Tag Archives: strategic platform

Take Your Company to the Next Level – Statutory Platform

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It is not unusual for a company to make political contributions or hire a lobbyist to engage in political influence. In the US, it is illegal to pay a public official for political favors, but, perfectly legal to pay a registered lobbyist to exact political pressure on a public official. A company may decide NOT to play at this level, but the platform exists.

  • S-VI – Statutory platform, where statutes and regulations specifically dictate competitive advantage.
  • S-V – Industry platform, where our enterprise competes using industry standard practices.
  • S-IV – Market platform, where our multiple systems integrate with market systems.
  • S-III – Single serial system platform, where we see the introduction of warranties as a competitive edge.
  • S-II – Process implementation platform (of someone else’s system, like a franchisee).
  • S-I – Product or service platform, where it’s all about the product.

It is one thing to follow an industry standard, an industry guideline. It is quite another to follow a standard dictated by statute.

The Wright Amendment (introduced by Rep Jim Wright in 1979) was a United States federal law that governed traffic at Dallas Love Field, an airport in Dallas, Texas, to protect Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) from competition. The amendment prohibited carriers from operating full-size airliners between Love Field and destinations beyond Texas and its four neighboring states. Further amendments in 1997 and 2005 added new states and relaxed aircraft rules for long-range service. The law was partially repealed in 2006 and then fully repealed in 2014. -Wikipedia

Which airline had a hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)? And, which airline was headquartered at Dallas Love Field (DAL)? If you guessed American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, you would be correct. Southwest Airlines, as a strategy, enjoyed the exclusivity of Dallas Love Field, but they were prohibited, by statute, from specific operations, landings and take-offs from 1979 to 2014. My math says 35 years, they were effectively blocked.

Most modern cars run well on unleaded gasoline, not so well on ethanol. Marine operators are allowed to sell a non-ethanol variant of gasoline because if ethanol fuel sits too long in an engine, it “rots the hell out of the seals.” Why are we now required to purchase unleaded gasoline with an ethanol additive? Who are the players? It is one thing to follow an industry standard, quite another to follow a standard dictated by statute. Archer-Daniels Midland is defending an anti-trust suit for market manipulation.

Statutes like this do not spring up in a two week time period. Timespan at S-VI ranges from 10-20 years. This is not a short term play. A company may not adopt this strategic platform, but may suffer the consequences from their competitors. If you are not sure what platform you are playing on, look at your competitors.

Product Platform

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From the Ask Tom mailbag –

Question:
You always talk about the five levels of management –

  • S-V – Business Unit President
  • S-IV – Integrator role
  • S-III – Single system manager
  • S-II – Coordinator, supervisor
  • S-I – Technician, production role

But my company is not that big. Do I have to have all these roles?

Response:
It depends. Depends on the size and complexity of your company. The five levels of management correspond to five different business platforms, any of which are perfectly acceptable as a business model. You can make money at any of these.

  • S-V – Industry platform, where our enterprise competes using industry standard practices.
  • S-IV – Market platform, where our multiple systems integrate with market systems.
  • S-III – Single serial system platform, where we see the introduction of warranties as a competitive edge.
  • S-II – Process implementation platform (of someone else’s system, like a franchisee).
  • S-I – Product or service, where it’s all about the product.

And any of these platforms are valid. Today, let’s start with S-I, product or service platform, where it’s all about the product. How many roles do you need?
Bob’s Burgers