[...]... push the winning formula harder and harder But the shelf life of ????? • 11 • Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine winning formulas gets shorter and shorter The rules of competition change Now time-honored techniques may yield only “antiquated” excellence—high quality products and services that the marketplace no longer prizes The value offering is excellent—for yesterday’s customer... advantage Between 19 25 and 19 85, the business environment was tranquil compared to today’s turbulence In the book, Marketing Warfare, 13 Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine strategists Al Ries and Jack Trout cite a study of leading brands (e.g., Ivory in soap, Campbell in soup, Coca-Cola in soft drinks) in 25 different industries Twenty of the 25 market leaders in 19 25 were still on top... every office desktop, plastic credit cards replacing paper money, and wireless telecommunications all began in the minds of industry trendsetters and eventually changed the world as we know it Trendsetters demonstrate independent thinking and use courageous resolve to pursue unscripted strategic paths 15 Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine Because the Fatal Assumption doesn’t influence trendsetters,... product and service upgrades, these wealth creators focused on inventing new industries or remaking the rules of competition in their existing markets Sustainable competitive advantage goes to companies that discover opportunities no one else neither their customers nor their competitors can imagine So what is the barrier? If we know we need to innovate, why aren’t more companies doing it? Why does nearly... coverage for lieutenants and captains, $50,000 for officers ranked major or above—its break with 17 Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine industry precedents astounded customers and left its competitors in the dust Given the firm’s extraordinary support for its active-duty customers, it is not surprising that USAA attracted the loyalty of 94 percent of its market segment That type of... organizations are learning laboratories infused by the force of entrepreneurial freedom Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine is, first and foremost, a book about increasing freedom of choice This freedom of choice offers business owners and corporate CEOs the opportunity and responsibility to conceive their own business strategies Additionally, it encourages employees to share customer insights... painful truth no company, regardless of size, wealth, reputation, or market share, can rely on doing what worked in the past Sustained success now demands the creation of new sources of competitive advantage It requires innovation Recent history offers compelling evidence of the power of innovation in achieving sustainable advantage Between 19 86 and 19 96, only 17 members of the Fortune 10 00 grew their... sizing up business challenges and opportunities The purpose of the Seven Big Ideas on page 19 is to weaken the control exerted by the Fatal Assumption and to restore each business to its full capacity for entrepreneurial freedom Each of the next seven chapters is a detailed discussion of these Big Ideas Are you ready to innovate? Trendsetters express the transcendent nature of business They are not mainly... “show-me-the-money” greed or a “just-enough-to-earna-living” mentality In my experience, true innovators embark on a daring journey to manifest their dreams Along the way, they teach valuable lessons 18 Gaining a Sustainable Advantage • • • • • • • Big Idea #1: Today’s strategic priorities must focus on innovating for the future rather than improving on the past Big Idea #2: Be the only one that does... formulas Trendsetters realize their talent for original thinking is a formidable advantage when used to produce business opportunities that no one else could imagine Although the rest of this book will expand on how to develop the winning ways of trendsetters, let’s spend a little more time now comparing the characteristics of replicators and trendsetters Replicators and Trendsetters Replicators come .