OnStar
A GM in-vehicle safety and connectivity service.
Where OnStar comes up1 book
OnStar's CEO had all 300 staff spend an hour on real call-center calls, where they heard crash victims mid-accident. That reframed the job as peace of mind while driving, and the service later earned an estimated $2.5 billion a year. The job also let staff give hurricane-area callers free services after a fifteen-second approval. Lesson: have your team hear real customers, then boil the job down to a phrase people can act on.
- 1Staff hear real crash callsAll 300 staff, one hour
- 2Job becomes peace of mindHeard victims mid-accident
- 3Luxury add-on becomes essentialJob replaced feature lists
- 4Annual revenue followsEstimated $2.5 billion a year
From Book case study on OnStar
What was said about OnStar
OnStar had its whole staff listen to real crash calls. The CEO had all 300 staff spend an hour on call-center calls, where they heard crash victims mid-accident. The job became peace of mind while driving, and OnStar later earned an estimated $2.5 billion in annual revenue.
The book's point is that hearing customers in their moment of struggle reveals the true job better than feature lists do. Here it turned a luxury add-on into an essential. After defining the job, OnStar also built its own fast upgrade process.
OnStar's one-phrase job let staff act without escalating. Before Hurricane Rita, OnStar gave callers in the hurricane area all services free after about a fifteen-second approval.
The book likens a clearly stated job to commander's intent: employees can decide on their own because they know what the service is for. It contrasts this with generic mission statements, which cannot guide daily choices.
Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice
After staff heard real crash calls, it defined its job as peace of mind while driving and built its own fast upgrade process. It earned an estimated $2.5 billion annual revenue and let staff give hurricane-area callers free services after a fifteen-second approval.
OnStar had its whole staff listen to real crash calls. The CEO had all 300 staff spend an hour on call-center calls, where they heard crash victims mid-accident. The job became peace of mind while driving, and OnStar later earned an estimated $2.5 billion in annual revenue.
The book's point is that hearing customers in their moment of struggle reveals the true job better than feature lists do. Here it turned a luxury add-on into an essential. After defining the job, OnStar also built its own fast upgrade process.
OnStar's one-phrase job let staff act without escalating. Before Hurricane Rita, OnStar gave callers in the hurricane area all services free after about a fifteen-second approval.
The book likens a clearly stated job to commander's intent: employees can decide on their own because they know what the service is for. It contrasts this with generic mission statements, which cannot guide daily choices.
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