Food for thought

Strategy, Structure, and Their Impact on Organizations

Eric Krapf, June 2019 - Founded in 1985, Blockbuster LLC was one of the world’s leading providers of video game and home video rentals for more than 20 years. In 2004, the company had almost 9,100 stores and employed more than 84,000 people.

However, in the early 2000s, Blockbuster began to experience steep competition from video on demand providers, as well as Redbox kiosks and the mail-order service Netflix. Because the company failed to adapt its business model to keep up with technological developments and consumer preferences, it began to lose revenue. In 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy protection.

Interestingly, in 2000, Blockbuster had the chance to purchase Netflix for $50 million. Thinking it was a minor, niche business, CEO John Antioco declined the offer, as Business Insider reports. But now that Netflix has become the leading provider of streaming entertainment in the world, as well as the producer of popular branded TV shows and movies, the company has a market capitalization of approximately $155 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Technology Bypasses Business Design

As this example illustrates, until around 2010, strategy and structure were ahead of technology in determining competitive advantage. But today, technology has bypassed business design in most companies. The question is no longer, “Can we do this with the existing technology?” Instead, the key question is, “If we use the latest technology well, how can we make things we do more client-centric and more relevant for the client, as well as easier and cheaper?” If a company doesn’t answer this question itself, the competition will answer it.

Leeway

Speech at the graduation ceremony Faculty of Economics, University of Zurich, December 2018, Eric Krapf, Dec. 2018

And on and on and on ... no, today is a turning point in your life, a new phase starts. At the same time, the world is in transition to a new age, the digital age. “The world is changing. Knowledge is a prerequisite to shape the future. As an ambitious and responsible person, you use your knowledge for a future worth living in.” This from the invitation to your graduation ceremony. Good evening dear graduates, dear parents, relatives and friends of the graduates, dear Mr. Dean, dear professors, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honor and pleasure to be invited to speak to you today. Thank you very much, Professor Gall, for your kind invitation. Welcome to the "Digital Age" welcome to the age of client centricity. Customervalue, client-experience, click-rate, conversion-rate and followers are the KPI’s of digitization. Preparing this speech, it has been a must to evaluate your expectations, to create a persona and to design the client journey with your graduation ceremony in focus. You have told me that you wish a speech that caries hope, a speech that says something about the future and something about success. A speech that is characterized by personal experiences, has humor, is not dry and not too academic ... a challenge even for a power messenger.

Collaborate for Outcome

You know you are not able to make it alone – Collaboration is the key to your success in a connected world. You know how it works? Sure there are plenty of tools but remember a fool with a tool …. Here are 5 habits how to collaborate for outcome. Remember: output and impact are rewarded, not Input.

Output and Impact are rewarded, not Input

3L: Listen, listen, listen – if you understand the problem, the need and the view of your team and your customer you will be able to create a solution that fits the problem and is understood to do so.
Prepare – make sure you have a plan and understand what you need to get from A to B and from whom you can get it.
Call or meet – no more emails. Take the phone and call the person you need – now – if it is really important.
Don’t be shy – hierarchies between you and your aim? Work around it and reach out to the guy who can actually help you
Use tools like a professional – if you use Webex do a dry run, make sure lines have enough bandwidth, login is possible for all participants and most importantly you know how to use the tool – there is little more embarrassing then you trying to find the “share” button and trying.

Enjoy collaboration!

How likely you think is a Hole in One?

You might have guessed that this is not about golf – right? It is about changing your thinking. While most of us would not bet on a Hole in One in golf – in business we behave like a Hole in One is very likely. A typical project, a product launch, a new client interface or an app takes 12 to 24 month from ideaing to go life. No problem here. The problem is the way you think combined with the disruptive speed technology advances. This combination puts you at risk if you think like you are used to.

"The way you think combined with the disruptive speed technology advances puts you at risk

In today’s world meeting your goals after two years would be like a Hole in One. Is there an alternative? Yes, apply agile techniques to business projects. Incrementally approach your target allowing you to change as circumstances and technology change. Go in several sprints from one MVP (minimal viable product) to the next – creating a great result by design and not against the odds. Back to our question: An amateur golfer’s chance of an ace is 12,500 to 1.

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