Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for accomplishing 20 times more by registering at: www.fastforward400.com
Most business leaders sabotage their own chances of competitive victory. In this article, you will find five perspectives that can keep you from being the source of your own downfall.
Where does your existing strategy model make your operations unnecessarily complicated?
The traditional approach in most companies was to do as many functions as possible for oneself. This ties up a lot of talent on executing the existing business model, who could better spend their time on developing or implementing improved operating models. In many cases, outside suppliers can perform the task better.
Even if they can't, your talented people can be freed up to work on higher value activities. The traditional downsizing, by comparison, simply reduces the effectiveness of the existing strategy model and drains from the time available to develop better business models.
How could a new strategy model allow you to pursue larger, higher potential future opportunities?
Are you finding yourself near the bottom of the barrel of opportunity? Remember that half of all business areas are, by definition, of below average potential. What are some of the high potential areas that connect well to operating model strengths you have today?
If you cannot find any, is there another way to add operating model strengths? For instance, could you make acquisitions of key personnel or partner with the top companies? Could you develop intellectual property that would give you a foot in the door?
How can a new business model re-direct your focus into the highest potential areas?
If you only marketed products or services that you designed, how much more effective could your organization be? If all you did was develop intellectual property that could be licensed and sold to others, how much more effective could your organization be? Feel free to think about other companies with much different business models than your own that emphasize just a few activities.
What are the best places to be in order to prosper in pursuing the highest potential future opportunities?
A good starting point is to think about what's wrong with where you execute your existing business model, and try to understand why you are located in the wrong place (if that's the case, which it usually will be).
How can your new business model expand the potential of the future opportunity and your ability to prosper with it?
Successful new business models usually encourage customers and essential stakeholders to be more receptive to their business models. How much more can be done in this regard than has ever been done before in your industry? Examples from other industries will probably help stimulate your thinking to see opportunities that fit your circumstances.
Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
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