|
|
|
|
StrategicPlanning360.com - Strategic Planning Information At Your Fingertips... |
|
|
 |
|
Will and Vision
Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by storm in 1932? Of course you don't. Chux saw its product as a luxury item, and happily kept its little throwaway business to itself for almost forty years. Then Pampers came along in the 1960s, supported by a huge, mass-consumer vision with persistence to match, and blew Chux out of the market-transforming baby rearing forever. And everyone knows the legend of the two Steves - Jobs and Wozniak-who invented the personal computer in someone's garage. Only they didn't. The Altair MITS came to market long before in 1975. It's just that Steve Jobs had the mammoth vision of a computer on every desk; and Apple II became the first PC hit. I just finished reading a brilliant book titled Will and Vision-How Latecomers Grow to Dominate Markets, by Gerard J. Tellis and Peter N. Golder. This book takes the concept of vision and makes it concrete, demonstrating sixty-six cases where a huge vision of value for a market combined with persistence and indomitable will, made the ingredients for blockbuster success. Along the way the authors bury the concept of first mover advantage. They offer numerous examples of companies that arrived second, third or later, and went on to dominate their markets. So what does Will and Vision say are the key elements of success? The authors-academics grounded in research-not starry-eyed growth consultants like yours truly-carefully reviewed the historical record: vision was the number one element. That's right. Big fat vision backed by persistence, will, and relentless innovation. Today's world offers many choices. People who lack vision are apt to drift to the next appealing project as soon as things don't go the way they planned. They lack persistence to achieve anything important. Will and Vision offers us a different kind of world. (Of course I'm biased. I've been shouting about vision and commitment for years.) We aren't talking about a "vision" that's sloganized and prettified and pasted on a plaque. We mean the kind of vision that highlights the importance and value of a product or service to many people and ultimately points the way to a new future. And, of course, requires a 100% commitment to bring into reality. More mass-value vision examples, from high tech and low: Dell computers, not IBM or IMSAI; Sony video recorders, not Ampex-who gave up a ten year lead; Microsoft Internet Explorer-not Netscape, or its predecessor, Links; McDonalds' Ray Kroc-not the McDonald Brothers; Gillette-not Wilkenson Sword. Mass market + high utility = big vision. Seeing what no one else can see. Having a new world view. Leaders in each of these companies owned a view that extended further than any of their predecessors. And that expansive vision enabled these people to gain access and leverage the resources (Key #4), maintain the persistence to bring the vision into reality (Key #2), and sustain relentless creativity and innovations (Key #3), over a period of years. Here are a few points about a successful vision taken from the research:
The new vision may be of a thing for which there no market-yet. (This last bit is illuminating for any of us stuck in market research.) And some important points regarding will:
Some additional tips for long-term success:
So how big is YOUR vision? Is your vision big enough to drive the kind of success you seek? Is your vision large enough to sustain you? Is it important enough to mobilize the resources necessary for its realization? Is it sufficiently inspiring to partners and employees and customers and investors-and all the other people you need to be successful? If you don't think it's big enough, it may be time to get your vision checked. --- © Copyright Quantum Growth Coaching. All Rights Reserved Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include Paul's name and resource box, and keep all hyperlinks as live links. Paul Lemberg's clients call him "the unreasonable business coach" because he insists they pursue goals and take actions far outside their comfort zone to make more money than they previously thought possible. To get business coaching, tips, tools and strategies like these, visit http://www.paullemberg.com/execoach.html.
 Strategic Planning News for Monday, Feb 6, 2012...
