Rapid Market Cycles (03/20/2008)
... This is a complex process to manage, but the alternative of building goods that no one may want to buy is far less desirable. Whole market life cycles have become reduced. Markets for product categories, which used to be measured in decades (or centuries) are now down to years. For example, if you look at the evolution of the market for television sets, you would see a fairly standard twentieth century trend: A product appears in the 1940s. It is expensive, but eventually gains a massive acceptance in the broad market place....

Technology Shifts (03/20/2008)
... For nearly 100 years, the industry had experienced relatively stable growth and a sound business model. Customers bought cameras and film, and had their film processed by large central laboratories. Over the years, the industry introduced incremental innovations, such componentized camera systems, where photographers could buy accessories over time and expand their equipment set, color film, instant cameras, one-hour labs, and so on. The major players, such as Kodak and Fuji, found their core business of selling film, photographic paper, and chemicals to be competitive but manageable. In the 1990s, the photo industry found itself in a grave crisis driven largely by technology change and unforeseen consequences of seemingly good marketing decisions....

Outsourcing (03/20/2008)
... What is the best strategy for coping with serving at the whim of your virtual partner? Well, you can turn your employees into contractors, which makes them an outsourced commodity of their own. You can get rid of them and rehire as demand dictates. Sounds great, until it happens to you. So what does this mean to you? You’re probably either ready to run off to circus school or saying something like, “I’m in butane refining. I don’t bet my company....