rear and physically see, touch, smell, (taste?) the factories you are going to be working with and meet their management. You can’t trust that they’ll do what you they say they can without meeting them first and seeing the equipment they’re working with. You have to realize that they will do whatever it takes to complete their project, so they can get paid, even if it means tweaking your design. Dioptics suffered the consequences of this mistake once and now have full time staff working in China to keep the factories in line. Maybe this is the only way to assure that the quality of your outsourced products will remain acceptable.

• 8. Chris Carr  |  March 28th, 2007 at 1:09 pm

  Also remember that these points noted by Derrik are musts in ALL facets of business, domestic and international. I.e., they are not applicable only to China and/or just an “Asian problem.”

• 9. Chris Carr  |  March 28th, 2007 at 1:14 pm

  Andrew,

  Yes, this business idea has long been stolen by others! For firms that assist with such issues, go to the China Law blog’s blog roll list — as I remember you can glean such firms and ideas there. Also, if you do a Google search on “training” and “continuing education” re: “locating reliable manufacturers”, I suspect you will find many such seminars and additional ideas.

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