Comments on: What Small Businesses Can Learn From General Motors

By: Ted Werth

Ted Werth — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:25:08 +0000

Well the message in and of itself is good. Many traditional models are not workable. As for GM specifically, I think they are all-hat-and-no-cattle. I’ll believe it when I see their words backed by actions.

GM has another add out poking fun at Honda by showing a Honda lawnmower at the end. Based on what the President said about what his plans for GM, they will be using lawn mower engines in their future cars. GM taking shots at Honda is like Microsoft Vista taking shots at Apple’s software. It is not credible and consumers see through it.

By: Patricia M Sears

Patricia M Sears — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:41:11 +0000

WOW! Many thanks for this article and the comments.

The good news/bad news for me was reading what your client said, Jon, re the response from the retail businesses in her town. That’s what we’re dealing with here, too! We’ve brought a couple of consultants in to work with the proprietors and the same 3 out of 12 attended.

I’m now reading ‘The Tipping Point’, ‘Wikinomics’ and ‘The Wisdom of Crowds’ in an effort to refresh and revitalize the way we (Newport City Renaissance Corporation) do business … so we can develop better relationships w/our partners, especially the downtown businesses.

Any ‘aha moments’ you all have experienced w/your downtowns are much appreciated. In the meantime, we continue to ‘get down to business’. Cheers!

By: Larry Blacketer

Larry Blacketer — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:02:40 +0000

You and GM are exactly right. There is an old adage, ‘you cannot do the same things in the same way and expect different results!’
Reinvention is tough, it really taxes our brain. It is much easier to go with the flow. But when we do that, we are competing with every other company that is going with the flow. We might fail again , but if we persist in reinvention, our chances of landing on something unique and profitable are bound to increase. There is always that segment of buyers who are looking for something different and interesting. It is our challenge to provide that.

By: jschallert

jschallert — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:18:16 +0000

Interesting thoughts. Thanks for sharing. I make it a point not to make this a government topic blog, but your point about vendors desiring that you display their products the same way is within their right, and going to become more prevalent. They have a brand message that they must project, and they think that by having a consistent presentation, it will move the most product out your doors. You, on the other hand, have the right to decide if their product should enter your doors and go onto your shelves.

Working on your brand should be your priority!

Thanks for sharing.

By: K. Rivera

K. Rivera — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:06:06 +0000

Reinvention may not be enough. If we dont start standing up and standing together about what our goverment is doing to business. Who gave Mr. Obama the authority to fire any CEO? What scares me is I see some of my vendors changing over and going down the track of we all have to display their product the same way. We have to use their display set ups etc. They want their brand presented in the same way in each of the stores because they want brand recognition. My attitude is I do not want to fund THEIR brand recognition . I have a brand myself and its NOT to be like the next guy. Let the bad business’s fail and clean out the system. They need to fail.

By: DR. ADS

DR. ADS — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:01:07 +0000

YES. Re-invention is the way to go. It is invigorating as well to do. Keep re-thinking your biz model. Re-invention has been a part of our biz model for years. There is no recession or lack of customers when you are always on the cutting edge. Our clinic is now promoting healthcare as a being “green”. And we are part of the healthcare solution. That is where the momentum is today. Ride the wave! Business is good and getting better. Tommorrow is just another day to re-think.
We have doubled our patient load in the last 18 months. Give me a recession anytime!
Dr. ADS