One explanation for somewhat sparse postings these days is that I’m busy completing our new book, Discovery Driven Growth. Can’t say too much about it (publishers get irate) but in the course of researching the… Read more »
Discovery Driven Planning
Discovery Driven Planning: Learning from failures and disappointments at Lululemon
I was browsing through this week’s edition of Business Week when I ran across a great story as part of their 50 fast-growth companies series. The story is about Lululemon, a retailer that has grown… Read more »
Building a Discovery Driven Plan: What are the typical assumptions?
I’m often asked to give people a checklist of assumptions that they can use to get started developing a discovery driven plan. Here are some of the most critical: What is my profit model? Have… Read more »
New Social Networking site – the Mistake Bank
The Mistake Bank is a fascinating new social network concept introduced by John Caddell, a one-time telecom corporate type and now a consultant helping companies become more innovative. The idea behind the network is to… Read more »
Testing some key assumptions - second home market early warnings
Fortune, in their April 28, 2008 issue, printed a little statistic that struck me as valuable in terms of the sort of data one could use to test assumptions, but which often go unnoticed. They… Read more »
Testing some key assumptions – second home market early warnings
Fortune, in their April 28, 2008 issue, printed a little statistic that struck me as valuable in terms of the sort of data one could use to test assumptions, but which often go unnoticed. They… Read more »
Yikes! Putting your core business in discovery mode: BlockBuster and Circuit City
The unsolicited attempt by video rental chain Blockbuster to take over electronics retailer Circuit City looks like a pretty desperate move. In short, a company that prospered with the rise of the whole rent-it-out couch… Read more »
Discovery Driven Strategy: Options investments enable the right kind of failures (Amex Express Pay)
American Express has just announced that it is discontinuing the “Express Pay” offering that allows contact-less payments by consumers, along the lines of the popular Speedpass payment systems that were successfully implemented by gas stations… Read more »
Business Models based on “free”
A point of departure for discovery driven planning is the selection of a unit of business, which implies a particular business model. In a recent edition of Wired magazine, editor Chris Anderson created a useful… Read more »
Revlon’s “Vital Radiance” – a failure to spark innovation led growth with some interesting lessons
In a bitter fight to grow against formidable rivals such as Proctor and Gamble and L’Oreal, cosmetics manufacturer Revlon tried the innovation route, with a new line of cosmetics called “Vital Radiance,” introduced in January… Read more »
Discovery Driven Planning: The case for collective decisions
Doz and Kosonen’s new book Fast Strategy presents their research into how companies can dramatically alter their core businesses in response to dynamic strategic environments. I’m just reading through it, and one of their comments… Read more »
Discovery Driven Planning makes the intuitions of entrepreneurs explicit
Browsing through this month’s edition of Inc. magazine, I came across a column by Norm Brodsky on the advice he gave to a young entrepreneur. The guy’s business concept was interesting. He imports dirt from… Read more »