Get Out of the "Middle of the Road"—or Go Out of Business - Bill Taylor - The Diigo Meta page

• 06 Aug 08
  

  Suhit Anantula

  Entrepreneurship strategy

  • First, high-performing companies understand that it’s not enough to be “pretty good” at everything anymore. As a company, you have to be the most of something—the most exclusive, the most affordable, the most responsive, the most friendly. Companies used to want to be in the middle of the road—that’s where all the customers were. But now, in an age of hyper-competition and non-stop innovation, the middle of the road is the road to ruin. What do they say in Texas? “The only thing in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead armadillos.” To which we might now add: “And once-great companies that are slowly going out of business.”

  • Legendary management guru Jim Collins puts it best: “The signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.”

      

    There’s a third element that helps to explain extraordinary performance in these extraordinarily difficult times. Each of these companies connects with its customers based not just on price and features, but on identity and emotion. They have become virtually irreplaceable in the eyes of their customers.
  • It’s a lofty goal, but great companies (like Honda, Southwest, and Netflix) get there. Ask yourself, honestly: Can your customers live without you? Because if they can, they probably will.

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