Customer Reviews

The Orange Code: How ING Direct Succeeded by Being a Rebel with a Cause

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first heard Arkadi speak a few weeks ago at the Bank Administration Institute's 'Retail Delivery Conference' in Novemver 2008 in Orlando. I am an insider - a former banker who spends most of his time these days teaching and consulting with bankers on pricing deposits.

I was intrigued by his message so I picked up the book to read on a long trip half way across the world. Of course I already knew about ING Direct and its success. I expected to be told most of what I already knew. Instead I found it full of insight on ING Direct's core principals, its branding strategy, its thought process behind its maverick behavior, management communication and a number of things I hadn't thought about. Those things are core to an outstanding success story.

If you intend to reinvent your business it is a 'must read'. I will be ordering a copy for each of our staff members to prepare those willing to make the committment for a planning retreat in which we intend to reinvent our business. I suggest you do the same.

This book got me thinking about why everyone mimics everyone else in business. Why do all banks act the same way (have branches, credit cards, ATMs, car loans, checking accounts, etc.)? For that matter, why do almost all car dealerships, or department stores, airlines, etc. act in the smae way?

Arkadi Kuhlmann has provided his own answer by trashing some of the sacred practices of established banks and creating a new company that is wildly successful by standing for something in the face of the customer. Every company should have the courage to step out of line, restrategize and reorganize to deliver something meaningful for customers. Harley-Davidson has done it. Southwest has done it. Apple has done it. And ING Direct has done it, even in the wreckage of numerous failed banks.

My opinion: Buy this book...it just might save your company.

Like many others, I've been introduced to the ING Direct brand through their campaigns, I've been to their website, and I have an intuitive feel that ING Direct is unlike other banks, however I could never connect all the dots. How come ING Direct is so different, where's the innovation, and how are they doing? For that reason, I picked up this book hoping to reconcile these mysteries.

I was pleasantly surprised to find an in-depth discussion of the core leadership principles, analysis of the branding strategy, and some very interesting insights: "You don't have to listen to every single customer." ING Direct has built a successful business on their founding principles and they have done an excellent job of maintaining them over the years: no branches, same rates for everyone, no titles, and a relentless focus on the customer.

As some other reviewers have pointed out, learning the ING Direct lessons you begin to wonder: what other industries could adopt the same strategy? Do we need auto dealers on every block?

The only reason I give this book a four out of five is the length - it could have been shorter without losing the message. Having said that, a great and an educational read.

This book is an inspiring and refreshing look at leadership from the perspectives of two gurus from their respective industries. Funny, insightful, informative and timely, The Orange Code couldn't be released at a more appropriate time, as it reaffirms the notion that an organization can be successful, not in spite of, but because it consistently strives to do "the right thing."

To say that ING Direct is not a traditional bank is a gross understatement. Most banks offer a bewildering multitude of financial products accompanied by add-on fees. Not ING Direct. It focuses on one thing: saving money in simple, high-interest savings accounts. Traditional banks operate from formal offices with tellers behind bullet-resistant glass and managers seated in cubicles, but ING Direct conducts much of its banking business from sleek cafés that offer coffee and luxury brands of tea. In each of its branches in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, it offers customers light snacks, free computer stations, conversation-zone seating and kitschy ING Direct merchandise. In this book, two imaginative business geniuses, Arkadi Kuhlmann, ING Direct's iconoclastic "CEO of Savings," and Bruce Philp, co-founder of GWP Brand Engineering, the firm's marketing agency, explain how they started this innovative "un-bank," how it operates and what its guiding principles are. Perhaps no institution could be quite as rosy as this insider-written corporate bio suggests, but if you want to shake things up in your corner of the professional world, getAbstract suggests this idiosyncratic book about a bright, bold business.

This book is very useful for people beyond those involved in the business community. There are so many lessons that can be taken from this book. The main lesson to be taken from the book, I would argue, is that today's social environment creates a situation in which consumers are more likely to react to appeals based on a message with substance, rather than a mere marketing gimmicks. These new consumers will demand that products be sold to them upon the basis of such messages. This requires that organizations adopt a new mindset to capture the opportunity that is presented by this environment. These messages can be adopted to almost any organizational setting. Very insightful and useful.!!!

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I bought this book out of my interest to understand ING DIRECT's raison d'ętre behind its leadership, and discovered that this book is a fantastic personal examination of the passionate conviction, focus and loyalty to a cause that was in sore need of a champion.

The narrative provides a personal account from Kuhlmann and Philp. Together they create a story of authentic leadership, and the value of creating a 'brand nation'. I believe The Orange Code will be an inspiration to leaders across all industry sectors to look at their business in a whole new light: success calls for more than knowing and understanding consumers, you need to believe and fight for them.

If there's only space for one more business book on your shelf, this is it.

Book is written more as a spiritual journey from the author's perspective through ING less than a semi-objective history. Problematically, the author focuses too much on their own experience and less on the bank, how it evolved and what it did, objectively, to evolve. ING has now collapsed and it would've been nice to have been able to see what caused that here - one thing I did see was hubris.

Book is organised as a series of quotes by individual characters in ING's plot - this is distracting, often repetitive and sloppy from a writer's perspective.

If you want to feel inflamed and inspired about something or the other, I guess this works for you - otherwise, it's soft, sloppy and evangelistic.