Why I Went Into Business I grew up wanting to be a psychologist or a journalist. I lived in a community in Philadelphia where business was seen as crass, as selfishly grasping for material wealth instead of seeking to make a positive difference in the world. But shortly after graduating from college, I found myself ...

Is the ‘Streetlight Effect’ Keeping You From Success? German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, “Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen. Few in pursuit of the goal.” Today we might say, “Many are stubborn in pursuit of followers and likes. Few in pursuit of the goal.” Gaining followers and likes on ...

Debunking the Belief That ‘Customers Cannot Tell Us What They Want’

The Value of Learning How to Conduct a “Customer Diagnosis” A lot of damage has been done to the profession of sales — and capitalism in general — because business people often think their objective is to “make a sale” or “maximize shareholder value.” For many people, the very words “sales” and “selling” convey pushing ...

What Most Companies Miss When Trying to Drive Innovation Innovation enables companies to differentiate, establish competitive advantage, and drive revenue growth, so it isn’t surprising that nearly every executive wants his or her company to be innovative. When I ask executives how they are driving innovation, people often tell me about their tactics to encourage ...

Take a Lesson from Nike’s Strategy Playbook I’m sure many people felt sympathy for Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge when they saw he had to run most of the Berlin Marathon in late September with the neon-green insoles of his new Nike shoes hanging out. He still won the marathon, but fell 63 seconds short of the ...

A Better Way to Conduct a Competitive Analysis Traditional competitive analysis can be helpful for businesses that truly understand their customers’ needs, but that approach is inadequate and possibly dangerous for companies that don’t. Many companies think they need a competitive analysis when what they really need is both a customer analysis and a competitive ...

How a Customer Analysis Can Uncover Your Company’s Strengths (and Weaknesses) Previously, I’ve proposed that the first step toward creating a competitive advantage is to redefine your market as “a group of people who share a common task they want to get done.” For example, the market for a traditional city newspaper might be defined ...

The First Step Toward Creating a Competitive Advantage Without a competitive advantage, your business is at risk. Every business leader who wants to drive growth must establish a competitive advantage. Your competitive advantage answers the question all target customers will ask: “Why should I do business with you?” GE’s legendary former CEO Jack Welch said, ...

Why the Customer is Not Always Right Many service providers and businesses have prospered by giving excellent service inspired by the motto “the customer is always right.” It was popularized over 100 years ago by pioneering and successful retailers such as Harry Gordon Selfridge, Marshall Field, and John Wanamaker. In an era when misrepresentation and ...