The+Sony+-+Domino’s+Pizza+Model

Sony was known for regular putting itself out of business by having its teams compete. The goal was that—even as one product came to market—another team would plan to make it obsolete two years later. This model is now tacitly accepted by the entire electronics market. It’s a model necessitated by a world of perpetual change.

Domino’s Pizza successfully did what most companies only dream of doing. However, you can do it too. They wanted to be good like the competition, so they said they were going to reinvent themselves and be better than the competition. They did the research, found out what was best in the industry, and targeted that as their new standard.

To pull it off, they used an ad where they joked that they were the worse pizza in the world—some consumers said they were. They admitted that they were changing.

Combining Sony’s and Domino’s approaches, you can admit that things are changing so fast that you need to change regularly. Admit that there are better approaches out there, and you will find it, even if you have to buy it from your competitor!

Customers will be leery that you are inflating prices by reselling. You will calmly explain that you can quickly find and offer the best products, at only a small incremental cost. In reality, this is a savings, since you will be offering them better products at lower prices, allowing them to switch to the best technology at a speed they couldn’t do if they had to shop for a new vendor all the time themselves.

Inevitably, what you do today will be made obsolete in a few years or at least decades. For example, Blu-ray is making DVD obsolete, while people hang—momentarily—onto DVDs as the low-cost alternative.

Take your business to hyperspeed: Use the entire world as your suppliers, competing with each other, and you can make regular improvements, day in and day out.

In effect, you are proactively putting yourself out of business and starting up a new business on a regular basis. Scary—but very profitable.

Test this out small:
 * Work with a few suppliers that you consider the best.
 * Each supplier agrees to work together, noncompetitively in their respective niches. For each niche, there should be three suppliers, in order of expertise. They will be a small industry collective, like the Fruit Growers of America. However, by working closely together as a small team, they can be more competitive with outside competition. Collectively, they form a larger corporate entity.
 * Your suppliers will agree to identify competitors, over time, who are better than they at specific niches. With careful planning, they will agree with the competitors to market their products and services for a percentage.
 * Under this model, companies don’t compete for more customers. They compete for more products and services. You can work with your same customer base and keep finding them the latest products and services. You’ll need to agree how to handle pre-existing customers of your competitors. What did they already bring to the table, and what are you adding? You may charge for the additional services, profiting from your competitors customer base. Your suppliers will do this step by step, one competitor at a time.
 * Your suppliers should understand that, if they don’t use this approach, then sooner or later you will decide to switch to those competitors—or to competitors who correctly use this model! In a friendly way, you will educate them as to how the world works. While making specific demands, you are actually providing them with a service, telling them how to run their businesses more profitably.
 * When you see this works for your suppliers, do this with your competitors. You know that the model works, so use it!

Complementary models: Car Insurance

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