Tag Archives: Strategic management

June 18, 2013 · 9:02 am

Learning From Cheetahs

Every once in a while I find something in the world of science that teaches me something about business. Such was the case the other day as I read an article about cheetahs in the N.Y. Times. No, this isn’t going to be some clever pun about cheetahs never winning (sorry) but about how many businesses can learn something from the cheetah’s hunting tactics.

Cheetah

(Photo credit: fatedsnowfox)

As the article said:

Anyone who has watched a cheetah run down an antelope knows that these cats are impressively fast. But it turns out that speed is not the secret to their prodigious hunting skills: a novel study of how cheetahs chase prey in the wild shows that it is their agility — their skill at leaping sideways, changing directions abruptly and slowing down quickly — that gives those antelope such bad odds.

Cheetahs don’t actually go very fast when they’re hunting,” said Alan M. Wilson, a professor at the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London who studied cheetahs in Botswana and published a paper about them on Wednesday in the journal Nature. “The hunt is much more about maneuvering, about acceleration, about ducking and diving to capture the prey.”

How many times have you read something urging businesses to “fail fast?”  I think that’s a misnomer – it’s not about failing; it’s about learning and having the cheetah-like agility to change direction.  Just as cheetahs don’t go full-out fast when hunting (they’re capable of running 65 MPH – they might hunt at 35 MPH), maybe those of us in business need to learn to slow down a tad so we can turn.  I think it’s also about being able to see the landscape more clearly as you’re moving more slowly.  As you know if you’ve ever looked sideways out of a car going 60, things are pretty blurry when you’re moving fast.

There’s an expression in racing – slow down to go fast.  I like that a lot better than “haste makes waste.”  Given the pace of change, it’s important to have the capability to run like the cheetah.  It’s equally important to know when that speed is something to sacrifice in order to have a successful hunt.  You agree?

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June 17, 2013 · 9:12 am

Speak In Music

I was had a chat over the weekend with a friend who can speak music. I don’t mean “sing” and that’s not some sort of weird linguistic screw up in my writing. Let me explain what I mean and why it’s important to you and your business.

Rama First Nation - Ojibwe Language Dictionary

(Photo credit: Robert Snache – Spirithands.net)

Think about many of the laughable marketing materials you’ve seen over the years. Generally they fail for a few reasons, one of which is an inability to speak the language of the target audience. I remember when I was younger laughing at companies trying to be “hip.” I still laugh at the messages targeted at really young people when it’s the parents making the buying decision. It’s an inability to speak the language, and it’s just as bad as running English language ads in a country where the native tongue is something else. Of course, there are the classic attempts to speak the native language and failing miserably (the Chevy Nova being marketed in Mexico with a name that translates to “doesn’t go” isn’t great for a car and is my personal favorite). So what do we do?

We try to speak music.  What I mean is that music is a universal language – Bach, Mozart, Miles Davis, and others speak to us all – language isn’t an impediment.  Even music that is language-centric can convey a message and emotion – look at the success here of “Gangnam Style” and let me know if you need Korean to “get” the song.

That was the point of the conversation.  We all need to think in more of a universal language as businesspeople.  Sure, some of us are focused on specific segments, but the more “musically” we convey our message and conduct ourselves, the better our chances of success.  My friend was explaining a feeling to me and didn’t use words – just a link to a song.  I got it right away.  It’s the sort of different thinking all of us need if we’re to break through.

And the best part is you don’t even need to buy a dictionary!  Does that make sense?

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June 14, 2013 · 10:27 am

Cronuts

An unlikely source for our Foodie Friday Fun this week – the folks over at Freakonomics. I’m a big fan of both the books and the podcast because their whole schtick is looking at things very differently albeit from an economic point of view.  Today it’s the cronut, an invention by a NYC baker which is a cross between a doughnut and a croissant. As Freakonomics reports:

Cronuts are so popular that lines form at 6 a.m. — 2 hours before the shop opens — and Ansel runs out within minutes. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet (and Craigslist) there is even a cronut black market, with unauthorized cronut scalpers charging up to $40 apiece for home delivery (a mark up of 700%). And of course there are cronut knockoffs appearing all over the world. Ansel has even trademarked the name “cronut.”

So here we have an interesting and, hopefully, common problem – you do invent a better mousetrap although once it’s out there it’s not particularly hard to duplicate.  You can try to protect it via patents or trademarks but the former is costly (and the laws are changing) and the latter is hard to protect for something such as this.  Why?  Because it is almost a “generic” term such as Kleenex or Xerox (tissues and copying, respectively).  The article has a great overview of the laws involved if you’re interested.  So what can you do?

In two words, be better.  Two more:  be smarter.  You are, after, the original, and that’s an edge – sort of like what distinguishes the official sports league websites from all the other sports sites that are out there (scores and stats are commodity content, after all).  People like that – getting the original as long as the original lives up to its reputation (anyone think Hyrdox are better than Oreo’s?  Seriously?).  The inventor has a head start and it’s a small business.  Why blow the profits on enforcing the potentially unenforceable hundreds of miles away from your base of operation?  We don’t take the time often enough to think about the real value behind an argument made in principle.  What fees might come in from licensing the name to a bakery in LA?  What might it cost to get those fees?

I’ve never had a cronut.  I might even break my general eating habits to try one next time I’m in NYC (assuming I can get one).  What I won’t do – and what you shouldn’t either – is sacrifice smart business thinking over some grandiose idea.  Be better, be smarter, and you’ll reap the rewards.  You agree?

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