Just 7 years ago, Motorola introduced the first thin cell phone to rave reviews and industry dominance. Yet, in a flash, it faced a flood of lower cost Asian knock-offs then lost its position to smart phones only to be bought by Google. Motorola’s engineering skills, supply chain excellence, and brand name strength were of [...]

Amazon’s quarterly revenue rose 51% year-over-year while Best Buy’s revenue remained flat. Is it any wonder Best Buy’s stock prices fell by one-third this year? What’s going on? A high percent of store visitors use Best Buy for decision-making but turn to the Internet to find best prices and make purchases. Without stores and with [...]

I spent this morning with 14 business owner/CEOs confronting decisions made more challenging by our increasingly uncertain economy.  As seasoned entrepreneurs, they’ve mastered measuring risks, making decisions and executing them successfully. Yet the decision-making prowess that generated high business values will not generate tomorrow’s success. How they approach decisions needs to change in today’s turbulent [...]

Commodity is likely the last word that attorneys, accountants, marketing agencies and other professional service providers would use to describe their services and knowledge. Their advanced degrees and personalized, professional approaches suggest just the opposite. But professional services are becoming commoditized because clients increasingly see the outcome of a service as standard; that is, differences [...]