In the March/April 2024 issue of Car & Driver magazine, Jamie Kitman points out the gains and pains within the current four-wheel EV landscape. Kitman’s Upfront article, Alternating Current provides the painful reality of “piss poor planning” (my words, not his) within the hallowed walls of auto OEs, again. As history seems to always repeat itself, once again the lack of reality has bit auto manufacturers in the ass. When global governments started mandating zero-emissions by 2035, the OEs’ jealousy of Tesla gained unprecedented momentum.
In good times you should never blindly follow the herd. But this is even more relevant during bad times. As Albert Einstein famously said, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result". To develop lasting competitive advantages and provide new, unexpected value for your customers, it is critical to think and act differently from your competitors. You have to reinvent the game.
We always hear the business press and academics talk about how unpredictable the future will be. How the rapid rate of change will affect all industries and businesses. However, the instability we are all experiencing right now is unprecedented for most of us. As I have written before, these times require all of us to rethink how we conduct business. Times like this requires us all to reevaluate how we conduct business and how to survive and prosper as things rapidly change. If you typically react to market changes, this is a great “kick-in-the-pants”moment to be proactive. Stay positive and realize the unlimited opportunities that now exist.
As the coronavirus expands across the globe creating panic and fear, it is critical to rethink how to meet these new challenges. As an increasing number of market segments contract, such as airlines, restaurants, sporting events, and entertainment, it is a great opportunity to quickly reinvent how to conduct business. At a time of great uncertainty and potential catastrophic business contraction, all businesses need to develop new, creative ways to engage with consumers.
Creating a structured and disciplined competitive intelligence (CI) system within your organization is critical to leveraging market instights and keeping your competitors off-balance. Understanding what a competitive intelligence system is, why you need to develop a CI system, and the benefits will ensure you are not caught off-guard by unexpected competitive actions.
Most of us have heard about the book The Art of War – or maybe it’s even on your bookshelf. Chinese General Sun Tzu is the reported author. I say reported because everything about him is not clearly identified in history – there is a lot of ambiguity of who he was – no one knows for sure who wrote the book, or who Sun Tzu really was. But for simplicity, Sun Tzu was a Chinese general who lived around 400 BC. His book has been used by military and business leaders for decades. The book should be an essential part of any business professional’s library.
