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The Senior Leader’s Checklist for Shaping Company Culture

Next Level Blog

Back in my own days as an executive, I was hugely influenced by a book called The Discipline of Market Leaders. The authors argued that companies had to pick between one of three paths to value creation and success in the market – operational excellence, customer intimacy or product leadership.

Company 246
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The Number 1 Tip to Ensure Returns on Your Firm’s Digital Strategy

N2Growth Blog

Upon review, the provision of a Web-based sales support product was determined to be needed as a condition of project completion; Customer Intimacy Project: A regional financial services firm new it was losing customers because they lacked the necessary tools to give their customers the attention that they sought.

Strategy 177
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Customer Intimacy, Meet Operational Excellence

Harvard Business Review

As a direct marketer we have been good at customer intimacy. We know a lot about our customers. We have known for a long time that we needed to be operationally excellent, but in the past we''ve fixed problems reactively, after the event, to keep customers happy. But it isn''t easy.

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IBM at 100: How to Outlast Depression, War, and Competition

Harvard Business Review

At its 100-year milestone, IBM shows us what it takes to outlast depression, war, and intense competition in order to remain a market leader in the midst of ongoing technological innovation. By 1955, IBM's revenues were $564 million and it led the world market in making computers. Here are several lessons worth sharing.

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How IBM, Intuit, and Rich Products Became More Customer-Centric

Harvard Business Review

How well do you know your customers? This seems to be a key question on the minds of not just marketers, but company strategists these days. This intensive customer focus has increased as technology-enabled transparency and online social media accelerate an inexorable flow of market power downstream from suppliers to customers.

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Understanding Customers Is Everyone's Job

Harvard Business Review

Going to market effectively these days, no matter what business you''re in, means relating to customers as individuals — even if there are millions of them. retailer Tesco built detailed profiles of customers and then used these insights and a flexible supply chain to customize their products and offers.

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Make Your Organization Anti-Fragile

Harvard Business Review

and in its home market in the U.K. having sacrificed customer intimacy for increased operational excellence gains through widespread cost cutting, are well documented. In the UK, Tesco lost the plot several times in recent years as they grew to double the market share of competitors like Sainsbury''s and Asda/WalMart.