[Telco] CEOs Say New Strategies Essential for Success in 2000 and
Beyond
Friday May 16 9:52 AM EDT
Company Press Release
Source: MCI Telecommunications
CEOs Say New Strategies Essential for Success in 2000 and
Beyond; MCI-Gallup Survey Reveals Technology and
Responsiveness as Keys to Competition; Quality and Service Still
Count
NEW YORK, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Competition in the next millennium won't be ``business as usual'' according to a new survey. Executives polled in top U.S. markets believe they will need to make substantial
changes in strategy in order to prepare for new and non-traditional competitors in the new century.
Conducted by The Gallup Organization and sponsored by MCI, the survey asked 555 CEOs of mid- to large-size businesses to forecast competitive practices that will lead to success in the future.
NEW COMPETITORS, NEW GAME PLANS
While business leaders surveyed recognize the need for new strategies to compete in 2000 and beyond, almost half (45%) note that strategies among their industry's competitors have grown more alike in the past five years. Only 21 percent think the market leaders' strategies have become more diverse.
This trend towards similarity among established businesses opens a door for new competitors who challenge the accepted wisdom. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of CEOs say the most successful newcomers to their field have become a presence because they changed the rules, rather than simply executing the ``incumbent'' rules more efficiently.
``MCI has seen this pattern firsthand -- as a new provider fighting years ago to offer competitive long distance and, today, to make competitive local phone service a reality,'' said Timothy F. Price, president and COO of MCI Telecommunications. ``In any industry, new competitors mean new rules, and the benefits for customers are
typically new offerings, more competitive prices and better service.''
In the MCI-Gallup survey, nearly 40 percent of CEOs think that in the past decade new and non-traditional competitors have taken the best advantage of changes in their perspective industries. This trend is expected to intensify into the next century, with many executives (64%) forecasting a very different set of competitors in their field 10 years from now.
Given this scenario, most (60%) believe they will need to make substantial changes in the way they do business today.
``Strategy innovation is the only way for a company to renew its lease on success beyond the year 2000,'' said Gary Hamel, author of Competing for the Future. Furthermore, ``if strategy is not challenging internal company rules or industry rules, it is not strategy.''
Called one of the world's most influential strategists by The Economist, The Financial Times and Business Week, Hamel is the recipient of three McKinsey Awards for articles published in the Harvard Business Review and chairman of Strategos, a strategy consulting firm to international corporations.
TECHNOLOGY CRITICAL TO STAYING COMPETITIVE
When asked what one piece of advice they would give others to stay competitive in the future, the most frequently
offered tips were to:
keep up with technology;
be innovative; and
improve customer service.
In the past five years, information technology has brought greatest benefit to the processes within companies. Nearly half of the CEOs polled say information technology has made its biggest impact on their company's internal communications, and 39 percent cite its contributions to productivity gains.
But information technology seems destined to step out of the office and become an increasingly important tool in customer communications. Most (74%) agree information technology will have the biggest future impact on enabling their companies to respond faster to customer needs. In fact, many executives (40%) have already begun exploring information technology as a means to communicate with their customers and say it has already boosted their customer responsiveness (36%).
Forty-four percent of CEOs polled in the MCI survey named information systems or communications capabilities as the technology trend that will most affect their business in the next five years. Fully two-thirds believe that in five years doing business on the Internet will be critical to staying competitive. Those with international operations predict that will happen even sooner -- within the next four years.
``Tomorrow's industry leaders will be those companies that use innovative applications of information technology today to communicate with customers and employees alike,'' said Hamel. ``Those who are slow to adopt technology will join the list of corporate has-beens.''
Of those industries predicted to be most competitive in the next century, technology fields led the responses:
telecommunications;
general technology;
computers/software; and
information technology.
DON'T OVERLOOK BUSINESS BASICS
Although respondents acknowledge technology's influence on competition, they cite the importance of minding the basics. When asked to name the most important source of competitive advantage in the year 2000, product or service quality topped the list (45% mentioned), followed closely by customer service and responsiveness (44%).
Surprisingly, just one in five named innovation, and even fewer mentioned flexibility/adaptability (17%) or speed to market (6%).
The Gallup Organization interviewed 555 CEOs, owners and presidents of companies with 100 or more employees in five U.S. cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, New York City and San Francisco. The respondents
in the study were interviewed by telephone between March 20 and April 11, 1997. The expected sampling error for a sample of this size is +/- 4.2 percentage points..."
SOURCE: MCI Telecommunications
Companies such as Worldcom/UUnet (ref/earlier post(s)) are clearly what this article is refering to as the new breed of new and non-traditional competitors; Charter appears to be following this new millennium strategy consensus at all levels and out of the gate as its corporate mission statement and as the basis of its critical mass infrastructure. It will all come down to the management team. |
