Lessons From Dunkin’ Donuts Chief

Bruce Temkin, CCXP

I’ve been pretty impressed with the pace of innovation at Dunkin’ Donuts over the last few years. A few years ago the firm spotted demand for Starbucks’ new Frappuccinos and came out quickly with its own drink, Coolattas. Dunkin’ recently expanded its menu to include smoothies, flat bread sandwiches, and pizzas that draw in the post-breakfast crowd.

So I was interested in reading an article about what the Dunkin Brands CEO, Jon Luther, had to say to the Entrepreneur Organization in Boston.

Luther transformed Dunkin’s stagnant brand by focusing on the organization’s culture and a refined view of it’s target customers.

The CEO developed a company-wide value system based on honesty, integrity and humility. And he took a pretty aggressive stance in making sure that it was adopted. As he said: 

Workers who couldn’t or wouldn’t ascribe to those values left the company. The ones who remained, shared a common value system.

The company then focused its efforts on its core customers that consumer research showed were a no-frills bunch that love routine, and are proud of their busy schedules.

The bottom line: Dunkin combined the ingredients for transformation: culture + customers + innovation.

Written by 

I'm an experience (XM) management catalyst; helping organizations improve results by engaging the hearts and minds of their employees, customers, and partners. I enjoy researching and speaking about leading-edge XM topics. I lead the Qualtrics XM Institute, which is the world's best job. We're igniting a global community of XM Professionals who are inspired and empowered to radically improve the human experience. To achieve this goal, my team focuses on thought leadership, training, and community building. My work is driven by a set of fundamental beliefs: 1) Everything starts and ends with human beings, so you need to understand how people think, feel, and behave; 2) XM is a discipline that needs to be woven throughout an organization's entire operating fabric; and 3) Building the XM discipline requires a combination of culture, competency, and technology.

2 thoughts on “Lessons From Dunkin’ Donuts Chief”

  1. Pingback: Youth related stories to get your week started | mobileYouth
  2. Pingback: » Lessons From Dunkin’ Donuts Chief Mobile Youth Culture: A blog about youth consumer culture, lifestyle and marketing in the mobile space

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.