Allen Adamson - Shift Ahead: How the Best Companies Stay Relevant in a Fast-Changing World

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SHIFT
AHEAD

ALLEN ADAMSON
AND JOEL STECKEL

HOW THE BEST COMPANIES
STAY RELEVANT IN A
FAST-CHANGING WORLD

Kodak Read the Writing on the Wall
(but Wasnt Willing to Pay the Price)

Theres a belief that the busier you are, the better you are. And, there was no doubt, I was busy. Busy-ness syndrome was taking over my life. I was going from meeting to meeting, texting and answering emails along the way, in cabs (and Ubers), on the subway, and walking down city streets (not smart). I realized that all this busy-ness was keeping me occupied, certainly, but was it really making me better at my job, which is to help my clients build and manage brands?

The world was moving at warp speed, and I was getting caught in the maelstrom. I needed to get out of my busy-ness bubbleto pick up my head and take out my earbuds. It was time for a fresh look and a fresh perspective. After a bit of looking and learning, I realized it was time for a new book. This one about how the best marketers are dealing with a world in which everyone seems to be pedaling as fast as they can to keep up.

I knew I didnt want this book to be another brand book. It had to have a wider scope. To brainstorm possible directions, I called my longtime partner, Betsy Karp.

We were tossing around a few ideas when, one day, she asked: How about Shift Focus or Shift Ahead? How do the best brands shift ahead in the face of accelerating change while keeping a focus on what they mean to consumers? Bingo! Over the course of the next year, Betsy worked her magic, zeroing in on the aha points in more than 100 transcripts of interviews with some of the best marketing experts in the industry. Without Betsy, I wouldnt have been able to shift my focus, let alone shift ahead. So, thank you to this partner!

An enormous thank-you, as well, to my newest partner, Joel Steckel, who expanded and pressure-tested my thinking. Joel and I met when I was guest-lecturing in his class at New York Universitys Stern School of Business. After a few slides, Joel started to build on my remarks, and I started to build on his comments. After class, we kept talking, and the conversation moved on to the topic of this book. Within a few weeks, we were spending hours together in conference rooms, adding to each others thoughts on whiteboards, creating a framework for Shift Ahead. His input and fresh perspectives on every topic were greatly appreciated.

Warm thanks are very well deserved by three others who helped make Shift Ahead possible: Emily Ambrose, my intern, who did copious research and assisted in developing the subject matter; Susan Velazquez, my assistant, who helped transcribe and organize interviews, and who fact-checked and researched additional material for the stories; and Chuck Routhier, my creative partner for the cover design. Thanks, too, to my many, many friends and colleagues in the marketing business who gave generously of their time and talent for this book.

Busy-ness syndrome aside, the real inspiration for this book may have been generated when I was looking over some photos on my iPhone and came across a picture of my son, Josh, and my daughter, Elissa, taken during a family trip to Oxford, England. They had discovered my first book, BrandSimple, in a bookstore there and, for about fifteen seconds, were interested in what their dad did for a living. Thanks, kids, for your interestand for your love!

Thanks most of all to my wife, Maddie, who has always encouraged me to push further, to be better, and to never take the easy this is good enough route.

Finally, a note to my mom and dad, Ruth and Joe Adamson, who both escaped Nazi Germany with only the shirts on their backs. Because of their drive to shift ahead in the face of intense challenges, I was given the opportunity to live the life I do, for which I am very grateful.

Allen Adamson

I want to thank Allen Adamson for inviting me on this ride to Shift Ahead. I remember that first day he came to speak to my class. I said to myself, This guy thinks like I do. Allen had a world of experience, experience that I couldnt touch. However, I had something that he didnt. I had the ability to apply rigor and generalize across specific cases. Thats what academics do. Im grateful to Allen for all that he taught me and for the opportunity to participate in the conversations that form the core of this book.

Beyond Allen, I want to thank those who helped me develop the ability to apply rigor and generalize across specific cases. In the last chapter, you will read about my mentors in graduate school: Len Lodish, Abba Krieger, and Jerry Wind. I have also benefitted from having offices next to or near world-class academics at various institutions. The opportunities to bounce ideas off and write with people like Don Lehmann and Vithala Rao have helped make me the academic I am today. Their contributions to my way of thinking cannot be underestimated.

Allens team became my team. I, too, am grateful to Betsy, Emily, and Susan.

Part of what I have learned about shifting ahead, I have observed from watching my two wonderful children grow. Ben and Phil have provided me with the North Star, the direction that I have used to guide all the major decisions I have made since they were born.

My wife, Felice, could not have been more supportive. She is my greatest supporter, my biggest cheerleader, and the person whom I could always turn to when I was having a block in thinking. Its her inspiration that drives me.

Joel Steckel

Its a good question. And a good part of the answer resides in the word relevant. To say something is relevant is to say that it matters. Being relevant has always been a critical factor for success in all walks of life. Writers and artists want their work to be relevant. Musicians want their music to be relevant. Filmmakers want their movies to be relevant to viewers. Scientists and researchers want their discoveries to be relevant. Teachers want their lessons to be relevant. We all want to believe we are relevant to our employers and to our partners. But, more germane to this book, businesses must continually ensure that they are relevant to their customers if they want to continue to