Category Archives: Observations

The Winter Olympics (a haiku)

Nations send their best
But who goes home with the gold —
Champions or brands?
 * When national athletes train in distant lands; when they become ex-patriots just to get into the games; when the pressures and benefits of sponsorship outweigh those of the competition itself, you can’t help but wonder if maybe some of our Olympic integrity [...]

The iPad (a haiku)

Elegant design.
Form. Function. Simplicity.
And yet, we complain.*
 * Apple unveils “the next big thing” to some critical…disappointment.
As best as I can sum up the reaction as I’ve seen/heard it: “Yeah, we like the iPad, but it’s just a big iPod Touch. Or an iPhone without the phone, or the camera. We don’t see this as the [...]

It’s Not A Frackin’ Bus

Disclaimer: I have yet to read Jim Collins’ “Good To Great,” and so, forgive me if I offend anyone’s sensibilities. But, this morning I started writing a blog post (on another subject), and this thought came to mind, so I decided to write about it instead…

Many people have quoted Jim Collins’ “who before what” analogy [...]

What Are We Talking About?

I’m reminded of the following story after attempting to explain our new business’s value proposition to a fellow early-morning dog walker yesterday.
She offered up some excellent feedback: “It wasn’t until you [finally] put it in Malcom Gladwell terminology that it became totally clear to me.” Which means I still need to work on the pitch.
So, [...]

Go To Market Paradgim – Revised

After some rumination, I realized there was a critical factor missing from my treatise on the go-to-market paradigm: Experience.
No small omission there, since customer — and staff — experiences with your products, services and business itself are so important to profitability and sustainability.
Check out diagrams 4 & 5…