$NFLX biz model

Love that Netflix business model I watch a lot of movies. A ton. Always on the look out for business lessons; when what should appear, but a great business lesson not from a movie, but the movie distribution company itself. Just one aspect Consider your local video rental store. Even the new darling, Redbox. Which I use occasionally. Like when Netflix could not get me the new James Bond movie anytime soon. Traditional efforts all face the "late returns" challenge. Netflix does not. No late fees. Ever! Simply brilliant. Netflix says keep the movie as long as you like. However, you cannot get a new movie until you send the old one back. Common sense to the max! They even offer various price models to increase revenue. Oh, sorry, they probably word it differently; something along the lines of, "to better serve the individual needs of our customers." However you say it, it goes right to the bottom line! When is the last time you looked over your business model? Better yet, when is the last time you asked a trusted friend (mentor, consultant, spouse, etc.) to do so? I thought so. To paraphrase a timeless quote: "You have not, because you ask not." Need an independent review of your strategy? Call me. Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey Desk: 843.564.4.SKI P.S. Not using StockTwits (and it's FireFox add-in)? You might be missing yet another boat... but I digress. (c)Copyright 2009, Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey. All rights reserved.

Latest H. William Dettmer book now available

Available Now: SCM at Warp Speed

"This cutting-edge reference broadens the scope of its predecessor by integrating manufacturing, distribution, and raw material management into a single end-to-end supply chain. It addresses the new demands taken on when a firm offers to handle rush orders. It also reviews the issues surrounding availability and the management of inventory moving through distribution systems."

Vantage Points come and they go

The concept of Multiple Vantage Points... keeps appearing in my reading material. Like Leadership Without Easy Answers by Ronald Heifetz of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. This is a great book (so far; I am on page 148 of 342). As my colleague Todd Canedy pointed out, "Many light bulbs came on." However, he failed to mention that like a Bill Dettmer book, this is anything but easy to read! My brain hurts after reading "Leadership" for just a few minutes. Normally I read a chapter a day, but today, I awoke shortly after 3AM. Yes, in the morning as in O'dark thirty! So I read two chapters. Heifetz was talking about the mixed views in society on page 35, when I first noticed his reference to "vantage points". I would suggest that it is more profound in business organizations. Like the Hammer and Nail analogy (when the only tool you own is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!), if you are in Customer Support and the business is losing market share (or worse), your vantage point suggests that paying more attention to the customer and their problems must be the answer to turning the business around. Wrong. But it is important. Until I could experience the challenges of a broken business from multiple orientations, I was not very effective. Heifetz dissected President Johnson's (LBJ) successful leadership on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and in doing so, alerted me to a phenomenon that had never occurred to me: LBJ authored no vision of his own in this matter. LBJ was so effective at seeing this emotionally charged (and historical) landmark legislation from all sides of the debate, he could effectively lead by refusing to take ownership. That is a gutsy move. One, that proved "up" to the challenge. That is not to say he took no action; he was quite deliberate in his actions. When might effective leadership at your company call for adapting "visionless leadership"? Not sure? Buy (and read) the book. Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey (c)Copyright 2009, Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey. All rights reserved.

ignite Columbus RSS Feeds

Just found this presentation Forgot all about the fact that ignite Columbus was going to upload the presentations... here is mine on RSS Feeds. This is from the 2nd ignite back in January.

80% of 80% is 100%

Note: This speech from December 2003 came up twice yesterday and I could not find a quick link. It is more profound than ever. -ski So what kind of "new math" is SKI talking about? http://applyingcommonsense.com/consultski/80-80.html As Zig Ziglar is found of saying, "Everyone is in Sales." I delivered this speech to the Fast-Track Toastmasters of Hilton Head Island on December 12, 2003. Time flies. More valid today than when I gave it. Have you been "on topic" for five years (or more)? If not, why not? -ski

Needed: PHP v5 Programmer

vBuzz dot org seeks PHP Programmer Looking for a PHP developer for programming gig (maybe for a summer internship? Maybe in exchange for equity?) prefer "local" to Dover, Ohio. Must have PHP v5.x experience with some MySQL integration. Have you worked with XML and/or RSS Feeds? Even better! Contact Jeff for details: jeff@vBuzz.org Position Description (pdf)