As Seen In…

Business Week

Apple’s iPhone Takes a Toll
August 7, 2008

Rubicon continues to receive mention for the iPhone User Survey, this time in a BusinessWeek piece by Olga Kharif that explains who the winners and losers are as consumers continue to purchase the new, less expensive 3G version iPhone with GPS.

Here’s and excerpt from the article:

“The iPhone doesn’t always completely replace other phones, either. A greater chunk of iPhone 3G buyers are carrying the device instead of a notebook computer and keeping a second cell phone for calling (a third of original iPhone users carried a second phone, according to a March survey of 460 U.S. users conducted by Rubicon Consulting). Here’s why: Chowdhry’s latest survey shows that iPhone 3G users spend 80% of their time browsing the Web and only 20% of their time making calls. That’s in sharp contrast to a typical smartphone, whose users spend 60% of the time making calls. “They should change [iPhone’s] name to an iTablet,” says Chowdhry. “The usage scenario is evolving. People use the iPhone as a PC in your pocket. It’s slightly mispositioned in the market.”“

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, iPhone User Survey, Rubicon Consulting, Samsung
Practice: Define
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iStockAnalyst

Apple iPhone Takes a Toll
August 7, 2008

Rubicon’s iPhone User Study was cited today in iStockAnalyst’s pickup of the BusinessWeek story.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Apple, iPhone User Study, Rubicon Consulting
Practice: Define
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bMighty

Strategy Matters: 6 Ways to Strategize Like Enterprises
July 15, 2008

by Nilofer Merchant

Effectively implementing and executing business strategy can be the difference between success and failure. By strategizing like enterprises, smaller businesses can meet their objectives and level the playing field.

Strategizing like an enterprise can make the difference between success and failure for a smaller business. How the actions of the teams in your organization support (or don’t support) your strategy makes all the difference and in whether or not your business moves toward achieving your goals.

Here are six ways that leaders in smaller businesses can use strategy as well as, or even better than, enterprises:

1. What Gets Measured, Gets Done

Measure everything in your business according to your strategy and goals. Theres a tremendous opportunity for you, as the CEO or general manager, to make strategy—related metrics part of everything that happens in the company. Whether it’s a particular scripted style of answering the phone reminding customers of your latest product launch or an enclosure in every product shipment reminding users of your commitment to quality, there’s always a way to build in a reference to your sales support or quality communication strategies. Measure the behavior you want people to do that supports the strategy that leads to goal achievement.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: business DNA, CEO, IBM, Nike, Nilofer Merchant, Rubicon Consulting, Seagate, SMB, strategy
Practice: Deliver
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SandHill

Who’s Making Money on the Web?
July 14, 2008

By Bruce La Fetra

While failure for the high-tech entrepreneur is less likely to result in death, the parallels between the Gold Rush and the current Web-based economy are many. In both cases, participants must to adapt to a new way of life, with new rules. Or rather, no pre-existing, fixed rules.

Silicon Valley’s famous tolerance of entrepreneurial failure has its roots more than 150 years ago in the Gold Rush when more than 90,000 people made their way to California in the two years following John Marshall’s discovery of gold near Sacramento in January, 1848. By 1854, more than 300,000—representing more than one percent of the total population of the United States at the time—had come west in search of fortune.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Bruce La Fetra, business models, making money, Web
Practice: Define
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Entrepreneur

5 Reasons Why Strategy Fails
July 2, 2008

By Nilofer Merchant

Understanding the ‘worst’ practices helps small businesses do better.

I’ve watched strategy being developed within companies like Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, and Nokia. I’ve seen strategy created by individuals. I’ve seen the big suits of Bain and McKinsey at work. I’ve seen it done well, and occasionally I’ve seen it done poorly. Having read more than 100 books that define the best thinking on strategy, I’ve noticed that following the existing methods often doesn’t yield success.

