Zero to a Dominant Business Strategy is this months Report - if you are going to grow the business, what are the elements you should consider? Each element is then detailed in a series of 7 Articles. This cover sheet is 1 of 7. Just click each link and review what it takes to make each element work for you.
Typically we do not use such strong language or emotionally charged words liked “Dominator” that can evoke a negative meaning. However using the more neutral “Market Leadership” just doesn't convey the stark differences between the good and great company's we studied over the last decade.
During the development of our Best Practices Library, a reoccurring pattern surfaced for creating and executing strategy. This list didn't rise to the level for inclusion into our list of Best Practices, but it could not be ignored because of the story it tells. The following list is those 6 Elements that differentiated the Market Dominators from the Average...
...or you can listed to our audio eZine and radio show @IB2E (Internet Business to Entrepreneur)
If you are ready to raise your level of play in the area of Strategy, click any of the articles below:
Element 1: Do Business in a New Way. Competitive advantage starts with Who and What; Who = industries/companies/customers with unmet or under met needs with high financial returns, What = the specific product and/or service you offer that address those needs. So far a snore because everyone is trying to achieve these ends, the difference is in the HOW = a new business model that reduces costs and increases margins while being perceived as new and distinctive. Example: JetBlue - "bringing humanity back to air travel.”
Element 2: Attack Low Cost - High Margin Opportunities.Only possible if you have a new and distinctive business model - a new HOW. Otherwise the market is crowded and competitive advantage will be limited to price. It is about understanding where the industry is competing and investing, and then offering something different. Example: Casella Wines - YellowTail - "make fun and nontraditional wine that is easy to drink."
Element 3: Take Monumental Risks.Understand risks - bold in strategy; change the odds tactically - it is competing in advance and going to where the puck will be, not where it is. This protects you from the greater risk of offering the same thing and competing on price - how safe is that? Example: Toyota and the development of Prius before there was a market; FedEx and development of overnight delivery when nobody asked for it!
Element 4: Exponential Returns.View your company as a stock broker or financial adviser - How well do you utilize rare resources - money? How well do you maximize its return? What are your return from sales, your return on margin, and your return on invested capital? It is one thing to identify those opportunities, it is another to produce it. Example: Cisco has averaged a ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) of 35% for years regardless of the economy.
Element 5: Thrive on Deals, Partnerships, Alliances.It is about getting on the map, becoming seen and known, it is about building brand association with known entities. By associating with the best customers (marquee), best suppliers, subject matter experts/thought leaders you can rise with their tide. It is about building deep relationships with a limited number of high value partners. Example: Ascend Communications beat Cisco for WalMart's business by bringing it's engineering and software teams inside the account. They leveraged the relationship to drive highly profitable sales and led to their purchase for $24 billion on less than a billion in sales.
Element 6: OutManage the Competition.It is about understanding and managing the demands of each growth stage to create a market dominating company. The long list of business failures has no shortage of brilliant ideas, the difference is about managing to nurture and develop those ideas to fruition. Example: eBay - the inside/outside, present/future balance of the founders that allowed them to anticipate the puck while obsessing on execution right now.
