BLOG OF ADAM HARTUNG
Do you Facebook?
Let's see, would you rather spend $4million to reach 100 million people once - say via a Super Bowl ad - or spend almost nothing to reach 400million people every day? Seems obvious economics. Yet, how good is your Facebook presence? Because...
Lifecycle Reality – Google, Telstra, GM
You've probably read that 80% of new jobs are created in small business. Even if this is true, it creates a misconception. You'd think that we need to start lots of new companies. As BusinessWeek reported in "Looking for More High...
Keep moving forward – Microsoft, Apple, Google, RIM, Hearst
Did you ever notice how often a large company will introduce a new solution (often a new technology), but then retrench from promoting it? Frequently, the market is developed by an alternate company that captures most of the value. We can see that...
Nero fiddled….. – GM and Whitacre
I don't know the source of the phrase, but since a young boy I've heard "Nero fiddled while Rome burned." The phrase was used to describe a leader who was so out of touch he was unable to do the necessary things to save his city and the people...
Wearing a Bullseye on your business – WalMart
One of the worst impacts of Defend & Extend Management is the placement of a bullseye on your business. Take for example Microsoft. When everyone knows what software Microsoft is going to release, they start targeting it for hacking and otherwise...
Defend & Extend versus White Space – Microsoft vs. Google
Two tech giants are Microsoft and Google. The former has been around for over 30 years. The latter about a decade. Which is the company you should work for, or invest in? The one that has demonstrated a long history and great record of...
A problem of riches – Apple
Apple's shareholder meeting was last week. In an era where shareholders are most worried about the survivability of the companies where they are invested, the biggest issue at Apple is what to do with all its cash! Reuters.com reported...
10 Ways to Stay Ahead of the Competition – Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki contacted me a couple of weeks ago, asking me to write a short piece for him. I was happy to do so, and he published it at the BusinessInsider.com War Room as "10 Ways to Stay Ahead of the Competition." Fortunately for me, the...
Disrupt to Succeed – Forbes
"From the day we start kindergarten we fear the teacher's call to our parents saying, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I'm sorry to tell you that Mary has been disruptive in class." We are taught, trained and indoctrinated to go along and get along,...
Using White Space to learn and grow – Google v Microsoft
Google keeps on growing. While many companies bemoan revenue losses and poor results in 2008 and 2009, Google keeps new products flowing out the door and revenues continue to increase. New markets are being developed.This Google revenue growth is powered...
Waiting for the economy? That won’t work.
Every day it seems someone tells me they "are looking forward to an improved economy." When I ask "Why?" they give me a horrified look like I must be stupid. "Because I want my business to improve" is the most frequent...
Looking for Winners – Dell
It's easy to recognize a company in the winner's circle. Like Apple or Google. Most of us want to know how to spot the winners early. And that can be hard, because often the reported information will make an emerging winner sound...
Killing Me Softly – Sears, Sara Lee
About 30 years ago Roberta Flack hit the top of the record charts (remember records anybody?) with "Killing Me Softly" - a love song. Today we have 2 examples of CEO's softly killing their shareholders, employees and investors. Definitely...
Change How You Do Market Research – New Book “Remote Research”
Paralysis from analysis is all too common. Why? Because for the longest time people have assumed that it's possible to predict the future by studying history. And there has been ample belief that if you ask customers questions, they will give you the...
Setting Expectations for White Space – Apple iPad
It's easy to misunderstand White Space. About twenty years ago Apple launched the Newton. The company sold about 375,000 of the first commercial PDAs, but Apple's leadership thought the market wasn't really there - and decided instead to...
Participate, don’t Spectate – Google uses White Space
Lots of new things are happening with technology. Everyone knows that. We see the emergence of new communication vehicles like Facebook, and new ways to exchange data - like Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry. Skype replaces the...
Overcoming Hurdles and Growth Stalls – Microsoft vs. Apple
Sustaining growth is really hard. Consulting firm Bain & Company just published the statistic that only 12% of companies were able to grow revenues and profits more than 5.5% from 1998 to 2008 (read more in the Harvard Business Review downloadable book...
Does your business Facebook?
I had two more Facebook ignorers this week. First was an old friend who didn't use Facebook, and could not imagine how it would be beneficial to his business. I responded with "that's kind of like the folks who didn't use a telephone...
Be Flexible, and Forward Thinking – Office Depot, Apple
"Strategic Plans Lose Favor" is a recent Wall Street Journal headline. Seems like some big companies, and big consulting firms like Accenture, McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group are rapidly learning what this blog has been pushing for a few...
Winners and Losers from Shifts – Apple, Amazon, Microsoft
One of the biggest business news items this week was the launch of Apple's iPad for $499. Although perhaps overlooked by many big companies, and several IT departments. To some businesspeople, the iPad seems another consumer toy, thus not terribly...
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