The task of creating a new accounting language will challenge MBAs for years to come. One thing is simple, though. Companies that once obsessed over how to engineer new products must now also obsess over how to reverse-engineer the desires of their consumers. This is more than just a matter of market research. It is fundamental to every decision you make.
Most businesses have market research on consumer satisfaction.
Few sift through that data to see the new opportunities that are implicit there. Understanding this led Midland to invent the world's first and largest branchless bank, First Direct, which today handles nearly 2 million accounts in the United Kingdom. Tokyo showrooms with an endless variety of concept cars. When one proves popular, volume production shifts into high gear. Likewise, the Home Shopping Network launched a promotion just after Demi Moore's film Indecent Proposal was released.