Look First to Yourself When I answered my phone, my friend began venting his frustration about his staff. As CEO of a mid-size manufacturing company who prides himself on his communication skills, he just couldn’t understand why his team was not reacting more proactively to his latest appeal for more initiative. “They sit there, some staring at me and some looking down, but none of them proposes an idea. They know the competitive pressure we’re …
Prompt, Strategic Opportunity Response Drives Growth You probably recall a time when you failed to act quickly enough to take advantage of an opportunity. We tend to realize missed opportunities after the fact. Everyone is so consumed with the tasks at hand that we don’t always recognize the full potential of a new opportunity when it appears. In today’s commoditized economy, urgently evaluating and responding to new opportunities with a value-based solution is a key …
Collaboration Constrains Commoditization Many years ago, when I was in grad school, we spent many hours analyzing how the traditional 4 Ps of business marketing – Products, Pricing, Promotion, and Physical distribution – could be leveraged to strengthen competitive advantage and compel customers to purchase our products. Later, the 4 Ps became the 5 Ps when it was realized that execution of the 4 Ps requires competent, dedicated People. These days, rapidly evolving technology is …
Winning When Your Customer Does Early in my career, one customer abruptly ended a meeting when I spent more time talking than I did listening. He said, “We’ve been meeting for more than 15 minutes and you have not yet asked a question about my business, my goals or my problems. I don’t need your products – I need solutions. Come back when you can add value to our discussion.” This was a tough but …
Empowering Your People To Create Value In today’s economy, we are evermore dependent on technology to accelerate responsiveness, increase productivity and enhance service. Yet as our dependence on technology grows, so does our thirst for human connection. This phenomenon is called the “High Tech-High Touch” trend, first described in the early 1980s by John Naisbitt in his book MegaTrends. Just recall a time when you had a crisis or critical question, but could not connect …
Committing To Core Principles Customers care more about “why” you seek their business than “what” you do. They want to buy the “why”- the commitment, the unique promise you offer – rather than your product or service. Since customers care only about the strategic value you produce for their business, describing why working with you generates a quantifiable, distinctive advantage for them creates a more compelling, emotional connection. The “why” you do business in …
Keeping Promises Strengthens Your Differentiation The ever evolving technology that we rely upon every day seduces us with its productivity benefits. To respond with urgency and compete effectively, we need to leverage the technology available to us. On the other hand, technology’s seductive influence accelerates commoditization, challenging us to continuously strengthen our differentiation and consistently act in accordance with our unique offering. Your unique offering is actually a promise to leverage your competitive advantage to …
Is Passion Still Essential In Business? My friend, who is responsible for new business development at a major tech company, was complaining about the rate of technological evolution the other day. “These days, we barely get a long weekend of product exclusivity,” he grumbled. Today’s rapid technological turnover requires all hands on deck to fight the commoditization trend! It’s not enough to have owners or senior management being the only ones proposing new ideas or …
When we arrived at the “gamma” letter, the word was quite obvious. We want to reflect on “woman” as a point of focus in considering business and career issues. Let’s make a bold call: this will be the century of women. There are some excellent reasons behind this: Education: ■Woman now outnumber (demographically) all men in every strata of education and educational attainment ■Law schools and Medical schools now produce 50%+ graduates from the ranks …
You are a vendor when: • You respond to inquiries with quotations that specify product or service, price, terms and schedule, without first seeking to understand how you can produce strategic value for your customer; • Your dialogue with your customer focuses on their current problem, and how you are cheaper, better or faster than your competitors; • You communicate nothing that describes your distinctiveness nor proposes a means for your customer to evaluate your unique offering; • Your …
