Fast Talk: The Old Economy Meets the New Economy

Alan Webber: We've heard great examples and good theory. Now let's get practical: What do I do on Monday morning?

Amy Williams: Assume that you just bought your company. It's Monday morning: What is the most fundamental thing about the business that isn't working? Now, how are you going to solve that problem? Look at your biggest risk from a different perspective than before. And then go to work and solve it.

Fred Crawford: On Monday morning, I would suggest taking a look at three places in your budget where you can shift your spending a little bit. First, spend a little less money on R&D, advertising, or promotion. Second, use that money to do a few things that let you fit more smoothly into your customers' lives and make things a little easier for them. Third, spend a little more money on training your people, so that the interaction is easier, more relevant, and more appropriate. It's not a matter of blowing things up and starting over. For old-economy companies that are here to stay, it's a matter of emphasis.

Jim Sappington: I think that you do have to be prepared to do a little bit of blowing things up. You have to assume that you're going out of business if you don't go through significant change. As companies get big, they start to get slower. They start to lose their passion. You need to get the energy and passion back into the business. And to do that, you have to move people out of their comfort zones.

Warren Holtsberg: It's basic: Don't lose sight of the fundamentals. What do you do that people will pay money for? And will they pay more than it costs for you to manufacture, market, and deliver it? It's a simple equation. I don't care how new or how old a company is. It's still about business fundamentals.

Betsy Cohen: I want to suggest something that is more tactical. We have a cross-functional group that meets every month. We've established metrics that we have all agreed to be held accountable for. It has made a huge difference. It inspires people to move forward together, to take risks, to share the fun, to be more passionate, and to get rid of complacency.

Lars Nyberg: We tend to forget who pays our salaries. It's the customer. We should remind ourselves constantly that we need to deliver what they want. And we need to be able to deliver different things to different customers. The minute we forget that, the reason for our being here is gone.

Eric C. Dean: You have to challenge your people to break their habits of not cooperating, not listening, not understanding. You simply can't accept the excuses that people give you for why they can't do something. You have to be persistent.

Mike Brennan: If you're looking for something very practical that you can do to work more closely with your partners, you should simply try putting some of your people in the middle of their organizations. Pick people who are bridge builders, who will transfer knowledge back and forth across both organizations. You'll end up tapping into the passion and great ideas that are going on in both organizations.

Mary Lee Schneider: These are clearly interesting times. I'm sure that none of us is pleased with our own earnings expectations right now. But that means there's an opportunity for collaboration with our customers. They can come forward and start to talk about the challenges in their own businesses that they need help with. It all comes down to customers' needs.

Brad Brinegar: Leo Burnett was a prolific writer who left us with a lot of thoughts. He believed that we need to sort out the things that are constitutional and timeless from the things that are just of the moment. I think that's true of any company that's been around long enough to create and sustain culture and value.