Image via Wikipedia Your business model strategy answers 5 core strategy questions about your business. Where will we compete? Who is (are) our target market(s)? What business are we in? Why will we win? What value promise (where value = benefits received less the price paid to acquire these benefits) will earn target customer loyalty? [...]

Image via Wikipedia Many business leaders debunk strategic planning.  “The external environment is too uncertain,” they argue.  Or, “Strategy is decided at the point of contact with our customers and markets.” I also hate strategic planning because the decisions from strategic planning are strategic in name only. We delude ourselves into thinking that we’re planning [...]

Image via Wikipedia Commoditization – Why You Need a New Business Model Strategy In response to price pressures leaders have cut (and cut and cut) costs by outsourcing, off- shoring, consolidating, etc. Marketing departments have branded around compelling emotions expressed in powerful messaging. They’ve enhanced marketing communications to the point that potential listeners are tuning [...]

Image by Calidonia via Flickr “When the tide goes out, you see who is standing naked.” (Warren Buffet) When Joseph Schumpeter described capitalism as creative destruction, he was talking about business model innovation.  New or transformed companies take the place of companies that are lethargic due to size-induced bureaucracy or over-confidence. This transition, Schumpeter argued, [...]

Image by Getty Images via Daylife While Starbuck’s instant coffee may bring instant revenue (pun intended), will it enhance Starbucks’ brand value? I don’t think so.  Instant Coffee pulls Starbucks further from a more differentiated value promise, a critical component of a winning business model innovation. Starbucks’ original value promise – the one that created [...]

In November of 2008, Business Week magazine reported that Apple’s cash on hand exceeded Dell’s total market valuation. These two statistics explain how it happened – Apple net profit margin = Dell’s net profit margin plus 10 percentage points Apple operating margin = Dell’s operating margin plus 13 percentage points There is a vital lesson [...]

My career has taken me into many organizations, but at each stop you’d see my deep passion for making a difference, a sharp intellect that creates clarity out of complexity, enduring optimism for others, gratitude,  and spiritual wonder. Clients tell me that I’m an unusual blend of visionary­­ and practical -  able to see what’s [...]

It’s gotten harder and harder to succeed in business for a long list of reasons that, like gravity, pull leaders into a short-term focus. Our planning deceives us into thinking we’re being strategic when in reality we’re just working at different degrees of tactical. The end result is that we’re too often operationally terrific and [...]

You know in your gut that you and your organization aren’t the best they can be and will be someday. You’re seeking thinking partners to help your team and your organization realize their full potential. You want to strengthen your strategic leadership skills. Business models look to be a promising or at least intriguing avenue [...]