An irresistible force that can be harnessed for profit
growth is often presented by technological change. Here's
an example.
Moore's Law states that semiconductor effectiveness will
double every eighteen months at a more or less constant
price. Computer manufacturers have used this law for
decades as an irresistible force that permitted them to
anticipate the technological changes needed to design their
new machines.
A new opportunity in recent years has been for people who
understood the law well to expand its application beyond
computer hardware to upset the competitive dynamics of
other industries. In the 1990s, Microsoft began offering
an encyclopedia product named Encarta as part of a bundled
package of software to computer manufacturers, or as an
add-on to consumers for less than $100. Traditional
encyclopedias cost many hundreds of dollars, and almost
every family felt the need to have one.
Soon, Encarta was the best selling encyclopedia in the
world and wildly profitable, because its sales grew rapidly
while its costs were very low. The original version of
Encarta was based on a printed encyclopedia sold in retail
stores so development costs were low, and creating
electronic copies is almost costless.
This is an example of a breakthrough solution because
Microsoft achieved more than 20 times the growth and
profitability that a traditional new entrant into the
encyclopedia business would have experienced. By choosing
the electronic form for this product, Microsoft ensured
that it would continue to have the irresistible force of
Moore's law on its side as it competed with traditionally
printed encyclopedias.
But irresistible forces don't always provide helpful
pushes. Have you ever had your plans delayed or put on hold
indefinitely by a change in your organization's operating
environment?
Perhaps fashion suddenly changed, and no one wanted any
longer the kinds of products or services you provide.
Perhaps the laws changed to make the regulation of what you
were planning to do difficult to implement. Or perhaps the
raw material costs suddenly became very much less expensive
for an old-fashioned version of what you make, and
customers flocked to the suddenly cheaper alternative.
Maybe even a change in the weather meant that winter coats
weren't needed in December due to unusual warmth.
Imagine your organization as being a jetliner traveling
across the United States. Because the jet stream flows
generally from west to east, this powerful and highly
changeable wind, this irresistible force, will have a large
impact on your journey.
The average nonstop coast-to-coast flight takes about five
and a half hours. If you travel from east to west, the jet
stream will add more than two hours to the time it takes to
travel from west to east. The difference results from
having the jet stream as either a head wind, retarding your
progress, or as a tailwind, helping you forward.
Of course, if you are traveling from south to north, the
jet stream will also delay your journey somewhat by pushing
you off course and forcing you to fight off some of its
effects as a crosswind.
Here's another example of how irresistible forces can be
harnessed for your benefit. Have you ever watched a small,
slim person use judo to defend against attacks from larger,
more powerful people? The judo user will actually employ
the strength and inertial direction of the attacker to make
self-defense easier.
For instance, if the attacker throws a punch, the judo
defender may grab the wrist of the attacker's extended arm
as it speeds forward and pull the attacker to the ground by
tripping her or him at the same time. Of course, without
the judo, the results could be quite different.
This points out the need for appropriate development of
your skills. Properly harnessed, irresistible forces can
be used successfully in such a defensive way. However,
their most exciting potential is their use in a positive
way to create irresistible growth for your enterprise.
Irresistible forces can be like head winds, tailwinds, or
crosswinds. This article has a very simple message:
Always make irresistible forces work as tailwinds for you.
Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .
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