In 2006, I was invited to conduct a masterclass for a group of Nokia high potential managers on the topic of driving growth through innovation. At the time, the company was enjoying double digit growth. The were rated the eighth most innovative company in the world by BusinessWeek magazine. And they were winning market share on every continent. What could possibly…
After I wrote about the importance of seeing it coming in last month’s newsletter, a subscriber wrote in to affirm what he called the “strong message.” Mark Frandsen is a CEO, a former Fortune 500 CMO in the foods industry, and a university board member who lives in Portland, Oregon. A long-term reader of this newsletter, Frandsen offered a specific…
1. Make Value Your Driving Force In the digital age, one thing is clear: the power of the customer will continue to increase. To win and keep customers in the face of fast-changing customer requirements, companies must continue to adapt their value propositions (the combination of your quality, service, and price). Excellent service is no longer enough to guarantee loyalty,…
In my travels this year, the one comment I’m hearing is “we just didn’t see it coming.” The grocery industry didn’t see it coming when Amazon suddenly jumped into their industry and 25 billion in market cap got erased overnight. An insurance company in California didn’t see it coming when the effects of climate change fueled a raging wildfire that…
Kraft Heinz’ stock is down 50 percent over the past 12 months, turnover in the executive ranks has increased, and the company’s inability to keep pace with changing consumer tastes is largely to blame. In an earnings call with investors, Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio observed that “we’ve been too focused on the present, and literally on firefighting. We need…
