My good friend and colleague, Mark Sanborn, knows a thing or two about work ethic. He’s not only the author of the NY Times Bestselling book, ‘the Fred Factor’, he’s one of the finest leadership keynote speakers of our time. Mark’s always at work creating value for others, and he’s done it again with his new book, Up, Down, or Sideways, which I highly recommend.
RWE readers, here’s Mark Sanborn –
To succeed when times are Up, Down, or Sideways, you have to produce things and experiences that people value, and you’d better have plenty of people who value what you produce. When others want what you are offering and are willing to pay you for it, it becomes proof that you are creating value. The key is to keep your pipeline full of the things people value and the people who value them.
This month, Amazon introduced its new tablet computer, the Kindle Fire. Up to this point, the market for tablet computers has been dominated by Apple, who defined the category with the introduction of the iPad a few years ago. Since then, a number of competitors have taken on Apple in the tablet market, but have failed to garner even a survivable share of the business. Several would-be competitors have folded their tablet businesses after only a few short months.
Why, then, would Amazon, in a Down economy, embark on such a seemingly risky venture? What makes Amazon believe it can survive and thrive where so many others have failed? The answer is that Amazon knows that its pipelines are full. Its pipelines are full of customers, of relationships, and of value. As a result many analysts are betting on Amazon to succeed where more established hardware makers have fallen short.
Amazon’s pipeline is full of customers. Whether someone buys a book, a compact disc, or a piece of cookware from Amazon, they become an Amazon customer. Amazon tends its customer base carefully with responsive customer service, discounted prices, free or low-cost shipping, ease of use, and wide selection. Over the years, the retailer has earned consumers’ trust. About 80 million consumers visit the site each month and any of them can purchase products with the click of the mouse. Amazon’s tablet will have the advantage of that established customer base.
Amazon’s pipeline is full of relationships. As one of the leading vendors of books, music, movies, and other products, Amazon has established relationships with authors, publishers, studios, musicians, and software makers. Amazon’s relationships with these suppliers enables it command better supply and pricing than its competitors. These relationships will help supply the products that will make the Kindle Fire attractive to consumers.
Amazon’s pipeline is full of value. In the context of tablet computing, content equals value. A tablet is only as interesting or entertaining as the content it channels to consumers. Amazon already has as much content in the form of music, TV, movies, and books, as any of its competitors, including Apple. From day one following its release, Amazon’s tablet will be able to offer a full pipeline of entertainment to its customers, an advantage that the other non-Apple competitors did not enjoy.
Amazon’s full pipelines give its tablet a healthy chance of success. They also ensure that, should the new product not succeed, Amazon will live to innovate another day. Keeping your pipelines full helps to fuel success as well as to ease recovery, whether you’re Up, Down, or Sideways.
For more information about Up, Down or Sideways: How to Succeed When Times are Good, Bad or In Between, go www.marksanborn.com/UDS.
Related articles
- Retailers bank on Kindle Fire for holidays (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- It’s Work that Separates the Doers from the Dreamers (revivingworkethic.com)
