Comments for John Caddell's blog

Comment on Understanding reciprocity by jmcaddell

jmcaddell — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:10:33 +0000

Ha ha! Thanks, Charlie.

Comment on Understanding reciprocity by Charlie Crystle

Charlie Crystle — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:57:57 +0000

nice post. reminds me that I owe you a few paragraphs…

Comment on Why “Undercover Boss” is dramatic, and why that’s a bad thing for business by scillaandreen

scillaandreen — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:20:05 +0000

Interesting angle. I personally appreciate the transparency and I believe it's a reality check for all corp mucky mucks to pay a lot more attention to the front lines. I remember the days when the CEO's of major corps worked their way up the ladder rather than assuming a position straight out of school.

Comment on If you read this blog, you could have seen Toyota’s problems coming… by Wally Bock

Wally Bock — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:42:27 +0000

That would actually conform to the premise of the book, which is that companies that create long term competitive advantage and profitability choose and ruthlessly focus on a single core strategy until that strategy stops working. Bad things happen when you abandon a core strategy that works.

You and other knowledgeable commentators have suggested that's exactly what Toyota did. Almost exactly like one of our key examples, they decided that the normal rules didn't apply and that the goal of bigness was more important than the focus on quality and incremental innovation.

Comment on If you read this blog, you could have seen Toyota’s problems coming… by jmcaddell

jmcaddell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:59:48 +0000

Very interesting, Wally, I look forward to looking at the book when it comes
out. One thing I would say about Toyota is, about 5 years ago or so they
became obsessed with being the world #1 automaker (an overrated honor–it
didn't do GM any favors). At some, perhaps unconscious, level, Toyota turned
away from its historic focus on quality and continuous improvement and
instead looked at growth as a be-all and end-all. That story rarely turns
out happily, as you say.

Comment on If you read this blog, you could have seen Toyota’s problems coming… by Wally Bock

Wally Bock — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:26:54 +0000

Good call, John. I've just completed a book that looks, in part, at that lifecycle you describe. There's bound to be an ending, but some companies have held on (and are holding on) for a very long time.

One of the companies we profiled was Toyota and one of the characteristics of the company has been the ability to learn from mistakes and survive big crisis, much like the national self-story of Japan itself. We know that this is a huge crisis for them and perhaps the beginning of the final, long slide. Or, like a very few companies, they may come back from it.

Another thing we found, though, relates to the core point of the post, that as soon as you start thinking you can do no wrong, you've just done the first deadly wrong thing. The Greeks had it right, Hubris is followed by Nemesis.

Comment on Customers are talking: the weird, alchemic process of distilling insight from stories by How to Create a B2B Social Media Game Plan: S.E.L.L. » B2B Bliss

How to Create a B2B Social Media Game Plan: S.E.L.L. » B2B Bliss — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:47:20 +0000

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Comment on Department of Brandular Deception – what is a Samsonite anyway? by Tweets that mention Department of Brandular Deception – what is a Samsonite anyway? « John Caddell's blog -- Topsy.com

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:10:38 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wally Bock, John Caddell. John Caddell said: Blog post: Department of Brandular Deception; or, when is a Samsonite not a Samsonite? http://bit.ly/azNOIU [...]

Comment on “Backshoring”: the new buzzword that may give you a job by Tweets that mention “Backshoring”: the new buzzword that may give you a job « John Caddell's blog -- Topsy.com

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:25:37 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by John Caddell, Lake County EGR and Angelos Tzelepis, Trip Allen. Trip Allen said: RT @tweetmeme “Backshoring”: the new buzzword that may give you a job http://is.gd/790Au [...]

Comment on Top 5 HBR Breakthrough Ideas 2010 by Tweets that mention Top 5 HBR Breakthrough Ideas 2010 « John Caddell's blog -- Topsy.com

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:39:39 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Elizabeth Sosnow, John Caddell. John Caddell said: Blog post: top 5 Harvard Business Review breakthrough ideas 2010: http://bit.ly/5IqVDW #in [...]