Does Deploying Technology Lead to Competitive Advantage?

In a recent post for Gartner Blogs, Scott Nelson talks about how IT leaders obsess about not using a technology that their competitors use for a given business function. The key reason that they seem to think about is around “competitive differentiation”. As Scott rightly points out, the differentiation doesn’t necessarily come from the technology or the solution that they deploy. The competitive differentiation comes when we focus on “How” and the “Why” and not on the “What”. The reason (Why) a business might deploy the exact same technology or even product can be very different. Some might want to […]

When Your Biggest Strength becomes Your Biggest Weakness

Premise:  Once advice that almost everyone agrees to, when it comes to defining our strategy (personal, professional or organisational) is that we need to “Play to your strengths”. If you are a business that has already seen some amount of success, the chance is that you know what your core strength is. So, you build on it. You continue to invest in your strength to get even better at it. You continue to invest until you are the best-in-class on this topic in the whole wide world. This strategy works really well, until it doesn’t. The  irony is that most […]

4 Simple Questions That Can Re-vitalise Growth for Your Cash Cow

Every organisation that has seen some success has some form of a cash cow, which continues to grow and provide the fuel necessary for the organisation to invest in new products or services, which can bring in the next level of growth for the organisation. It is also inevitable that at some point in time the growth in the cash cow would slow down. If by that time, the organisation doesn’t already have another product/service that can take the place of the cash cow, then the organisation is in troubled waters, when it comes to continuing to grow. The general […]

Superman, The Klu Klux Klan & Disruptive Innovation

I recently stumbled upon a short film which chronicled how one single individual (Stetson Kennedy) went under cover and fought and plotted the demise of the Klu Klux Klan. You can watch the entire video below. You can also read the book Superman versus the Ku Klux Klan: The True Story of How the Iconic Superhero Battled the Men of Hate. How Superman Defeated the KKK by CrimeInc2 What was most interesting to me in the entire story was how he brought about the demise of the klan. The Klan had influence over every known source – police, judiciary, political system […]

PBTO22: Growing Your Business By Building an Army of Zombie Loyalists – @PeterShankman

http://traffic.libsyn.com/pushingbeyondtheobvious/22_PBTO22__Using_Great_Customer_Service_to_Build_Zombie_Loyalists_For_Your_Business_-_PeterShankman.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Email | RSS In today’s episode, we host Peter Shankman. He is an author, entrepreneur, speaker, and worldwide connector. He is recognised worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about Customer Service, Social Media, PR, marketing and advertising. The New York Times has called him “a PR all-star who knows everything about new media and then some,”. Peter is a spectacular example of what happens when you merge the power of pure creativity with  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a dose of adventure, and make it work to your advantage. In my opinion, his thoughts about […]