I have been reading the new biography of Muppets creator Jim Henson by Brian Jay Jones. Part of Henson’s genius was that he recognized things about the medium of television that seem obvious in retrospect. In particular, he understood the importance of literally seeing things from the audience perspective. Most early television shows that included…

CVS announced last week that it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products in its stores as of October. It will be a while before all the implications play out, but on the face of it, this looks like a great case study for some of the principles we have been talking about in…

Last week we looked at the two questions that successful businesses ask and answer relentlessly.  What business are you in? Who are your customers?  In last week’s post, we focused primarily on the first question. Here are some tips on how to get useful answers to the second question. 1. Talk to your best customers…

What business are we in?  Who are our customers?  These two questions surface your most important business challenges and opportunities. Even if you are an internal service provider in a bigger organization, these are still the right questions. Here is a simple case I am dealing with right now that focuses primarily on the first question.…