Value Disciplines!
We can categorize companies into three
"value disciplines": operational excellence,
customer intimacy, and product leadership.
They are called "value disciplines" because each discipline creates a different kind of customer value.
We might be tempted to say, of course, that a successful company should be good in all three disciplines. Unfortunately it can't be done.
Operational excellence companies provide middle-of-the-market products at best price with the least inconvenience...
Product leadership practitioners concentrate on offering products that push performance boundaries. Their proposition to customers is to offer the best product, period...
Customer intimacy...adherents focus on delivering not what the market wants but what specific customers want. Customer-intimate companies do not pursue one-time transactions; they cultivate relationships.
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