COO, Limited Brands
My one big idea for 2003 represents an almost anachronistic retreat to the past: The basics of everyday operating management will never be, and should never be, supplanted by any other big idea. Many managers are on a never-ending chase for new solutions and silver bullets. For the most part, the quest is a waste of energy. Inside our enterprise -- a $10 billion fashion retailer -- the application of basic practices will result in a set of timeless operational initiatives.
If we can deliver on these old-fashioned notions, I believe that by the end of this year, we'll look at 2004 as an opportunity for continuity and more of the same rather than another empty quest for the big idea.
Director, Ernst & Young Center for Business Innovation
You already carry an organ-donor card. Imagine a data-donor card.
In the past 20 years, we've learned that value lies in information. In the next 20 years, we'll find that nowhere is this more true than in health care as we unravel the genome. But to be useful, your genetic makeup needs to be correlated with health-care outcomes. Which drug best lowers cholesterol -- not for all 53-year-old males, but for you?
A data-donor card would dictate that the doctor who prescribes a drug, orders a test, or performs a procedure must forward the outcome to a data-donor foundation, which would preserve your privacy by stripping your identity from the record. By collecting outcomes from millions of people, the foundation would create a data resource that would accelerate the development of individualized medicine.
Donating your outcomes data can improve diagnosis, eliminate complications, and reduce cost. In 2003, a grassroots movement begun by people who want to carry a data-donor card will start the medical revolution.
Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur
Quit your job.
Do it slow, or do it fast, but do it. In retrospect, people will say that 2003 was the best year in a decade to start your own company. Even better, the people with the guts to do it fast or the perseverance to do it slow will be happier, healthier, and more in control of their lives, their ethics, and their contributions to the world.
Did you ever notice that almost nobody who is successful at running their own thing ever goes back? In my case, I quit my one and only non - food service job in 1986. Take it from me: You're too smart, too fast, and too talented to waste any more time.
Get going. Do it today.
You'll thank me tomorrow. It's the right thing to do in 2003 -- or any year.
Senior Vice President, Boston Consulting Group
Consumers are just plain pissed. The polite term is "consumer distemper." What are they upset about?
Money They feel financially insecure. Even before the stock-market meltdown, consumers felt pressed.
Time It's not just money -- consumers feel time poor. The definition of a quick home-cooked meal has compressed from 30 minutes five years ago to 10 minutes today.
Affinity Membership to civic groups like the Boy Scouts and Lions Clubs is approaching an all-time low -- because there's no time to participate. But people still crave the emotional satisfaction of belonging.
Trust Consumers don't trust brand claims. After all, most brands make unsustainable claims, and unbranded products seem to be just as good.
Information overload Too many companies are trying to tell consumers too much. The natural reaction: Consumers make rash purchasing decisions that defy millions of dollars spent on marketing and advertising.
In 2003, business leaders who see these consumer distempers as an opportunity stand to gain an important advantage: Align your products and services to relieve one or more of these consumer distempers, and you'll discover new growth opportunities.
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
