And you had the choice of GM or Toyota to invest in. Which would you have chosen?
50 years ago GM had all the marketing muscle, the innovative cars, the great distribution and Japanese cars did not enjoy the reputation they have today? 50 years ago you would be sure that GM was the sure bet.
But what changed?
Dr. W. Edward Deming!
In 1947, he came to Japan to help the distraught economy and he taught them the priceless principles of Total Quality Management or Kaizen (the continuous improvement process). Deming went around the country lecturing engineers, managers, and scholars. Deming’s message to Japan’s chief executives: improving quality will reduce expenses while increasing productivity and market share.
Who needs innovation when you can continuously improve on other people’s innovations.
Keep in mind the world is a lot faster than it has ever been in the last 50 years and it won’t take 50 years for your competitors to get a huge advantage over you by leveraging a continuous improvement process.
Are you improving the quality of your marketing to reduce expenses while increasing productivity and market share? You can Trim the Fat effectively if you have the right processes in place!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, since I was all of a year old…I’d probably have invested in pretty shiny things…which come to think of it is seemingly the strategy of many so-called savvy, grown-up investors (“Look! it’s a DOT COM…Look, It’s SOCIAL MEDIA!”)
The flip/down side to this is becoming so committed to the process you forget the customer. And, I’d bet the reason Conde Nast is discontinuing Gourmet magazine, on McKinsey’s advice, is because it costs “too much” to produce. Too bad they didn’t focus on quality of marketing instead of a spreadsheet.
Mary Schmidt´s last blog ..Has Social Media Jumped The Shark?
Thanks, Bryan. This is one insightful post.
I would have probably invested in business ventures that involved food production and distribution. It is an immense business and is still as promising as it was 50 or 60 years ago.
Have you ever wondered why brands like Campbell’s, Nestle and Kraft are still active today? I guess they are great examples of the pointer you have provided above: Who needs innovation when you can continuously improve on other people’s innovations. (Well, don’t you think their products seem to look and taste alike but people still buy the no matter what?)