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Lesson10:HowMarketLeadersKeepTheirEdgeOurresearchshowsthatnocompanycansucceedtodaybytryingtobeallthingstoallpeople.Itmustinsteadfindtheuniquevaluethatitalonecandelivertoachosenmarket.Wehaveidentifiedthreedistinctvaluedisciplines,socalledbecauseeachdisciplineproducesadifferentkindofcustomervalue.Choosingonedisciplinetomasterdoesnotmeanthatacompanyabandonstheothertwo,onlythatitpicksadimensionofvalueonwhichtostakeitsmarketreputationoverthelongterm.Thefirstvaluedisciplinewecalloperationalexcellence.Companiesthatpursuethisarenotprimarilyproductorserviceinnovators,nordotheycultivatedeep,one-to-onerelationshipswithcustomers.Instead,operationallyexcellentcompaniesprovidemiddle-of-the-marketproductsatthebestpricewiththeleastinconvenience.Theirpropositiontocustomersissimple:lowpriceorhassle-freeservice,orboth.Thesecondvaluedisciplinewecallproductleadership.Itspractitionersconcentrateonofferingproductsthatpushperformanceboundaries.Theirpropositiontocustomersisanofferofthebestproduct,period.Moreover,productleadersdonotbuildtheirpositionswithjustoneinnovation;theycontinuetoinnovateyearafteryear,productcycleafterproductcycle.Johnson&Johnson,forinstance,isaproductleaderinthemedicalequipmentfield.WithNike,thesuperiorvaluedoesnotresidejustinitsathleticfootwear,butalsointhecomfortcustomerscantakefromknowingthatwhateverproducttheybuyfromNikewillrepresentthehotteststyleandtechnologyonthemarket.[Fortheseproductleaders,competitionisnotaboutpriceorcustomerservice(thoughthosecan'tbeignored),it'saboutproductperformance].(对于这些产品领导者，竞争的不是价格或顾客服务(尽管那些不容忽视)，而是产品的性能。)Thethirdvaluedisciplinewehavenamedcustomerintimacy.Itsadherentsfocusondeliveringnotwhatthemarketwantsbutwhatspecificcustomerswant.Customer-intimatecompaniesdonotpursueone-timetransactions;theycultivaterelationships.Theyspecializeinsatisfyinguniqueneeds,whichoftenonlytheyrecognize,throughacloserelationshipwith---andintimateknowledgeof----thecustomer.Theirpropositiontothecustomer:Wehavethebestsolutionforyou,andweprovideallthesupportyouneedtoachieveoptimumresults,orvalue,orboth,fromwhateverproductsyoubuy.LongdistancetelephonecarrierCable&Wireless,,forexample,practicescustomerintimacywithavengeance,achievingsuccessinahighlycompetitivemarketbyconsistentlygoingtheextramileforitsselectivelychosen,small-businesscustomers.WinningthroughCostOperationallyexcellentcompaniesdeliveracombinationofquality,price,andeaseofpurchasethatnooneelseintheirmarketcanmatch.Theyarenotproductorserviceinnovators,nordotheycultivateone-to-onerelationshipswithcustomers.Theyexecuteextraordinarilywell,andtheirpropositiontocustomersisguaranteedlowpriceorhassle-freeservice,orboth.Price/Costco,thechainofwarehouseclubstores,doesn'tprovideaparticularlyrichselectionofmerchandise----only3,500items,vs.50,000ormoreincompetingstores.Butasacustomer,youdon'thavetospendmuchtimedeliberatingoverwhatbrandofcoffeeorhomeappliancetoselect.Price/Costcosavesyouthathasslebychoosingforyou.Thencompany'sConsumerReportsmentalityleadstorigorousevaluationofleadingbrandsandshrewdpurchasingofjusttheonebrandineachcategorythatrepresentsthebestvalue.Toaddexcitementtotheshoppingexperience----thatis,togetthecustomertocomeagainandagain----newitemsareconstantlysprinkledintotheassortmenttobuildanticipationandavalue-of-the-weekatmosphere.Behindthescenes,Price/Costcofollowsanoperatingmodelinwhichitbuyslargerquantitiesandnegotiatesbetterpricesthancompetingstores.Itcarriesonlyitemsthatsellwell.Thecompany`sinformationsystemstrackproductmovement---andmoveitdoes.Thesedatadrivestockingdecisionsthatoptimizefloorspaceusage.Theplacehums.Itrunslikeawell-oiledmachine,andcustomersloveit.WinningwithGreatProductsCompaniespursuingproductleadershipcontinuallypushproductsintotherealmoftheunknown,theuntried,orthehighlydesirable.Reachingthatgoalrequiresthattheychallengethemselvesinthreeways.First,theymustbecreative.Morethananythingelse,beingcreativemeansrecognizingandembracingideasthatmayoriginateanywhere----insidethecompanyorout.Second,theymustcommercializetheirideasquickly.Todoso,alltheirbusinessandmanagementprocessesareengineeredforspeed.Thirdandmostimportant,theymustrelentlesslypursuewaystoleapfrogtheirownlatestproductorservice.Ifanyoneisgoingtorendertheirtechnologyobsolete,theyprefertodoitthemselves.Productleadersdonotstopforself-congratulation.Theyaretoobusyraisingthebar.Johnson&Johnsonmeetsallthreeofthesechallenges.Itbringsinnewideas,developsthemquickly,andthenlooksforwaystoimprovethem.ThepresidentofJ&J'sVistakon,amakerofspecialtycontactlenses,heardin1983aboutaCopenhagenophthalmologistwhohadconceivedawayofmanufacturingdisposablecontactlensesinexpensively.HegothistipbytelephonefromaJ&J'semployeewhoworkedforJanssenPharmaceutical,aBelgiandrugsubsidiary.Insteadofdismissingtheophthalmologistasamerethinkerer,thesetwoexecutivesspeedilyboughttherightstothetechnology,assembledamanagementteamtooverseedevelopment,andbuiltastate-of-the-artfacilityinFloridatomanufacturedisposablecontactlensescalledAcuvue.Bythesummerof1987,Acuvuewasreadyfortest-marketing.Inlessthanayear,Vi