PM Quote of the Day — Esther Dyson

A worker’s paradise is a consumers’ hell.

While Dyson was referring to life in communist states, I instantly thought of so many of the industries we have (or are about to) bail out.  The management and workers of these firms seem to have lived in worlds divorced from reality.  As a consequence, being a customer of a bank, auto maker, or airline is a legendarily bad experience.  Too many times the attitude has been: “We do what we do, we make what we make, take it or leave it.”

How easy it is to think about strategy inside->out.  I can understand the temptation to look within to see what we are doing or can do, and simply keep doing it.  We may be able to keep our customers and stakeholders hooked for a while.  But as their dissatisfaction and resentments grow, we can’t be surprised when one day we’re thrown out in favor of a younger, nimbler, and more attentive suitor.