Starbucks – Dead or Alive
Some time ago, innovation consultant to Fortune 500 companies and author Gregg Fraley blogged that “Starbucks is Dead.” He went on to acknowledge that his comment was a “bit of an overstatement.” But he made the observation because of his experience. According to Fraley, “Starbucks has gone from a ‘highlight of my day’ to one…
Transform or Control? Resolving an Important Leadership Challenge
Here is a quick “what would you do if” quiz. Assume you take over leadership of a troubled work team or organization. Your employee engagement scores, customer engagement metrics, and performance measures all reflect significant cultural chaos. Which of the following approaches is mostly likely to achieve an effective cultural revolution: a) (since crisis requires…
Keys to Choosing Customer-Centric Business Tactics
A clearly defined business strategy makes tactical decision-making easier. Let’s take the case of Home Depot, one of the major US-based home improvement big box retailers. Home Depot competes aggressively head-to-head with the Lowes brand. Home Depot’s story is well-told in the 1999 book Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The…