Seeing Anew

“In the early days, fortunes changed swiftly for Autodesk... Indeed, the San Rafael company has been on a roller coaster for much of its quarter-century history. The low point of Autodesk's ride occurred during the height of the Internet boom, when it embarked on a fateful shift in sales strategy. The company turned its back on the so-called channel partners that had long sold its engineering software and instead branched out into selling new services online. The lure of selling without the support of resellers turned out to be wrong for products as sophisticated as those in Autodesk's portfolio...

“Then Autodesk made a move that sent it on a climb that has lasted five years. The company found and nurtured a hidden asset that would reverse its fortunes and cause the top line to grow from $824 million in 2003 to $2.17 billion in 2008 with profitability growing more than 10 times...

“Autodesk is among a handful of companies that have been able to revive a core business by discovering and harnessing hidden assets -- in this case, undervalued customer segments… Making the most of hidden assets is an approach that has worked as successfully for companies nearing their natural limits to growth, as it has for companies that need a new strategy. In addition to discovering an undervalued customer segment, companies can find hidden customer assets by discovering an untapped influence they may have over a specific group of customers or reevaluating proprietary information that can be used to alter, deepen, or broaden the customer relationship...”

(“Autodesk's Turnaround Secret; How the CAD software maker reinvented itself by refocusing on its customer segments, product differentiation, and a new sales model.” Chris Zook and George Cogan. BusinessWeek.com. April 1, 2008)

WHAT LURES US away from the heart of our work? What tempts us to turn our back on our home base?

How can you see that which has been overlooked?

Periodically, return to your original foundations. Question your current assumptions. And see if you may have wandered away from seeing clearly.