Comments for Business Models

Comment on The Cooperative Business Model: A Better Way to Do Business by Adam Trott

Adam Trott — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 23:42:29 +0000

Thank you for your coverage of co-ops and the issues we face, and yes, the co-operative business model is growing in its validity and strength.
I would like to suggest, however, that forming a co-operative in itself, in the United States at least, is not complicated in itself. The worker co-op system in which I work feels the complexity that prevents people from forming co-operatives is more a product of professional advisors and consultants typically not being educated or interested in co-operative formation and less any unique difficulties in the legal or structural aspects of co-ops. While forming the co-operative culture in ownership may take a bit longer than having one owner, we have incorporated and converted to co-ops ourselves and feel it is a fairly straightforward process.
In support of the co-operative model our organization, the Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives, is directed and funded by worker co-ops themselves. We consider appropriate legal and governance support to be one aspect interested parties should go to co-ops to learn about and dedicate their resources to a system that is there to support them for the long haul.
To share only a few stories where, with the support they need, co-operators have utilized the co-operative business model: In 2004 environmentalists and bicycle lovers met to think about how to improve their town’s environmental footprint. Now Pedal People is a 13 member co-op porting trash and recycling by bicycle in Northampton, MA. In 1983 copy shop workers, dissatisfied with conditions at a copy chain, formed Collective Copies, using only recycled paper and paying towards wind power production. In 2005 out of work citizens of Franklin County, MA formed Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics, now a 15 person solar and micro-hydro power installer. Gaia Host Collective formed to decrease the environmental footprint of websites and consider their ecological mission their core decision making source.
For more on VAWC or its worker co-op members, please visit http://www.valleyworker.org.

Comment on Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth by Michael Dreimann

Michael Dreimann — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 05:48:19 +0000

Review by Michael Dreimann for Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth Rating: Since I have been exposed to the thinking of the Return Driven Strategy, I am actively using this approach as planning and analysis tool for business and personal matters. This structured, holistic and easy to grasp approach has offered me important insights on many of my case assignments at one of the top consultancies in the world. The book DRIVEN offers an amazing insight to this thinking. It's a must read for anyone interested in strategy and value creation. In addition, the included case studies give a great indication of the importance of following the Return Driven Strategy.

Comment on Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth by Priscilla Lee

Priscilla Lee — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:59:45 +0000

Review by Priscilla Lee for Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth Rating: Readers will find The Return Driven Strategy a unique, innovative approach to succeed personally and professionally. DRIVEN is packed with helpful illustrations and case studies that can be easily applied! A valuable tool to create and manage wealth.

No doubt a MUST READ!

Comment on Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth by Christopher J. Woods

Christopher J. Woods — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:22:08 +0000

Review by Christopher J. Woods for Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth Rating: The Return Driven Strategy approach provides a seamless, balanced view to link business execution decisions to the ultimate goals of the firm. The model presented by the authors is clear, effective, and directly applicable to a broad set of business objectives. This approach gives senior managers in a firm the tools necessary to recognize the key decisions in their pursuit of excellence, as well as clarifiying which issues are not key to achieving results. This book is a "must" for every executive that makes strategic decisions and translates those to execution!

Comment on Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth by Yukiko Kawabata

Yukiko Kawabata — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:17:31 +0000

Review by Yukiko Kawabata for Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth Rating: Whether you are a financial analyst, a fund manger, or about to make personal investment decisions, DRIVEN will be an indispensable reference book for years to come. It is not rocket science, but it quickly guides you to an essential framework for both quantitative and qualitative analysis. You will receive large dividends on saved time and resources!

Comment on Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth by Michael Gremley

Michael Gremley — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:23:18 +0000

Review by Michael Gremley for Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, And The Creation Of Wealth Rating: For years I have used this framework for evaluating critical business decisions. It has been an invaluable compass when allocating resources in human capital, intellectual capital, and investment capital, particularly when those resources can be so scarce. We have a saying that, `Vision without execution is hallucination.' I would follow that with `Visions supported by Return Driven Strategy have the best chances for success.'

