5 Fav Business and Strategy Post – August 14th

 

1. Strategy is What You Do – One must always remember that your strategy is not what you say, your strategy is what you do. I much rather execute on a half-baked strategy – because you can measure and adjust – than craft the best strategic plan but no one puts it into action. Think that this doesn’t happen? Just think about all the business plans, New Year’s resolutions, and promises that are sitting on shelves collecting dust. Thanks Tim Kastelle from keeping us straight by shining the light of truth on this fact of life.
2. Why Entertainment Will Drive the Next Checkin Craze – We are all somewhat familiar with location check-in service Foursquare. I’ve never used it, guess I just want to keep others on their toes about the whereabouts, but I know my fair share a local establishment kings. This article by Jennifer Van Grove on Mashable has me thinking that I might enter then check-in cohort in the near future. It’s not that I’ve changed my mind about broadcasting my physical location, but I’m always interested in connecting with other who share cultural – media & entertainment – my passions.
3. Case Study – At FreshDirect, Reinvention After a Crisis – Do you know what to do when your workforce churn rate is over 100%, you’re hemorrhaging money and alienating customers because your basic business model was not working? Rick Braddock of FreshDirect, the NYC Area online grocer, thinks he has the plan.
4. 5 Reasons Why Traditional Media is Making a Comeback – in the end of the day it’s always about the content. Big concerns have the bench strength and insights to churn out relevant, highly entertaining (or educational, think Sesame Workshop), and well-produced content. Be it film, games, of publications they do have some distinctive advantages. I think that Greg Satell’s take is right on point. No one is taking anything away from the aggressive lean organizations or home grown contributors; with this blog I’m clearly in this category. We clearly cherish the increased global media perspectives and variety.
5. Media Companies Must Divide To Conquer – Great incremental perspective from Steve Rubel’s especially after reading the above. Steve’s take is that the media business is still reeling in pain. The three key currents contributing to the pain are 1) the sheer ballooning of information, 2) time and attention remain finite quantities there is a only so much one can do in 24 hours, and 3) the exponential rise in accessing content by mobile will lead to pervasive media snacking.