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Rough Cut on Feasibility A piano tuner recently moved to Buffalo, NY, and would like to assess the business possibilities for him in his new home. He plans to estimate how many piano tuners the greater Buffalo area can support, and compare that to the number listed in the phone book. How do we advise him as to how to estimate the "right" number of tuners for the area? 6 Changes You Can Make to Increase Business Profits I read once that something like 30 percent of all drinkable water gets wasted on the way to the consumer by leaky pipes. Likewise, your business may be letting potential revenue drip away, to be lost forever, all over the place. Use this checklist to make sure you are taking best advantage of all the opportunities for earnings that would be arriving safely if you only plugged up those holes. Resilience I. INTRODUCTION Be Like Bill - Think! Twice a year, Bill Gates goes to a remote island hide-a-way for a week at a time. No, he's not going for a fishing vacation; instead of rods, reels, and lures he takes market analyses, position reports, engineering reports, and opportunity papers. In solitude he reads and thinks and reads some more, writing notes in the margins then composing questions, thoughts, and his own positions that will impact the future of Microsoft and the entire technology industry for years to come. The Importance of Value Mix ( * - the word 'product' can be substituted to mean 'service' too; and vice versa ) Offense: Beat the Odds When in doubt, cut that out! Yeah, yea, doubting Thomas may have had a point in his day, and life may not be what you want it to be, but if you constantly doubt yourself, how can you accomplish anything? More Uses for Your Business Plan You have invested a lot of time and energy on writing a business plan just to get a loan or to attract an investor. What do you do when you get the money or, worse, should you be turned down? Hunters and Gatherers - Are You Serving Both Their Needs? The University of Exeter in the United Kingdom recently published research financed by Barclays Bank, which has implications for everyone who is serving the general population. Business Plan: Planning the Operations Writing a business plan is no easy task, sure you can whip something together in a day or so, but without proper planning you are setting yourself up to fail. Many first time entrepreneurs have a bit of trouble writing a business plan, which will be acceptable to bankers and investors. One easy place to fall down on is the understanding of the daily operations of your chosen business model. Invalid Excuses for Poor Business Results - Rising costs Note to Northwest Airlines ? It's not about fuel costs Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Pharmaceutical Corporation Specifics - overview Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves mid-size and large clients in horizontal and vertical markets. Historically Great Plains Software was encouraging ISV partner to write third party modules and later on - Great Plains Software had a chance to select the product for incorporation into their core set of modules: Manufacturing, Project Accounting, Purchase Order Processing, Collection Management, etc. Today we'll consider Microsoft Great Plains implementation specifics for large pharmaceutical corporation. 10 Ways To Make Your Business Unique 1. Largest Selection - Business Strategy Planning Made Easy Ask Yourself three simple questions that affect your strategy planning... What direction is my business going in? How do I create my business strategy so that I can position myself as a leader in my industry? Where do I go to find out information about business strategy planning? Business Plan Descriptions of Computer System Entrepreneurs often give little if any consideration to their computer system needs in their original business plans. It is a necessity to have mention of your computer system as bankers and/or investors will want to know how you will keep track of your future endeavor. You need to carefully spell out your needs and their costs to insure you are asking for the right amount of money for your new project and to insure that you know what you need in advance. All too often entrepreneurs are not completely sure of what is needed and then when they see what is available they want it, this adds costs. Then comes the customization and feature creep as high paid programmers design the modifications. Art of Succession Planning Succession planning, like any business acumen, is both an art and a science. That is to say, there are many proven strategies that can and must be followed so that successful transition can occur. 3 Undercover Ways to Make Big Profits from Your Competition You have heard that there is extra money on the table marketing products related to yours. You have also heard that your direct competitors product is off the table. How unfortunate. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to profit from the hard work, expertise and quality of your competitions product? If You Don't Focus, Innovate and Evolve, You Die After 128 years of business, a household word, Montgomery Wards, Inc., closed their doors forever and filed bankruptcy. To Go or No Go, That Is The Question Last week we talked about a few of the ways to test the feasibility of a business idea to help determine if the idea really had merit or just looked good on the surface. To recap, I said don't bet the farm on the opinions of friends and family, consult with knowledgeable business experts, and conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis. This week let's take it a step further and talk about the creation of a formal Feasibility Plan which will help you determine the true feasibility of your big business idea. Own Your Niche by Building a Niche Community In 1997, David Steele was making the transition from a professional therapist to relationship coach. Part of his strategy was to become a center of influence and THE Relationship Coach for his community. Strategic Planning Consulting Strategic planning and consulting is the strategy roadmap to manage business very effectively. To improve the performance in each business level, business strategic planning & consulting is essential. We should draw a clear strategic planning model to dilute the business complexity. If the strategic planning models are clearly set it is easy to find the business solution.
|
Copyright © 2005 - 2012 StrategicPlanning360.com. All rights reserved. Legal Info Site Map |
 |
