Monthly Archives: August 2010
Innovators leap across learning curves exploring new ways to deliver value the way Tarzan swung from vine to vine across the jungle. Innovators thrive on the steepest part of the learning curve where the changing rate of learning is the greatest. Watch how innovators manage their careers and lives. They always put themselves on a steep learning curve. I know I always have. Staying on a steep learning curve is the most important decision criterion for any career decision an innovator makes. Along the way innovators make many career moves none of which are primarily about titles, offices, number of direct reports, or money. Innovators believe those things are more likely to happen if they keep themselves on steep learning curves. Every choice to take a new tack or direction is about the next learning curve. Innovators are self aware enough to know they do their …
How much would you pay for a five-pound bag of potatoes? If you saw two similar bags of potatoes, one priced at $3.00 and one at $3.25, I suspect you’d choose the $3.00 bag. Even though the price difference is small, it offers a better value. But what if one bag was priced at $3.00 and one at 59 cents? Would you still choose the cheaper one? Perhaps not, because you’d figure there was a reason why it was so inexpensive—and not a good one. Your value equation would be different in this case than when the potatoes were close in price. Now take it in the other direction. One bag of potatoes is $3.00, and another is priced at $8.50. You may indeed still choose the $3.00 bag, but I’ll bet you’d stop and consider why the other was priced so high. Maybe there’s something really special about those … Continue reading
Seeing as how summer is supposed to include some rest and relaxation, I took advantage of a rare day off last week and went to Sea World (one of the many perks of living in San Diego). I especially enjoyed the Shamu “House of Douse” show, in which several large killer whales do their best to soak everyone in the audience by deliberately splashing with their tails and by leaping high into the air and creating walls of flying water as they come crashing back down. Many people (like me) scurry for the high seats in order to avoid getting soaked. Others, especially the youngsters, purposefully sit as close to the large tank as possible in order to get thoroughly drenched by the end of the show. Either way, a great time is had by all, including the orca whales, who seem to relish the opportunity to douse visitors to … Continue reading
Talk about some great rethinking in the world of health care. . . $14.1 billion is the current annual cost of child obesity in the US in terms of direct costs according to this article by Natasha Singer. The new program that is aimed at reducing childhood obesity is really clever and I think that it will succeed on many levels. Doctors in Massachusetts started this program where they write prescriptions for fruits and vegetables at local farmers’ markets, in what amounts to about $1 a day per person in the household. The premise is that kids are eating so-called “empty calorie” foods that are the causes of the obesity. Why do I think this is such a great idea? There are several reasons: 1) We don’t really know what it will take to cause people to eat healthier foods. This will at least test if the cost of …
All companies – whether they make cars, electronics, software, etc. – know that there is only so much new life that they can breathe into their existing products by introducing new improved versions. Ultimately any product will reach the end of its life, and a brand new one will have to be launched in its stead. The critical question is: when? Assuming the product life-cycle follows the typical S curve, nobody in their right mind would wait until the product has started to actually decline and lose market share, to trigger a replacement. Yet, it can be difficult to recognize that the end is nigh, that a new improved version will not revive the product, and that a brand new one is necessary. What are the signs that companies can read to recognize that the end is nigh and that it is time to make the clear-cut decision to design, … Continue reading
How do you cultivate a culture of learning, adapting, and leading in your organization? In today’s rapidly changing business environment, quickly identifying new opportunities and taking action to capture them is no longer the private domain of industry leaders—it is a matter of survival for every business and for every employee. As Pulitzer prize-winning author Thomas Friedman noted in his book, The World is Flat, not just every company, but every individual is competing today in a global economy. Today’s landscape is a Darwinian world. The winners and losers of this global competition are determined by one factor: change. Today’s competitors are moving so fast, that products and jobs get quickly commoditized or even eliminated. Those individuals and companies that identify new opportunities and take the necessary actions to capture them will survive. Those who learn to do it over and over will thrive. In other words, companies and individuals … Continue reading
