February 4, 2010

35) La-Z-Boy

la-z-boy_logo

危 wēi  danger

In 1929, cousins Edward M. Knabusch and Edwin J. Shoemaker set out to design the most comfortable chair possible. Their completed design, including an innovative reclining mechanism, received great feedback but needed a name. Combining promotion with necessity, the partners held a contest. Entries included such names as Sit-N-Snooze, Slack-Back and Comfort Carrier, but one in particular, La-Z-Boy, stood out.  The future looked bright but the cousins were in for a shock when, a few months later the stock market crashed and America entered the Great Depression.  Surely this disastrous economic climate would kill their fledgling business?

机 jī opportunity

The cousins saw the situation differently and understood that it might offer the perfect opportunity to build their brand.  They did everything they could to help consumers use and buy their products.  This included extending better terms, improving service and amazingly accepting barter (including farm animals). The partners did not aggressively discount, probably aware that any price reductions would be tough to reverse once the economic conditions had improved.  The company grew rapidly and exited the Great Depression in the 40’s with a truly loved brand.  The company has continued to thrive and now employs 11,000 people.

How About…

  • Harnessing difficult times to form a greater connection with your customers?
  • Having those same customers create your brand?
  • Being creative with pricing to avoid the trap of basic discounting where possible?

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October 30, 2009

17) iPotential

ipotential logo

危 wēi  danger

In tough economic times many businesses ‘refocus’ on their core.  This frequently includes ceasing to develop new offers or entering new markets, halting R&D initiatives and selling off non-core assets, including dormant intellectual property (IP).  Often this IP is tough to value and is sold below value.

机 jī opportunity

iPotential and other intellectual property brokers realized that this dormant IP and its sale presents a huge opportunity, particularly in the downturn as more and more owners are keen to raise cash (often at the behest of the administrators).  iPotential brokers deals between investors (often hedge funds) and sellers (often technology companies) and takes a slice of the deal.  iPotential estimates that IP sales reached $4b last year and Coller Investments, an investment firm that has bought up many IBM patents, estimates that the market is growing at 20-30% per year.

how about…

  • monetizing dormant intellectual property through a broker
  • reapproaching ‘orphan’ technologies periodically (in light of changing context)
October 16, 2009

14) Sun Life Financial

sunlife_logo

危 wēi  danger

Sun Life Financial, the Toronto-based insurance and financial services provider, has felt the downturn – in both its share price (down 70% between ’08 and ’09) and in its P&L.  With similar results many of its competitors have been reducing ‘non-essential’ budgets in order to improve their bottom line in the short-term.  Staff training is often the first to go.

机 jī opportunity

Sun Life has done the opposite and launched a 4-year, $15m training programme in February ’09.  By the end of the programme, which is co-run with Duke Corporate Education, it is expected that 2,500 Sun Life staff will have attended.  The course aims to identify talent and prepare staff for the upturn (when consumers are likely to exhibit radically different behaviours versus pre-recession).  In addition, many of the staff have pointed to the level of commitment from leadership as a signal of trust and intent.

how about…

  • using downturns (or just quiet spells) to build skills ready for the upturn
  • adapting training programmes in light of changing market conditions
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