Collaboration along the Chain

I revisited Michael Porter’s Value Chain recently. I am big fan of his model and have used it for several years.

One thing occurred to me: moving along the chain from left to right requires greater collaboration. Yes, there is collaboration and effective communication throughout; otherwise, things fall through the cracks, products go out [...]

Be Timely

So I’m standing in front of my house this weekend, watching the kids scooter around, when we’re suddenly accosted by various people passing out flyers. One gentleman asked me if he can share some information about a local candidate. I shuffled some papers around so I could grab the brochure. Once I [...]

The Window Can Be Dangerous

People want to know. Maybe not everything, but most things. There is still some bliss associated with ignorance, particularly for those messier details. So, companies are putting more of themselves “in the window”, showing the world how they function and what they actually do.

When you put yourself there, honesty and openness rule [...]

Manufacturing Risks

A significant number, if not most, marketing organizations rely on others to manufacture their products for them. And there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Using quality contract manufacturing is perfectly acceptable. In fact, they most likely have competencies you, as a marketer, will never have.

But with that contract manufacturing comes real [...]

Making Something Different

I’m watching a repeat of the season premiere of Project Runway (yes, I am a fan). The challenge for the first week was to take grocery items and repurpose them into something fashionable. Many succeeded, while a few fell flat on their faces.

The most common error was taking an existing fabric—like a tablecloth [...]

Execution Matters

I was speaking recently with my CEO, and the conversation took a rather predictable turn. For the last several years, I have held firm to the belief that ideas, in and of themselves hold no value. The real value of an idea lies within your ability and willingness to execute.

And how you execute [...]

High Switching Costs

I’ve never really gotten into, nor understood for that matter, the ongoing fight between PC and Mac users. Each has its own features, benefits and drawbacks and caters to two distinct audiences. Neither one is truly better than the other. As things progress, each one is nudging closer to the other, blurring [...]

Should GE Sell or Partner Appliance Unit?

GE announced last week that it is considering selling, spinning off or partnering its appliance unit. My first thought went to why they would want to dump it at all. GE has a long history of dumping underperformers (units and people). In December they put their finance unit (or at least some [...]

Balancing Consistency with Innovation and Creativity

When you have a brand, the one thing customers look for is consistency. Even if it’s bad, the fact that it is consistent gives them comfort. Yet, too much consistency can feel like a rut. It can bring on a mean case of boredom.

You work with it day in and day out, [...]

Another Kind of Relativity

I’m talking here in terms of “everything’s relative” and individual circumstances, not something as absolute as Einstein’s theory. In fact, I am advocating against most absolutes:

Recipes for success

Quick fixes

X number of things to do when…

Benchmarking against rigid percentage increases (sales, profits, volume) or decreases (costs, waste, weight)

Stepwise programs

Best practices

This does not mean that I [...]