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A Short Meditation on Customer Needs (Modeled after “If-by-whiskey,” the famous 1952 speech by Noah S. “Soggy” Sweat, Jr.) On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me where I stand concerning the commonly held belief that …
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 …
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 …
Why You Should Forget About Exceeding Customer Expectations Our modern business literature is filled with books and articles from experts who advise businesses to exceed customer expectations and over-deliver as a way to delight customers, build loyalty, improve retention, increase referrals and drive growth. This thinking is so entrenched in corporate America that it often …
How You Define Your Market Matters Definition of a market: “A medium that allows buyers and sellers of a specific good or service to interact in order to facilitate an exchange.” – Investopedia. Note that this definition is based on existing products and services. Consequently, it should be no surprise that many executives define their …
Businesses Don’t Drive Growth; Customers Do Peter Drucker said, “The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer.” While companies also exist to build wealth for owners, provide jobs for employees, etc., a company cannot survive unless it first creates value for customers.
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