Strategy from the Outside In

The premise of this book hits the mark! Congratulations to George Day and Christine Moorman for highlighting this all to common leadership mistake!

Strategy from the Outside In, by George S. Day and Christine Moorman examines influential strategy ideas (shareholder value, core competence, and six sigma) that have lured companies into a dangerous internal focus, viewing the world from the inside out. As a result, companies lose sight of the market which leads to poor results over the long run. Inside-out thinking distracts companies from the core purpose of a business: to create and serve customers. Fulfilling that purpose can be done only by approaching strategy from the outside in. In this refreshing look at creating enduring business value, Day and Moorman challenge companies to shift their perspective. They demonstrate that companies that adopt—and fight to keep—an outside-in view focused on customer value have grown revenue, profit, and shareholder value through both boom-and-bust business cycles.

http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Outside-Profiting-Customer-Value/dp/0071742298

Does this resonate? Unfortunately I'm guessing yes and I’m sure all Marketers can relate!

Vigorously Articulating Marketing Strategies

Part 2 of Strategy & Commitment

Came across this article in The Korea Times by Park Young-ryeol, Professor of business at Yonsei University in South Korea where he highlights BMW's commitment to a premium strategy. This is a perfect example of knowing what your brand stands for and having the courage to commit in spite of economic pressure.


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2011/10/123_96718.html

If you haven't read part one you can find it below.

Strategy and Commitment

Attached is a link to an article about the importance and connection of strategy to a companies long term viability. Below is the introduction to the article that highlights my leadership philosophy and the power of focusing on the market and building a team to win from my most resent assignment as GM of the Franke Luxury Products Group.

Introduction

Most companies will find themselves out of step with customers at some point. Some will maintain the course. Others (the successful ones) will adapt to their environment and find new paths to success. This case follows such a company. Increasingly out of touch with its customers and silo-ed internally, Franke Kitchen Systems USA used the Market Responsiveness Index™ (MRI) tool to take a hard look in the mirror, own its shortcomings, and transform the way it does business.

https://www.box.net/shared/ndqn0zi9lv2kn3pvumk1

http://www.marketculture.com/testimonials.html

The Fog of Leadership

“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

Donald Rumsfeld, former United States Secretary of Defense on February 12, 2002.

In the political world many thought this was political speak for avoiding a tough question or simply amusing. It may have been one or the other or both but if you put it in the context of business leadership and really think about it…isn’t it the essence of the challenge? Knowing the difference and being honest enough to know when you don’t know is one of the biggest challenges for leaders.

What do you think?