the
innovative LEDGER
An e-Newsletter from The Innovative Edge™ Inc.
Vol.
8, No. 7 - July 2008
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Surprise, Surprise
By Jeff Govendo
With
summer upon us, many are getting ready to hit the road for a well-deserved
vacation. But this year, those who own large SUV’s and pickups
may be thinking of heading to places a bit closer than usual, like
their own backyard. And more than a few are trying to unload the old
gas guzzlers.
Several
days ago, in fact, I heard a news story on radio about the impact
of gas prices on SUV and truck sales. While automotive sales in
general are depressed in this recessionary economy, vehicles with
10-15 mpg ratings are simply not moving at all. And those manufacturers
whose fortunes have rested most heavily on sales of the behemoths
(mainly the Big Three domestic car companies) are faring the worst.
So
– no surprise – the impact has been devastating. More plants
are scheduled to close, inventory sits in lots unsold, and dealerships
are going out of business.
No
surprise to most of us, that is. But according to those interviewed
for this story, you would think it’s come as a complete surprise
to the car companies. You know, the ones who pay as much for a
day of market research as most of us make in a year…?
A
senior analyst for Global Insight remarked, "Everybody got caught
by surprise – the whole industry." Said a GM spokesman,
"We knew people would want more fuel efficient cars eventually;
we just didn’t know customers would want them now."
Really?
No clue? One has to wonder when GM thought people would want them.
At five dollars per gallon? Ten? A hundred?
The
urgent need for inventiveness around personal transportation has been
patently obvious for many, many years. Besides the whole issue
of global warming from the burning of fossil fuels, I’ve never
heard any analyst predicting a downward trend in the price of oil.
Have you?
GM
points out that until just recently, the demand for large vehicles
never dropped off. In a mantra that has become all too familiar when
questioned why they’ve continued to produce inefficient, wasteful
vehicles, the standard response has always been, "We’re
just giving the customers what they want." (And, coincidentally,
what garners the biggest profit per vehicle.)
But
real innovation often involves looking beyond the obvious, beyond
what’s earning the quickest profit, beyond what fattens up those
quarterly results. It means making available to customers not only
the products they say they want, but also those they don’t yet
know they want. Yes, it may take time for them to catch up with
your far-sighted thinking before they’re willing to spend on
these products. Being a leader in innovation entails both risk and
the ability to delay gratification. In the end, however, there
is ample evidence that those companies willing to take the long view
by anticipating customer needs over time – even when the customers
themselves may be a bit short-sighted – are those most destined
to thrive in any economy. Innovation may not pay right away, but
when it does, it pays big.
Here’s
wishing you a summer of only happy surprises. Like maybe finding a
buyer for that Tahoe in your driveway.
