Herb Kelleher, co-founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines, passed away in January of 2019. His inspiring story is one of perseverance, sticking to his strategy and aligning incentives with long term goals. In 1966, Herb was a young lawyer when a client approached him with the idea of starting a regional Texas airline. It made…
Read moreBest Buy and Strategy Communication
Volume 19 Newsletter 3 What do the companies Best Buy, Blockbuster, RadioShack and Circuit City all have in common? They were all rocked by aggressive online enterprises that destroyed their business models. Of these four companies only one survives and is thriving today – Best Buy. This is the story about how they did it…
Read moreBig Bird’s Short Flight
It is the biggest passenger plane to ever fly carrying an incredible 800+ passengers on two decks. Airlines that ordered one of these monsters had to negotiate with airport authorities to upgrade their infrastructure in order to accommodate these beasts as unlike other aircraft the Airbus A380 loaded passengers from two separate levels. Last week…
Read moreThe 40% rule: Getting the Product – Market Fit Right
A new product launch represents a moment of truth for any enterprise. Successfully launch and you create new value that propels both the firm and your career into orbit; screw it up and you’ll forever be “that person”. With so much on the line, why do so many get it wrong and what can be…
Read moreThe Strategy of Subscription Models
Most companies today operate on a Sales Model. They create great looking web pages and dispatch armies of sales people to pound on customer doors in an all-out effort to convince them to make a one time purchase. However, in many industries today the product offerings have become ubiquitous. With little distinction between products, factors…
Read moreHow Are You Segmenting Your Market?
How do you segment your market place; by customer size, maybe by industry type or perhaps geographically? At a recent talk, Wharton Professor David Reibstein suggested that if you aren’t segmenting by customer needs you’re making a big mistake. Here’s why …. A large computer hardware supplier was struggling to connect with their market. Sales…
Read moreDirty Laundry. And Mis-applied Science.
In 2016, after years of declining profits and shrinking market share GE Appliances threw in the towel and sold to the Chinese. Today, Haier USA is profitable but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. The easiest conclusion to jump to is that Haier turned the business around by moving manufacturing to China and…
Read moreThe Dark Side of the Moon
Mary Shelley’s classic story of Victor Frankenstein should now be a “must read” for any firm that collects data. The story of Frankenstein follows a young, idealistic, scientist who sets out to create a life form immune to disease. Using chemistry, electricity and the ethically questionable acquisition of a few ill gotten body parts, Victor…
Read moreSoda Stream… It’s all in the Mix.
Talk about turning lemons into … well … fizzy lemonade. Ever heard of the company named SodaStream? It’s a company located in Israel and is a United Nations of workers who, politically, are supposed to be bitter enemies but in reality are a testament to the strength of diversity and finding opportunity in adversity. SodaStream…
Read moreCorporate Good – Social Need
Novo Nordisk has long been a world leader in diabetic therapies. In past newsletters we’ve looked at the innovative Novo pen that allowed diabetics to click and prick rather than use a needle to inject their insulin. What many don’t know is that Novo Nordisk was one of the early companies to adopt the triple…
Read more