It’s not just the methodology. Here are five reasons strategy fails in small businesses, in midsize businesses, and in large enterprises:

1. The Blame Game

How many times have you seen a strategy move into execution, then fail? Typically, the postmortem involves blame. It was poor leadership. We didn’t execute correctly. We had bad market data. Our customers decided they wanted something else. The timing was off. There are hundreds more, and you’ve heard many of them.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Bain, McKinsey, Nilofer Merchant, Nokia, strategy
Practice: Deliver
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bMighty

Strategy Matters: 5 Reasons Why Strategy Fails
July 2, 2008

by Nilofer Merchant

Following best practices can help drive a successful business strategy, but understanding what the “worst” practices are is just as important. Here are five reasons strategy fails in small businesses, in midsize businesses, and in large enterprises

I’ve watched strategy being developed within companies like Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, and Nokia. I’ve seen strategy created by individuals. I’ve seen the big suits of Bain and McKinsey at work. I’ve seen it done well, and occasionally I’ve seen it done poorly. Having read more than 100 books that define the best thinking on strategy, I’ve noticed that following the existing methods often doesn’t yield success.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Bain, McKinsey, Nilofer, Nokia, Rubicon, strategy
Practice: Define
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9 to 5 Mac - Apple Intelligence

Motorola Massacre: iPhone Slices RAZR
June 30, 2008

by Andy Space

Apple’s iPhone is already snapping at the heels of Research In Motion and trouncing Palm, but spare a thought for another victim of the invasion — former partner, Motorola.

Motorola’s handset sales are suffering now in the PiP (Post—iPhone) world. A survey by Rubicon Consulting reveals 14 per cent made the switch from Windows Mobile; 13 per cent from Blackberry, 7 per cent ran from Palm - but almost a quarter, 24 per cent, of those surveyed were previously owners of a Motorola Razr.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Motorola, Palm, Razr, Rubicon Consulting
Practice: Deliver
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SandHill

Warning: Don’t Adopt SaaS in Increments
June 27, 2008

by Michael Mace

Like an oyster, software as a service business models are best consumed in one gulp rather than nibbled over time.

We’re seeing more and more clients struggling to integrate online services with their existing software businesses. Most are trying to integrate part of the services model with their current operations. For example, they’ll try to create an on-demand product using traditional engineering practices; or they’ll try to sell services through the same channels as shrink-wrapped software. The companies that do this are experiencing…

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Mike Mace, Rubicon, SaaS
Practice: Optimize
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bMighty

Strategy Matters: 9 Ways to Develop Team Motivation
June 19, 2008

by Nilofer Merchant

When the ancient Greeks invaded, they burned their ships so there was no choice but to move forward. By “burning the boat” on your next initiative, you can motivate your employees to contribute to the objective and help your business succeeed.

When we work with teams, we often find that members agree in principle, yet may not support the direction of the company.

How often has this type of scenario unfolded at your smaller business: The company decides to move sales (or marketing, or finance, or any other unit) in a new direction. An announcement goes out, a meeting is held, heads nod in agreement. Then day two merges into week two and that soon becomes month two. Somewhere in there you realize that no one is supporting the new direction. And there’s no talk about it — life goes on just as it did before. It’s as if all the planning, meeting, and strategizing never happened.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: burn the boat, destination, make the move necessary, strategy, Thucydides
Practice: Define
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Chief Marketer

Is the iPhone Already Losing Ground?
June 17, 2008

by Rick Ferguson

A March 2008 Rubicon survey of 460 users revealed that 47% of iPhone buyers switched to AT&T from another carrier, and 35% of those switchers paid an early contract termination fee. Rubicon estimates that AT&T has enjoyed a revenue boost of roughly $2 billion from a combination of those switchers and existing AT&T customers upgrading their accounts.

In eight months, AT&T and Apple captured 28% of the smart phone market. They even expanded that market, with 50% of the users surveyed upgrading from other smart phones and 10% choosing the iPhone as their first smart phone.

The original publication can be found at this link.

Tags: Apple, iPhone User Survey, RIMM, Rubicon Consulting, smartphones
Practice: Deliver
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