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How to Do Strategic Planning – Here Are 3 Cool Questions
Ask strategic questions Once a client was chatting with me and mentioned something about my strategic planning: I ask weird questions. Not so weird, in my mind – but my favorite questions are always strategic. Furthermore, they always lead to excellent discussions about the sources of value in business and how you can create more. […]
Continue readingWD-40 Finds Growth for 50 Year-old Product
By Denise Harrison, Senior Consultant Note: The original article was appeared in Compass Points January 2008 WD-40 Faces a Growth Challenge WD-40 faced the growth dilemma — the chairman’s goal was to grow the business by $100 million from new products…introduced during the next three years (Gary Ridge, Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2006). This would […]
Continue readingValue or Low Price?
M Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant Do you know what your customers really value? What are they willing to pay for that you can bring to the market place? What is important to them that you can provide? Does this give you an advantage in the environment in which you work? Can you use this advantage to […]
Continue readingInnovation and Strategy
These two words go together sickeningly often. Every buzz-word spouting bozo tends to refer to themselves as “inspiring strategic innovation” or “working on innovation strategy”. But these words have very specific meanings, and, when it comes to strategy, there is innovation that will be strategic, and innovation that will not be. To begin with, innovation […]
Continue readingUnderstand What Differentiates your Company in the Market
What differentiates your company in the market? What sets you apart in your customers’ eyes? What do your potential customers think? These competitive differences may be good – but they may not be good. Would it be good if your customers think your company is difficult to do business with? Would you know? What […]
Continue readingDifferentiate Your Company – Don’t Poke the 800 lb. Gorilla in the Eye!
Visiting Brazil I came across an example of how a company can create a competitive advantage by focusing on a relatively unattractive market niche. Embraer is now the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world – much of its success results from its decision not to poke the 800 lb. gorilla (gorillas – Boeing, Airbus) in […]
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