… on a dark, grey winter, err spring morning – watch the happy slapping for cat content

ps. I wonder how many hits these terms will generate

I buzzed a little comment here

By analyzing more than 30 real-life examples from companies including Dell, Harley-Davidson, Geico, Sears, and Zara, D’Aveni shows the three most common and damaging “commodity traps” companies can fall into: deterioration, where a low-cost competitor makes it next to impossible for a company to compete; proliferation, where rival businesses create new price-benefit positions and fragment the dominance of a company’s product; and escalation, where lower-cost products are rolled out with new benefits at a lower price.

In his book, D’Aveni provides a framework to help companies develop win-win solutions to combat price wars and product-segmenting competition. In each chapter, he shares how proven commodity trap tactics works for a range of companies. “By improving their power over real prices, firms can actually beat their commodity trap rather than simply trying to outpace it,” D’Aveni states.

Well, commoditization can happen to any business or product, even the most iconic – constant business model innovation can help not so much in breaking the cycle, but in finding ways to escape the traps.

“When does Amazon create the iPhone/Android app and the programme that will allow bookstores to receive a cut of every Kindle edition they sell? I scan the book’s in-store barcode with my smartphone, and I get the Kindle edition delivered, and the store gets its cut. Why is this different in concept than Borders on-line store being run on Amazon, or any of the independent book sellers that front through Amazon? It’s not the normal book mark-up, but people already browse bookstores and buy on Amazon. This is better than no revenue. (When was the last time you went to a travel agent?)”

and this Clay Shirky quote: “Abundance breaks more things than scarcity does. Society knows how to react to scarcity.”

So what’s the alternative? Substitute early action for never-ending analysis. Figure out the quickest, cheapest way to do something market-facing to start the iterative process that so frequently typifies innovation. Be prepared to make quick decisions, but have the driver of the decision be in-market data, not conceptual analysis. In other words, go small and learn. Pitch (or even sell) your idea to colleagues. Open up a kiosk in a shopping mall for a week. Create a quick-and-dirty website describing your idea. Be prepared to make quick decisions.

Scott Anthony nails “paralysis by analysis” and sketches some counter-measures – #yesyesyes

“Math is easy, design is hard” – four videos for a sunday morning (via Glaserei)

via Kathrin Passig