BLOG OF ADAM HARTUNG
Get aboard, or risk getting run over – Huffington Post, Tribune Corp., Forbes.com
Summary: Traditional news formats - such as magazines and newspapers - are faltering On-line editions of traditional formats are not faring well Important journalists are transitioning to blogger roles to better provide news consumers what they want Important...
The Value of Growth – Apple, Microsoft, Exxon
Summary: Apple is worth more than Microsoft today, even though Microsoft is larger, because it has better growth prospects Apple is closing in on the most valuable company in the world - Exxon Exxon's value is stalled because it has no growth markets Exxon once...
Get Rich – behave like Richard Branson — Virgin, hotels
Summary: Most people misunderstand the way toward building a valuable company Richard Branson has developed massive wealth by finding and entering growth markets Success comes from developing new solutions that fulfill unmet needs - not maximizing performance of core...
“Another one bites the dust” (or 2) – Blockbuster, Nokia, Movie Gallery/Hollywood video
Summary: Video retailer Blockbuster (and competitor Hollywood Video) are now bankrupt Video rentals/sales are at an all time high - but via digital downloads not DVDs Nokia, once the cell phone industry leader, is in deep trouble and risk of failure Yet mobile use...
Richard Branson’s 4 Secrets to Business Success vs Top 10 Management Myths – Virgin
Summary: Richard Branson has built a wildly successful Virgin company on very unconventional "secrets to success" Most business leaders follow management theory than is built on myth Virgin has been wildly successful, even over the last decade when many companies have...
Don’t Fear Cannibalization – Embrace Future Solutions – NetFlix, Apple iPad, Newspapers
Summary: Businesses usually try defending an old solution in the face of an emerging new solution Status Quo Police use "cannibalization" concerns to stop the organization from moving to new solutions and new markets If you don't move early, you end up with a dying...
Early Trend Spotting Very Valuable – Apple and Dell
Summary: There is a lot of value to recognizing early trends, and acting upon them That Apple is as popular as Dell for computers among college students is a trend indicator that Dell's future looks problematic, while Apple's looks better It is hard to maintain...
Market to Trends, not Old Ideas – Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
Summary: Success Formulas age, losing their value To regain growth, you have to identify with market trends - not reinforce old Lock-ins KFC is losing sales due to a market shift, but its response is not linked to market trends KFC's plan to invest heavily in its old...
Fire the Status Quo Police! – Forbes, AT&T, Microsoft, DEC, P&G, Sears, Motorola
Leadership Fire The Status Quo Police Adam Hartung, 09.08.10, 06:00 PM EDT Their power to prevent innovation can devastate your business. "That's not how we do things around here." How often have you heard that? And what does it really mean? It is said to stop someone...
Strategy First: not Execution – Instant Messaging and AOL’s demise
Summary: Not even dominant industry leaders are immune to decline from market shifts It's easy to focus on what made you great, and miss a market shift Competitors drive market shifts, not customers - so pay attention to competitors! AOL lost industry domination to...
The Power of Myth – It Can Kill You – Collins, Thurston
Summary: When we don't know what works, we create myths to describe what might work Much of business theory is little more than myth "Good to Great" has been a best seller, but it is not helpful for good management To grow business today requires abandoning management...
Adopt Market Shifts – Television, Telephone, Apple’s new products
Summary: Market shifts create losers, and winners Demand doesn't decline, it just changes form - and usually grows! We want more entertainment and communcation - but not the old fashioned way Losers keep trying to sell what they have, and know Winners supply solutions...
The End of Management – Wall Street Journal
Summary: The Wall Street Journal is calling for a dramatic shift in how business is managed Most corporations are designed for the industrial age, and thus not well suited for today's competition Change is happening more quickly, and organizations must become more...
Start Early! Waiting is Expensive – Amazon v. Microsoft
Summary: We like to think we can compete effectively by waiting on others to show us the market direction You cannot make high rates of return with a "fast follower" strategy Companies that constantly take innovations to market grow longer, and make higher rates of...
Shift Happens – Fast – telephony
Summary: Trends happen much faster than we expect Old solutions disappear much faster than we anticipate Early adopters are big winners, suppliers who expect markets to last longer are killed in end-stage price wars We can anticipate the failure of land line phones in...
Profit from growth markets, not “core” markets – Virgin & Nike vs. Dell & Sears
Summary: We are biased toward doing what we know how to do, rather than something new We like to think we can forever grow by keeping close to what we know - that's a myth Growth only comes from entering growth markets - whether we know much about them or not To grow...
Finding the old Mojo – Macs are back – Apple
Summary: It seems like the best way to find old success is to do more of what used to make you successful But lack of success is from market shifts, meaning you need to do more things Investing in what you know gets more expensive every year, with little (if any)...
You Gotta Worry When… – Google, Microsoft
Summary: Market shifts can lead to new solutions that are free Free products often cause historical competitors to fail Microsoft is at great risk as the market for business applications is shifting to free solutions from Google More than a decade ago Microsoft made...
Who’s Got the Money? – Visa, Mastercard, AT&T, Verizon, Discover, Paypal
Summary: By 2015 or 2020 cash, checks, debit and credit cards could disappear Smartphones are positioned to eliminate old financial transaction tools, as well as land line phone service and PCs All businesses will have to make changes to deal with new forms of...
Go boldly where you’ve not gone before – to grow! – Dell vs. Cisco
Summary: Dell has remained focused on its core market, and as a result growth has stalled for 5 years. Cisco has aggressively developed entirely new markets, and it has grown 60% the last 5 years. To keep growing, and maintain your business value, you must CONSTANTLY...
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