The practical challenges and rewards of running a consulting businesses are very different from that of a product business. Business models for consulting businesses Consulting businesses typically are run under a fee-for-service premise. Common business models include: Fixed price Time and materials Retainer. To deliver value, consultants need to interact … Read More
This article was first published on Techbeacon. Sketches of new apparel styles for the next clothing season. Racks of sample garments scattered throughout the building. High-end workstations running apparel CAD. Rolls of multicolored fabric in the sample department. These were some of the sights that greeted customer development team members … Read More
This article first appeared on TechCrunch.com. This fall, Apple once again won the dubious honor of dominating the conversation on patent infringement. First, it lost a ruling in Germany’s top civil court over the slide-to-unlock feature, backing an earlier ruling in favor of Motorola Mobility. As expected, Apple is appealing the ruling. Then, … Read More
The process of coming up with a multi-year product strategy often frustrates action-minded product executives. On one hand, this work is necessary to set long term goals and plot a path to success. On the other hand, product planning sessions often consume a great deal of time and energy. Worse, … Read More
A version of this post first appeared on Techbeacon.com. What is business strategy? Michael Porter presented a succinct definition in his seminal 1996 article in the Harvard Business Review: “The essence of strategy is choosing to perform activities differently than rivals do.” Strategy is how a company wins against the … Read More