Calling. This word is important for both an individual and an organization. On an individual level, a calling is the driving force – moving through many roles – that brings meaning or deeper purpose to the totality of your work. I like to think of my calling as my True North. It captures how I put my unique background and skills to work to make a positive difference for others and realize more of my potential. I recently read Jeff Goins’ The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant To Do (Nelson Books, 2015). Better than any other book I have read on the subject, Goins articulates that a calling is unearthed not decided. Furthermore, finding and acting on a calling is work any of us can pursue. But to succeed, we must step beyond the fear of…
Business model innovation starts with challenging hidden assumptions
Impressionist artists were excluded from top official exhibitions because their “fuzzy paintings” did not fit the mold (i.e., set of assumptions) of what constituted great art of its time. So Monet, Van Gogh and others formed their own association, held their own exhibits, and attracted an art dealer who needed to differentiate himself from established art sellers. And that’s how modern art was born. Do these century-old reinvention patterns feel familiar? Treating an assumption as a fact can be very dangerous, as dealers of classical art discovered. Great leaders are willing to unearth hidden assumptions and challenge their validity. Consider the watch industry, at the edge of creative destruction with the explosion of digital communication devices telling time. If you’re like me, a millennial generation parent, you may know that look of disbelief when you ask your child if she’d like a watch…
Create stronger external support for your business model success
Too often business leaders put a key fact on their mental backburner – their business is surrounded by a “containing system” that shapes their company’s opportunities, risks and outcomes. Not only should leaders align their business models with external market trends, they should try to influence or shape their containing system to best support their businesses. Here are two cases in point. As supply chain gurus, Boeing and GM have already assessed the impact of Japan’s recent natural disasters and are scrambling for parts. Less astute companies will discover over the next six months that their supply chains are more dependent on Japan than manufacturing managers ever understood. Journalist Barry Lynn predicted these disruptions in his 2005 book End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation. According to Lynn, America’s manufacturing sector has undergone a twin revolution. The…
When Is Bigger Better in Business Model Innovation?
I spent the weekend in Scotland, where one cannot escape RBS’s logo, RBS standing for The Royal Bank of Scotland. Its brand imagery stands out exiting the airplane, passing city billboards, and reading or listening to local media. Today, the people of Scotland own close to 70 % of RBS because the former (duly fired) CEO and his board believed that bigger is better. With a small domestic market of 5.2 million residents (about the size of Minnesota) and strong English competitors, RBS acquired what turned out to be a poorly run Dutch bank in order to grow. Thankfully, a strong domestic position will keep the bank in business; but it will be a long time before Scottish taxpayers are repaid for keeping RBS afloat. Small is beautiful. Consider PNC, the regional bank headquartered in my hometown of Pittsburgh compared to Bank of…
Are your business model and brand strategies aligned?
A new client asked me a good question today. “You talk Kay about helping us find our value promise, but my communications agency is totally focused on our brand platform. What’s what and why does it matter?” The answer rests in understanding communication challenges. The internal communication challenge Employees need a shared and actionable aim that advances the company’s success. It must be actionable so that employees and teams know how to go about their work. The aim must also be shared or else actions by one part of the organization hurt another part’s success, creating distrust and silo-mentality. (These two requirements are why “Grow profits and revenue” as the only aim fails.) The best internal directive is a value promise. It’s the promise the company makes to its target customers and the basis on which it wants to win business. Internally, it…
Democrats could learn from business model innovation best practices
The President’s current political, foreign policy and domestic issues remind me of running a business in challenging times. Never forget about customer experience and how markets change. Our economy totally tanked. Yet the Obama administration and Congress marched forward into health care as if nothing was really different. A more moderate approach to health care reform, coupled with a stronger emphasis on innovation initiatives to improve our long term economy would have been a smarter move on the administration’s and Democratic party’s part. To what extent is your business model based on old paradigms about your target market? Recognize competitive threats, but don’t get so focused on the threat, you lose sight of opportunities. The terrorist threat is daunting and must be managed, much like many competitive threats businesses face. But if all US policy’s focus is on this threat, as NYT columnist…
Does Business Model Strategy Matter in an Age of Uncertainty?
Economics lacks meteorology’s scientific basis, although many economists make their money forecasting where the business cycle is headed (albeit with less success than weather channels). This economist has little faith in economic predictions today as they are based primarily on past trends and relationships, captured through rigorous econometric models. The depth of this recession, its causes and its global impact in a world far more interconnected than any of us understood suggest that the present will be a distinct break from the past. Time to throw out the models, as the author of Black Swan advises. ____________________ If uncertainty reigns, what are we to do as leaders and recommend as their advisors? This is the subject of a blog-conversation I will be sharing with two other blog authors whose insights I admire. Hopefully others will discover and join our conversation. Bill Welter is…