Japan surges forward
I just read a short piece in Business Week (July 18, 2005 issue, p. 30) in which evidence of Japan's recovery - even resurgence - are detailed. Among the numbers I thought were very interesting were that growth in non-manufacturing (services) has been seen to be 'improving' since March of 2003, with 20% of companies in a recent survey reporting confidence in improvement in this sector. As I've said before, Japanese companies have qualities that I believe will make them formidable competitors in the next round of competition in global services.
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- Posted Admin on July 18, 2005
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New bankruptcy laws and entrepreneurship
On October 17, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act will make the use of bankruptcy as a way to erase debts and create a fresh start much more difficult. Although clearly some people end up bankrupt from poor money management, poor discipline or even bad luck, I do have some concerns about the long-term effect of the new bankruptcy law on entrepreneurship. If you compare the United States (with a rather high rate of business founding to the population) with other countries, such as Japan or Germany with far lower rates, differences in bankruptcy laws stand out very starkly.
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- Posted Admin on July 09, 2005
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Where Japan’s new growth could come from
I've just two days ago returned from a visit to Japan, where I met with people from an incredible diversity of companies while giving talks and directing the Columbia Business School Program "Creating Strategy". Although it's standard commentary now to bemoan lack of creativity in Japanese companies, I had a different take on the issue. It struck me forcibly that the very habits that make it hard for Japanese companies to sustain a great deal of diversity in thinking and behavior might prove to be a godsend in the area of services. Think about it: to create a massively profitable, service based business, a firm either has to generate substantial margins from a few large clients (as IBM tries to do), or it has to figure out how to capture scale in services.
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- Posted Admin on July 06, 2005
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Websense tames the Wild West of the Internet for Profit
Websense (WBSN), a software company, has hit a sweet spot for growth by making products that allow employers to optimize their people's use of the Web. Some interesting data from the company's web site (http://www.websense.com):Internet misuse at work costs American organizations more than $85 billion annually in lost productivity.
Although 99% of companies use antivirus software, 78% of them were hit by viruses, worms, or other malicious applications.
37% of at-work internet users in the U.S. have visited an X-rated website from work.
Over 72% of internet users utilize high-bandwidth applications, including instant messaging, downloading music, and watching video clips.
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Radical Surgery gives Renault a MarketBuster
In late 2004, Renault launched a new car, the 'no frills' Logan, which exemplifies how eliminating complexity can provide a powerful engine for growth. The stripped down cars offer roomy, basic transportation, and that's it - few electronics, few components, a flat windshield, and no built-in radio or power steering. Eliminating complexity allows the cars to sell for a great price - $9,300, half the price of a Ford Focus or a WV Golf. Renault expects to sell 175,000 Logans this year alone, with a goal of ramping up to more than a million by 2010. Core principle? Take out attributes customers don't care about to offer an irresistible price.
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- Posted Admin on July 05, 2005
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Find a list of previous Case Studies here in PDF format.
