This week my 5 favorite business and strategy post cover:
- Better business modeling, the why (capture an unfair advantage), how (…to maintain it), and when (6 signs that you need to rinse and repeat).
- The art of a sweet science; financial modeling it’s not just about the numbers.
- The Business Model Canvas – an entrepreneur-centric remix.
As, always I’m looking to share with you quality information that helps increase your business development skills, enhance your level of business model innovation, and ultimately the quality of your professional relationships.
If you enjoy my weekend summary and would like even more practical, useable links than the five I highlight here every week, follow me on Twitter @DonaldMcMichael and Google Plus +DonaldMcMichael.
Good stuff I discovered this week:
Better Business Models Lead to Better Businesses
This insightful post from one of the best innovation blogs out there (in my humble opinion) delves into the real reason there has been so much focus conversation recently on business models. Tim points out that the differences in business models within a category are meaningful because in reality the business model is “The Product”. This post looks at examples within the mobile space but another model is Zappos and how it delivers customer-centric value.
P.S. Be sure to checkout the comment section. Likely the genesis of at least one (if not two) interesting posts.
Business Modeling is Process, not an Event
“While a business plan may be important to secure financing, a business model is what will guide the entrepreneur through the inevitable trial and error of finding the best fit in the market.”
What I would add to this thought is that it is your job to find ‘the best fit’ for the current market environment. Changes in technology, competition, and customer preference conspire to make any business model waning value.
The take-away: never assume you are finish, keeping your model current is crucial.
The #1 Most Common Goof In Executing A Business Model
Do you know when it’s time to reinvent your business model? Most don’t which could be a deadly flaw. This post provides you with 6 flags as to when it time to consider undertaking a pivot.
This is one of my own. I broke from convention because I think the shared insights complement the above mention posts.
Financial Modeling is an Art, not a Science
Old FP&A (Financial Planning and Analysis) professionals don’t die, we just fade away… into other roles and responsibilities. Possibly one of the most valuable things that we take with us – this is the ‘art’ part – is the ability to take assumptions, chaotic information, plus historical patterns and morph them into actionable business wisdom and insights.
Why Lean Canvas?
This post by Ash Maurya takes a look at an adaptation from the original Business Model Canvas by Alex Osterwalder. Why a remix? Ash believes that for certain start-ups, particularly those that aren’t heavily reliant on key partners, they “fail, not because they fail to build what they set out to build, but because they waste time, money, and effort building the wrong product.” With this in mind he incorporates Lean Startup – “Minimum Viable Product” (MVP) – processes into the canvas. The result is a framework that explicitly focuses more on defining the customer problem(s) to be addressed, key performance metrics, and the entrepreneurial concern’s unfair advantage.