Finally, you can't take action until you have a deep understanding of three intersecting circles. The first circle is what you are passionate about. The second circle is what you can do better than anyone else. The third circle is a deep understanding of your economics. When you eliminate anything that fails any of those three tests, that's when you can take action.
Technology is important.
But no company becomes great principally through technology. Furthermore, there's no evidence that great companies can be unseated principally because of technology. In October 1999, at the height of the dotcom frenzy, I gave a seminar on the preliminary results of our research. The way Walgreens responded to the Internet teaches something about how great companies operate. In October 1999, Walgreens was being hammered from all sides.