Linda Gorchels - Business Model Renewal: How to Grow and Prosper by Defying Best Practices and Reinventing Your Strategy

Copyright 2012 by Linda Gorchels. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-178404-7
MHID: 0-07-178404-7

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It seems appropriate for a book on business model renewal to be part of a larger business model shift in publishing. This one is. It is available in two formats: the traditional paper version, and in e-book formatthe very format that is changing publishingwhich will in some cases allow you to link directly from the book to video clips on the Web.

I configured the book in much the same way that I create executive education classes as part of the University of WisconsinMadisons School of Business. When I work with mid-career managers, executives, and professionals, I am fully aware of the challenge for them to stay focused (quiescently) for a three-day course. (After all, you are hyper-connected, busy people used to being on the move at all times.) Consequently, for me to be fully effective, I augment my discourse with video clips, guest lectures, and various thinking activities. In other words, I expand beyond my own perspectives to provide a richer experience for my clients. While this work is the sum of my interactions with thousands of people around the world as a consultant and facilitator, I am constantly adding new insights from others. I incorporated many of these same techniques into this book. The end-of-chapter interviews are the metaphorical guest lectures, and many of the Web connections are identical to the ones I use at the university.

Youll notice numerous hyperlinks to video clips in nearly all chapters. The hyperlinks are live in the e-book version of the book on those devices that support access to the Web. In the print version and e-book version on devices that do not support access to the Web, the URLs that are hidden behind the selected hyperlink phrases are presented in a box near the relevant passage in the text. I will periodically monitor the links and post revisions as necessary on my website, Brain Snacks Caf (www.brainsnackscafe.com/), or on my Amazon authors page. Please let me know if you have any additional Web resources that might be helpful for other readers, or if you have difficulty with any of the links. (As of February 2012, all links were functional.)

So challenge yourself to question your own perspectives (and mine!), and then establish an authentic framework for business model structure, growth, and renewal built on a broader set of ideas than you may have used in the past. Good luck!

Do the following events indicate the end of business as usual?

A recent statement on the home page of the Sony cassette Walkman indicated that its production is finishedmore than 30 years after its debut in 1979.

Wal-Mart has ended its strategy of using DVDs as traffic driversdue to the impact of video-on-demand and Redbox kiosks.

Advertising revenue is slowly moving from traditional media to digital media, having a significant impact on the survival of numerous magazines and broadcasting companies.

At one time General Motors attempted to have separate brands for every purse and purpose. But after reducing its portfolioshedding Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, and othersit is left with four brands (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC) and a reduction in the number of models.

According to BankruptcyData.com, of the 20 largest public company bankruptcy filings in the last 30 years, 17 have occurred since 2001.

Yes, the end of business as we know it has been forecast many times. Many industries and approaches have indeed become obsolete. But companies continue to succeed and fail, innovate and degenerate, grow and decline. Is there a secret to success? Is it the business model or the strategy or the leadership or the knowledge or just being at the right place at the right time?