of corporations and cultures while
providing strategic insight to their leaders
and executives within them.
In it, I provide indicators that you may
be a “BEACHED WHALE” while
providing clear steps to “UNBEACH,”
so you can swim in the New Ocean.
—
Daren Martin, PhD
In the movie Other People’s Money, the
character played by Danny Devito makes
a compelling speech to shareholders who
are trying to decide whether to sell the
company or try and save the company.
“
”
Obsolescence. We’re dead alright. We’re just not broke.
And you know the surest way to go broke?
Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market. Down the
tubes. Slow but sure. You know, at one time there must’ve been
dozens of companies making buggy whips. And I’ll bet the last
company around was the one that made the best g*ddamn
buggy whip you ever saw. Now how would you have liked
to have been a stockholder in that company?
13
An analysis by [Robert] Moskow found that
the top US food and beverage companies
have lost an equivalent of $18 billion in
market share since 2009.
‘I would think of them like
melting icebergs,’ he says.
‘Every year they became
a little less relevant.’
“
”
—Fortune p. 63, Issue 6.1.15
The War on Big Food, Beth Kowitt
THE WORLD WE
GREW UP IN IS GONE.
EVERYTHING
HAS CHANGED.
And not only changed, but it’s been
disrupted, turned upside down, inside
out, modified, altered, and robotized.
The future of work involves
machines … smart machines!
Even your grandmother
is on social media.
15
THE NEW OCEAN
The advent of the digital age has ushered
in a whole new universe, and it’s not just
about technology.
It’s about the way we work,
where we work,
how we work, and
what we work on.
We used to talk about businesses that were in the red ocean
(lots of competition) versus those that created and swam in a
blue ocean (a unique niche they developed).
Given the changes occurring at a dizzying
pace, businesses find themselves in a
BRAND NEW OCEAN.
17
OLD STRATEGIES WILL
NOT WORK IN THIS
NEW OCEAN.
Gripped by fear of the unknown, many companies, individuals,
and brands cling to the way they have always done things—like
the owner of the burger joint staring longingly at the food truck
across the street. Where could he have missed his opportunity?
Why did his customers leave for food served out of a kitschy
airstream or retrofitted van?
FEAR prevents many individuals and organizations from
changing, and instead they opt to crawl into change
rather than run to it.
IF THIS IS YOU OR YOUR COMPANY,
you are decidedly stuck — a beached whale.
Above illustration, from my hand drawn/written book
Whiteboard: Business Models that Inspire Action.
If you like this book, you will love Whiteboard!
(
)
—
GARY HAMEL
“PURSUING