Michael Gremley
CEO VoicePrism

Comment on From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit by R. Peter Valentine

R. Peter Valentine — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:09:53 +0000

Review by R. Peter Valentine for From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit Rating: First off, the authors' credentials are amazing. Nick Earl has been profiled by Fortune Magazine as "HPs New E-vangelist." Peter Keen was named by Information Week as one of the top 10 consultants in the world!
That said, this book delivers. If you are looking for small profits, this book is not for you. It cuts straight to the chase and delivers the goods on becoming an intermediary or using one effectively.
They treat this huge subject with practical advice and business philosophy. This is the best book I have found that seems to truly identify the direction the Web is going.

Five Stars

Comment on From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit by Rolf Dobelli

Rolf Dobelli — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:02:53 +0000

Review by Rolf Dobelli for From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit Rating: This solidly researched and written guide shows you how to move into the next phase of e-business operations: actually making them profitable. The authors call this era .profit (dot profit), and aside from that little gimmick, the book is refreshingly free of space-filling babble. Instead, it concentrates on the elements needed to make a profit on the Internet, and gives plenty of examples from cyberspace so you can learn from those who are already in .profit world. We from getAbstract recommend this book to anyone charged with developing business strategy.

Comment on From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit by Louis Reed

Louis Reed — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Review by Louis Reed for From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit Rating: Dot-profit provides a good review of the economics and fundamentals of electronic commmerce. This is particularly needed given the state of the market. While the book is good for understanding the sources of value and benefit found in eCommerce.The book while strong on rational does not provide enough detail to implement. I like Peter's books so I read his other books on eCommerce. I found the eProcess Edge out at about the same time as a good refernece for building what it takes to move from dot-com to dot-profit. Reading both has given me the high level business strategy and the business operations requirements needed to act on the advice.

Comment on From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit by Peter Hupalo

Peter Hupalo — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:10:49 +0000

Review by Peter Hupalo for From .Com to .Profit: Inventing Business Models That Deliver Value and Profit Rating: "From .com to .profit" is a thought-provoking book for entrepreneurs who want to build major, Internet-based businesses or who want to understand more about the business models of larger, Internet-focused companies.The authors discuss six "value imperatives," which they feel successful Internet companies must have in their business models. These imperatives are:1) "Perfect Your Logistics"2) "Cultivate Your long-term relationships"3) "Harmonize your channels [of distribution] on behalf of the customer"4) "Build A Power Brand"5) "Transform Your Capital And Cost Structures"6) "Become a value-adding intermediary"The book devotes a chapter to each topic. One of my favorite chapters was "Perfect Your Logistics," where Earle and Keen give many examples of how companies have used the Internet to save money and significantly reduce their operating costs. The Internet allows companies to be more efficient.Earle and Keen say that improvements in logistics will be a huge advantage of the Internet. While consumer-based Internet companies have captured the most public awareness, the biggest benefit of the Internet to businesses will be greatly increased efficiency in doing mundane things, such as ordering paper clips. Business-to-business transactions will probably create more savings and opportunities than business-to-consumer transactions."From .com to .profit" does an excellent job discussing business-to-business hubs and portals (web sites where businesses can come to broker supplies and services).The book's discussions of branding, value-added intermediation, partnerships, and relationship building are also excellent. I took off a star for some silly statements about capital structure. Earle and Keen write that the Internet has created a "capital revolution," and if a company can show a "Price/Vision" premium, investors will continue to bid up the price on the company's Internet stock. Wanna bet? The Internet has not created a "capital revolution." It has created an investment mania.Earle and Keen go on to glibly write, "There is no correlation over the longer term between market value and any standard accounting measure of profitability. ..." Ah, can we have some evidence, please? This seems an incredibly silly remark to make without supporting evidence! Unprofitable companies over the long-term tend to disappear from the stock market. Some apparel companies do manage to limp along for decades without ever being profitable. But, such companies are hardly a good investment.The authors observe that once you have highly-valued stock, it can be used as currency to acquire intellectual capital and other assets of real worth. This is true. And, as Earle and Keen point out, not having highly-valued shares to trade for intellectual capital is a disadvantage of privately-held companies. But, let's not legitimize funny money as a way to build a business! Overall, "From .com to .profit" offers a lot of great insight into business models and into what separates customer-focused, successful business operations from less successful operations, making it worth a read.Peter Hupalo, author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur"