Category: Competition

Reading Time: < 1 minute The two most eagerly awaited events every spring are the opening of baseball season and Mary Meeker’s, (aka Queen of the Internet,) annual Internet Trends presentation.  As the lead internet analyst at VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers,  millions of business people rely on her analysis and predictions. Whether

Reading Time: < 1 minute By now you’ve heard at Amazon is paying almost $14 Billion for Whole Foods.  This seems counter intuitive on two fronts: a move into brick and mortar by a firm that has done so much damage to the brick and mortar world ….who is also world famous for low prices

Reading Time: < 1 minute Quality isn’t everything.  Case in point: Domino’s Pizza.  Founder Tom Monaghan discovered that the key to success in the pizza business wasn’t great pizza, but free delivery.    But no competitive advantage lasts forever and the company’s subpar pizza began to deliver subpar results, no matter how fast it’s delivered, especially

Reading Time: < 1 minute Those who are concerned that China’s economy will surpass ours should consider the following “required reading.” China just announced to great fanfare that after years of effort and millions in investment, it has managed to produce… a ballpoint pen! (This was accomplished in the US about 80 years ago).  Before

Reading Time: < 1 minute We often think of “disruption” as belonging to the realm of startups or big, but innovative and relatively young companies like Google or Apple.  Is it luck…is it art… or is it science?.   One really old, really large company that makes many products you use every day knows that disruption

Reading Time: < 1 minute In his best-selling book “Moneyball :The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”,  author Michael Lewis profiles Billy Beane, who was named manager of the Oakland A’s and given a mandate to cut team payroll.  Using  a form of analytics known as sabermetrics  he was able to find and field a competitive roster that

Reading Time: 2 minutes The art of competition requires a sense of where , and where not, to play.  In the music business, it turns out that knowing what to play is equally important.  Case in point: Jethro Tull,  one of the most successful and enduring rock and roll bands in the world led by frontman Ian Anderson for nearly

Reading Time: < 1 minute First it was secretaries and receptionists, then it was caller ID, next it was voicemail.  These are just a few of the obstacles which have kept us from connecting to decision makers whom we are convinced need our help; but for some strange reason think they have better things to

Reading Time: < 1 minute Making the shortlist is more important than ever in world of increasing competition and “make or break” contracts. In an era dominated by a short term mentality, Marketing Guru Seth Godin has some quick common sense for getting on this list that will not only serve you and your team well, but the