Chapter 11. Unique Business Models (Big Ideas)
Every two years, IBM asks CEOs and government leaders what their topmost hot buttons are. In 2006, two items stood out: business-model innovation and collaboration with other companies.[161] Collaboration is a topic for other chapters. Business-model innovation is the subject of this one.
Business models get a place in this chapter because of a connection. It turns out that, based on the leanness studies, the number-one manufacturer (Dell) and the number-one retailer (Wal-Mart) fit the innovative-business-model notion to a T. Moreover, in some respects, their business models seem to be more potent and robust than the basics of process improvement, including the lean core.
INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODELS
A business model is different from a business plan or strategy. Plans and strategies are temporary, lasting for a few months or may be a year or two. A business model, on the other hand, is for the long haul. IBM chairman Samuel Palmisano spoke to Business Week about why surveyed executives should rate business-model innovation highly, as compared with product innovation. Companies must have innovative products, and there had better be continuous successions of them, because "your competition's going to react to what you've just done." Business-model innovation, though, is "much tougher to react to."[162]
The ideal business model would be overwhelmingly favorable to customers and clearly superior competitively, easy to understand, and hard to ...
Get Best Practices in Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement: A Deeper Look now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
