In the book, Every Business is a Growth Business: How Your Company Can Prosper Year After Year, by Ram Charan and Noel M. Tichy, cited by Pete Johnson (Nerd Guru), a story of how Coke CEO Robert Goizueta gave the company a new way of seeing their market is discussed. This is where we can all learn from great leaders like Goizueta. By leading people not ordering people, we achieve a greater sense of unity and cooperation.
What Goizueta did was to get his team to see their product, not as the dominant player in a segment of the market, but as a minor player in a very large market. You can be certain that the management of Coke thought it was the king of the hill in their market. With this new realization, they suddenly felt that they were behind. You can also be certain that this group felt they had the skills and resources to dominate any market they entered.
If you, or your company, are feeling particularly smug as the market leader, it may be time to reset the understanding of what market you are in. Try seeing a bigger picture or include more potential uses. A company that is feeling fat and happy is probably not going to be as aggressive as it needs to be. A team that has claimed the high ground will have a sense of accomplishment that can be used to get to the next level.
Some additional websites, books, and blogs that you may want to visit that discuss this topic are:
UPS suggests that you consider some of the resources you might need to expand as you grow.
The authors of "Zero to One Million" have created a site that has a lot of terrific resources for entrepreneurs beyond just discussing growth issues.
The US Department of Justice wants you to consider how you might make your business or service more accessible to handicapped or otherwise use restricted customers. This is particularly true for online businesses.
You might also visit the resources are available at the Australian Business Review. This site is dedicated to helping small businesses succeed.
Whatever method, or direction, of growth you choose to use, be certain that you have the capacity to serve the market you enter or expand into. Serving 10,000 customers well, is much better than serving 100,000 customers poorly. When I hear a recording saying that my wait time will be longer than usual due to unexpected call volumes every time I call, it tells me a lot about the company management
1) They don't plan well
2) They are in over their heads
3) They don't really care about customer service
4) They are not working to solve the problem
5) They're poor liars
What does such a message tell you?
Hi Roger,
Thanks for the link. I like that graph from your book quite a bit and agree that Every Business is a Growth Business aligns well with your thoughts on this topic. I'd like to think that just about any problem you might be trying to solve, not just marketing ones, can benefit from expanded thinking.
I'll definitely add your book to my expanding list of ones I need to check out.
Pete Johnson
HP.com Chief Architect
Personal blog: http://nerdguru.net
Posted by: Pete Johnson | July 28, 2007 11:25 PM | Permalink to Comment