Page 20 - SKU-000506274_TEXT.indd

What new skills, knowledge and competencies
do we have to develop or acquire to create the
rules by which others have to play in the most
profitable markets of the future?

This question makes at least two key points. Either you choose to be a
leader in the markets that you serve or you risk allowing others to make
the rules so they are consistently ahead of the game and forcing you to play
follow-the-leader. If you choose to dominate your markets, whether your
chosen market is a sector, segment or a small niche, you can develop the
standards to which others have to aspire. Playing a game of “me too” in the
marketplace can often lead to high expense, low market share and in some
cases to total withdrawal and financial collapse.

Being either first to market or the “best of the best” can, if you move
too quickly, attract the attention of strong competitors before you are
ready for the fight. In the long run, market dominance is the only game
worth playing, but considering the right questions at the right time is the
best way to get the timing right.

Remember that although there may be “two sides to every question”
only the least practical person seeks three and there is usually one right
answer for you right now. That answer may no longer be right at some time
in the future (which is why you need to keep asking the question), but as
an example of stretching questions that have only one right answer for you
right now you might like to think about the following as they relate to your
company. Be prepared to challenge the implied answers to these questions
that have been the drivers of policy and strategy in the past.

Conceptualizing

n What business are we really in?
n How do others see us?
n Are we innovators or augmenters?
n What are our thinking patterns?
n What are our resources?
n What are our assumptions?
n Do we reward creative thinking and associated risk-taking?
n How does the future look?
n What are the appropriate risks to take?
n How do we develop our key goal(s)?
n What are our most attractive alternatives?

Introduction xix