-
Jan 22, 2025 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker |Walker Smith
Innovation in fast food is often measured by the sizzle of a new product launch or the sleekness of a digital ordering kiosk. Yet Southpaw, a fast-growing operator of franchised Taco Bell and Dunkin’ locations, is proving that true innovation can lie elsewhere: in how companies treat their people. This overlooked ingredient has propelled Southpaw to turn underperforming franchises into thriving businesses. In doing so, it has grown in its 14 years to own 190 locations with over 4,000 employees.
-
Jan 16, 2025 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker |Walker Smith
I believe a good life is like a good sentence – we craft it in the active voice, not the passive. Act on the world, rather than have it act on you. As we consider 2025, here are 3 questions for doing that in a company context:1. What Assumptions Will You Prove False? It’s so very easy to accept historical assumptions about an industry.
-
Oct 14, 2024 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | David Stewart |Steve Wunker
An influential stream of thought in marketing is that all products have elements of service products and that thinking about even tangible products as service offerings can promote creative new thinking. This is not such an odd notion upon reflection. The can of beans that is served at the family dinner is a tangible product, but it also includes and replaces some service activities. Harvesting, preparation and canning are all service activities contained in the can.
-
Oct 7, 2024 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker
There’s one, single component of a company’s culture that has more impact than any other on innovation: truthfulness. Truth-telling is foundational for cultures that prize speed, creativity, decisiveness, and risk-taking. But it’s often missing. Here’s why:Telling awkward truths has little upside for the truth-tellers.
-
Sep 23, 2024 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker |Walker Smith
In an era of disruptive change, managers who rely on old playbooks risk rapid obsolescence. The need for quick responses to hard-to-predict events calls for agility and creativity – in short, for innovative leaders. But what exactly makes for an innovative leader? Leadership is a multi-dimensional endeavor. It’s not just about crafting bold strategy, inspiring innovation, or thinking fast. Take two historical examples. In the 1910s, Henry Ford ruled the auto industry.
-
Sep 5, 2024 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker
Here’s one of the most popular and least effective management methods: a strategy template that starts with a company’s Vision and Mission and cascades down to Strategies and Objectives. This strategy template has many problems, such as not mentioning customers’ priorities or your competitive strengths (these should be foundational!). It often produces vague, generic results that avoid making difficult choices. This article is part of Branding Strategy Insider’s newsletter.
-
Aug 27, 2024 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker |Joan Kiddon
In a single day, Nike lost $24 billion in market value – an 18% decline in its stock price. What can we learn from such a spectacular failure by such a sterling brand? First, don’t blame the CEO for being a fool. John Donahoe led Bain & Company, eBay, and ServiceNow prior to Nike. He’s super-sharp. And that makes the tale all the more instructive. This article is part of Branding Strategy Insider’s newsletter. You can sign up here to get thought pieces like this sent to your inbox.
-
Aug 22, 2024 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker |Walker Smith
25 years ago, I had the privilege of supporting Bain’s Fred Reichheld in researching one of his first books on loyalty. Fred would soon go on to invent the Net Promoter Score, but at this point he was still calculating the economics of customer loyalty. The math was quite compelling. Loyal customers are often less costly to serve and buy higher-priced offerings. They are certainly less costly to acquire for a given purchase. They refer other customers. And employees prefer to serve them, too.
-
Aug 6, 2024 | 
brandingstrategyinsider.com | Steve Wunker |Walker Smith
Clay Christensen taught me countless things, but there was one topic on which we always disagreed. Clay, whom I worked with for six years, advocated that companies in the midst of being disrupted should separate out new business units that could freely respond using distinct business models. If those new units competed with the core business, so be it.
-
May 14, 2024 | 
newsbreak.com | Steve Wunker
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments.
