edamo, in regards to "strategic inflection point," A. Groves is not refering to a major product transition, or going from the strategy of "ride the product to the grave, with a new one out the chute for a repeat" to three market segments and three products (celery, Pxxx, Xenon Pxxx). He is talking about a beyond Dilbert hard and ugly business process change. Dell will make its market inflection transition with ease because it has implemented the new information business process model that makes it easy. Existing businesses crossing the street to make the fundamental business process change in the face of an opponent already on the other side are doomed (CPQ for instance).
Other businesses making the change are Ford and Microsoft (notice they are structuring their organization like Dell). Remember Bill Gates 12 steps?
Gates' 12 step business plan
By Joel Deane
03/15/99 09:59:00 PM
In his new book, Microsoft's founder outlines his rules for successful companies in the digital age.
E-mail will be a killer business app over the next decade, according to Microsoft Corp. CEO Bill Gates.
'I read all the e-mail that employees send me'
-- Bill Gates
In excerpts taken from his upcoming book, "Business @ The Speed of Thought," and published in TIME magazine, Gates writes that e-mail is a "key component of our digital nervous system."
"There's no doubt that e-mail flattens the hierarchical structure of an organization. It encourages people to speak up. It encourages managers to listen," he says.
"I read all the e-mail that employees send me, and I pass items on to people for action. I find unsolicited mail an incredibly good way to stay aware of the attitudes and issues affecting the many people who work at Microsoft."
Gates says companies need to have a "nervous system" that enables them to run smoothly and efficiently, respond to emergencies and opportunities, interact quickly with customers, and make speedy decisions.
12 step plan
Gates also outlines 12 steps he says companies should take if they want to reinvent the way they work and succeed in the coming digital decade. Here are Gates' 12 steps:
Insist that communication flow through e-mail.
Study sales data online to share insights easily.
Shift knowledgeable workers into high-level thinking.
Use digital tools to create virtual teams.
Convert every paper process to a digital process.
Use digital tools to eliminate single-task jobs.
Create a digital feedback loop.
Use digital systems to route customer complaints immediately.
Use digital communication to redefine the boundaries.
Transform every business process into just-in-time delivery.
Use digital delivery to eliminate the middle man.
Use digital tools to help customers solve problems for themselves.
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