Deciding which target group of customers, varieties, and needs the company should serve is fundamental to developing a strategy. But so is deciding to serve other customers or needs and not to offer certain features or services. Booted off the list were old-line commodity and indsutrial companies like Sears, Union Carbide, and Chevron. Kaplan revealed his own value system in a remark to The Masters Forum. He was listening to another speaker at the time.
Every organization has at least some good people.
If good people are everywhere, they can't be a competitive advantage. Kaplan, who's spent his life as an academic and consultant preaching the power of good metrics, nodded in agreement. A good metric, he said, is like the laser pen he held up. It fits into the palm of your hand. You can take it with you wherever you go.