How well does our system work? You can use the numerical index to check our blogs from the last big recession.
Much of the world suffered a severe recession from 2008 to 2011. During that time, we wrote more than 250 blogs using publicly available information and our Strategystreet system to project what would happen in various companies and industries who were living in those hostile environments. In 2022, we began to update each of these blogs to see what later took place and to check the quality of our conclusions. To date, we have completed the first 175 of our original blogs. You can use these updated blogs to see how well the Strategystreet system works.
I’ve done it. I’m sure you have as well. In fact, virtually everyone has done it at one time or another. What is the “it”? You call for customer assistance or information and you get…India or the Philippines. Both India and the Philippines are fine countries. They both have much to admire. But their ability to speak English clearly to an American listener is, by most accounts, limited. They do speak English, though, and they ask for little in compensation in return. So, many companies have shifted their customer service, especially consumer customer service, offshore…
Read MoreWhen attracting Foreign Direct Investment, every country must think strategically. What unique advantages does the country offer over its competition? Has it built its economic model around those advantages? This blog describes two countries who have done this very well, even though they have followed distinctly different strategies. The Customer Buying Hierarchy lays out these two strategies and explains their success. Posted 2/9/09 Dell Inc., the American computer manufacturer, is moving nearly half the jobs it has in Ireland to Poland. The move reduces Dell’s costs. It also sends a powerful message to the Irish…
Read MoreWhen we read the headlines, it sometimes seems that layoffs of the workforce when revenues decline in an industry are random. Sometimes they seem high. Other times low. But they usually have a logic. This blog shows some of the patterns you might see why you see them. Posted 2/5/09 We are flirting with the highest levels of unemployment in a generation. Things feel bad and are bad. They could get a lot worse. Consider some of the recent lay-offs. Macy’s laid off 4% of its workforce. U.S. Steel laid off 16%. Sun Microsystems announced…
Read MoreHere is an industry with an overwhelmingly dominant leader. No competitor can touch this leader on either Function or Reliability. It looks like the future is secure for this leader. But is it? Some examples of dominant leaders argue yes. Others, though, suggest a warning that dominance may not last for many years. Posted 1/15/09 The global semiconductor industry is in severe overcapacity today. There are two causes for this current overcapacity: competitor expansion and a fall-off in demand. Competitors expanded rapidly over the last few years when demand was relatively high. New semiconductor capacity…
Read MoreCan a mid-level competitor in an industry with a dominant competitor thrive in the market? Here is not one but several midrange competitors surviving and even thriving in such a market. They keep a tight focus on their product specialties and an iron grip on their cost structures. Here is their story. Posted 1/5/09 Overcapacity, where an industry can produce more than customers currently demand, is the result either of a fall-off in demand or the expansion of competition. During the 80s and 90s, three quarters of the industries that went into overcapacity did so…
Read MoreOver the years, I have had several senior managers ask me: “When will these stupid competitors stop adding capacity in this lousy market we face?” The answer is usually “not soon” and “maybe never.” Industry capacity reduction does not end a Hostile market in overcapacity. Here is an explanation why and an illustration of this phenomenon. Posted 12/29/08 The global automobile industry is in world-wide overcapacity. In 2006, the industry had the capacity to build 80 million vehicles. It produced just under 65 million vehicles that year. The industry breaks even on factory output at…
Read MoreMany service industries have adopted detailed measurements of worker productivity. Most of these measure productivity of front-line employees. We believe that each overhead cost group can produce its own productivity measures and then manage to them. The end of this blog describes such an approach. Posted 12/11/08 For many years, managers in manufacturing industries have measured activities to a farthing using methods developed over a hundred years ago with the time and motion theories of Frederick Taylor. But throughout most of these last hundred years, the service industries have managed to elude this management approach.…
Read MoreSome fortunate companies seem to have impressive management capability built into their DNA. These companies perform well over a long period of time, overcoming periods of extreme challenges in their industries and abrupt societal changes around them. Here is one of those companies. Posted 11/24/08 General Mills is a $13.7 billion food company. In 2007, the company increased its profits by 13% on a 10% increase in sales. It enjoys higher margins than either Kraft or ConAgra. The company reaches these margin heights by a constant and unrelenting focus on improving the efficiency of its…
Read MoreMost industries evolve over time. The industry may start with many competitors. With the passage of time, usually 4 competitors will, through more attractive products and competitive acquisitions, gain 65% to 85% of the total market. Here we have an industry that has devolved. It started with a dominant competitor operating a near monopoly. The advent of the Internet created new competitors offering products at several different price points in competition with the leader. The formerly dominant leader still leads its industry, but its hold is much more tenuous than it was several years ago. Posted…
Read MoreHere is a consumer product that was a dismal failure for both the producer and the customer. Surprisingly, it did not go away. Instead, it found a home in the larger business market. There are simple and clear reasons why the product failed with consumers and why it was so successful with enterprises. The consumer product failed on each of the four aspects of the Customer Buying Hierarchy but succeeded brilliantly on all four aspects in the enterprise market. The product turned out to be a win – win, just to not where the carriers…
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