My wife and I were taking a trip to Monterey, CA this past weekend, so I needed to grab some in-flight reading material. I thumbed thru the magazines in the adventure section, past the section titled 'Men's Interest' and landed in the business section. Business wouldn't you know it, I am so predictable.
The Harvard Business Review had a double issue out for July-August 2007 which I purchased. Had seen the magazine before but never got it, likely due to price, this issue was $16.95. So at 33,000 feet I am checking this baby out. I love the way it's written, very clear, and succinct, with no BS. Having my undergrad in science, I really appreciated their research and works. So let me share a few things from there with you.
The 4 Principals of Enduring Success
1. Exploit before you Explore. Simply put the companies Harvard researched historically exploited there existing assets and capabilities before they explored new ones. Chew on that awhile, something to think about.
2. Diversify Your Business Portfolio. 'Good companies stick to there knitting, but the great companies know when to diversify. They are careful also to maintain a wide range of supplier and a broad base of customers. ' I love this thinking.
3. Remember Your Mistakes. 'Great companies tell and retell stories of past failures to make sure they do not repeat them!' Put that in ya book!
4. Be Conservative About Change. Great companies rarely make radical changes, plus they take great care and respect in there planning and implementation.
I will not bore you with what this Harvard team went thru to get this data, but I will sum it up by saying this to get those four little principals of enduring success they had 4 volumes of material totaling 3,114 pages. Now that is critical thinking, and excellent research. It gave me a whole new perspective as I was putting my tray table in its full upright and locked position.
