Now here is a brilliant growth strategy for the auto industry: Despite Risks, Internet Creeps Onto Car Dashboards If you help drivers crash more cars, you can sell more cars! What could be better?! And with any luck, all those air bags and other safety devices that you’ve concentrated on in the past will prevent you from killing off your entire market. Has anyone stopped to really picture the risks? Are the risks unlikely? This feature will not be limited to passengers and drivers in parked or fully stopped cars. If you think otherwise, I’d like to sell you a bridge.
In a WSJ article on finding the next great idea, experts recommend relaxing if you want to generate great ideas. It mentions star-gazing, washing dishes, and playing ping-pong as ways to free the mind and allow the subconscious to hatch ideas. I totally agree. From my experience, I would add walking and showering to that list. I often bemoan the fact that my voice recorder isn’t waterproof because great ideas can slip back into the subconscious as quickly as they surface. Jay Walker of Walker Digital disagrees and advocates endless questions and rigorous analysis.
I think it must be contagious. Symptoms: When I talk to many small business owners they lament the lack of opportunities for their business. They tell me how their sales force is out there every day looking for opportunities. Employees attend trade shows and conferences to stay attuned to their industry. They meet regularly to discuss the state of their business and the possibilities for growth. And they mostly don’t come up with anything of consequence. They tell me that if there were opportunities out there, they would be finding them. Thus, they conclude that times are just tough and successes are random. The economy, the state of their industry, outsourcing to China, any number of factors could be the source of their stagnation. They will just keep there eyes open and something will come along or the situation will change. Eventually.
Moan if you like, but many are thriving. It is true in this economy as well as every other. It is your choice. If you choose to thrive, you can. If you choose to wait and hope, you probably won’t. For those who wish to thrive, here is a list of some of the companies and industries that are doing well. crafts cooking equipment and instruction Walmart McDonald’s yoga consultants alcohol Hyundai
A lesson from my new book, Clear Thoughts – Pragmatic Gems of Better Business Thinking, available in June 2009: Show, don’t tell. Demonstrate your mission and values with every action. As a customer, I want good value, not grandiose talk.
Myths about strategy prevent organizations, whether business or non-profit, from taking care of their number one priority. Myth #1: Strategy must be addressed every 1, 2, 3 or 5 years. Many organizations see strategy as a periodic event, often annual, to complete and check off their To Do list. Like prescription medicine, they go through the paces on schedule, whether it seems to improve their situation or not. A year later, or whatever their frequency, they repeat the process. Some hold religiously to their schedule, others may let the whole thing slide when pressing matters intrude.
In our house, we jockey and scheme to lay first claim to each new issue of The Week magazine. We read it from cover to cover. We read it aloud to each other. We quote it and discuss it. We rip out pages and mail them or file them. This is a tri-generational affliction. Meanwhile, the press is decrying the death of the press.
Innovators! Take heed! Scrambling to get out the door without dropping something? Hands full of miscellaneous along with the jangling key fob and iPhone you grabbed last? Wouldn’t it be great if your iPhone would just open doors and start the car for you so you wouldn’t need keys or fobs? Electronic calendars are great. Unless, of course, you want to add an appointment. A shower stimulates nerve receptors and triggers thinking. But notepads, pens and voice recorders are not waterproof.
We are in a sea change. Business as usual is no longer business as usual. We will emerge, but we will not return. Significant changes will be evident. It is both the change and the pause that provide significant opportunities to those who are alert and agile.
Each morning when I leave my Las Vegas hotel suite, things are arranged the same way so I can work comfortably and efficiently. Chair, light and coffee table moved closer together so I can see to read and put my feet up. Second bathroom waste basket moved near the desk. Magazines, marketing materials, TV guides and remotes moved off the surfaces I need to use. You get the idea.