Rating: 
Summary: Excellent. This is the future of U.S. hi tech leadership.
Review: These two professors from the University of Michigan Business School have written a great business strategy book. In our World, every products and services appear to become commoditized at the speed of light shortly after their innovation. These two authors show how a business can differentiate itself and offer a substantial value added. By delivering superior goods and services, these will not be subject to commodity pricing anymore, and will reward their respective companies with premium pricing, higher ROE, and higher shareholder value. The value added comes from involving the customer in co-designing the product he wants, and servicing the product with the customer's ongoing online feedback. The author gives several examples of companies that are using these practices of the future today. Sumerset Houseboats, a houseboat construction company, actively engages its customers in the boat designing process. Deere, the farming equipment manufacturer, has developed a GPS system that monitors and diagnoses farming equipment usage and equipment problems by its farming customers. There is no question that such intense customer centric practices represent substantial competitive edges. The companies that can innovate and deliver such services at a profit will become the winners of tomorrow. Imagine if nowadays you could truly benefit of such troubleshooting services on your home PC. Offsite, the computer manufacturer would monitor that the latest virus, bugs, spyware have not infected your system. If it did, it would clean up your system automatically and restore it to health. Would not you think that such a PC would be worth a 100% mark up over the current commoditized PC that typically falls apart within months after being attacked endlessly by bugs. The type of co-created added value the two authors talk about is the best step forward in protecting the U.S. technological lead going forward. The companies that do that well will survive and thrive. The ones who do not will see their products being taken away by lower cost competitors delivering the same commoditized products utilizing Chinese manufacturing and Indian programming. Given that the two professors are of Indian origins, no one can argue they did not give us a fair warning. This book is well written and very innovative. If you are an entrepreneur, business strategist, business consultant, MBA student or professor, this is a must read. If you are none of those, it is still a very interesting and important book showing a good roadmap on how the U.S. can maintain its technological leadership.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent. This is the future of U.S. hi tech leadership.
Review: These two professors from the University of Michigan Business School have written a great business strategy book. In our World, every products and services appear to become commoditized at the speed of light shortly after their innovation. These two authors show how a business can differentiate itself and offer a substantial value added. By delivering superior goods and services, these will not be subject to commodity pricing anymore, and will reward their respective companies with premium pricing, higher ROE, and higher shareholder value. The value added comes from involving the customer in co-designing the product he wants, and servicing the product with the customer's ongoing online feedback. The author gives several examples of companies that are using these practices of the future today. Sumerset Houseboats, a houseboat construction company, actively engages its customers in the boat designing process. Deere, the farming equipment manufacturer, has developed a GPS system that monitors and diagnoses farming equipment usage and equipment problems by its farming customers. There is no question that such intense customer centric practices represent substantial competitive edges. The companies that can innovate and deliver such services at a profit will become the winners of tomorrow. Imagine if nowadays you could truly benefit of such troubleshooting services on your home PC. Offsite, the computer manufacturer would monitor that the latest virus, bugs, spyware have not infected your system. If it did, it would clean up your system automatically and restore it to health. Would not you think that such a PC would be worth a 100% mark up over the current commoditized PC that typically falls apart within months after being attacked endlessly by bugs. The type of co-created added value the two authors talk about is the best step forward in protecting the U.S. technological lead going forward. The companies that do that well will survive and thrive. The ones who do not will see their products being taken away by lower cost competitors delivering the same commoditized products utilizing Chinese manufacturing and Indian programming. Given that the two professors are of Indian origins, no one can argue they did not give us a fair warning. This book is well written and very innovative. If you are an entrepreneur, business strategist, business consultant, MBA student or professor, this is a must read. If you are none of those, it is still a very interesting and important book showing a good roadmap on how the U.S. can maintain its technological leadership.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo! Insightful and provocative
Review: This book takes the concept of sense-and-respond to a new level. Filled with relevant and supportive examples, the authors compel us to move away from traditional "company think" to "customer think." From the dated notions of value embedded products and services to crafting heterogeneous customer experiences. They not only explain why but how--how refreshing.
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