In the last two issues I shared the opportunity window that occurs when customer satisfaction drops for any reason. This window opens because (a) your customers want something other than what they have, and (b) other providers have not yet served it up to them - ie, market recognition is weak.

There are three primary strategies for leveraging challenges in the marketplace. This issue covers the second: Transpose your core competencies to adjacent markets.

For example, Cardinal Health began as a wholesale grocery business in the early 70s. When it was clear that this business had reached its apex and consolidation was underway Cardinal took its distribution expertise and entered the drug market. Through a series of strategic acquisitions they moved into more and more businesses, always applying their core strengths to solve new problems.

Because they knew how to package and deliver drugs safely and they had excellent relationships with their hospital customers, they began to offer hospitals their services in-house. Soon they were running pharmacies inside hospitals and providing drugs to patients through machines that eliminated human error in the dispensing of medications. All of these services were extensions of their core comptenciy in distribution, offering their clients reduced risk at a reasonable price.

Cardinal also moved upstream, offering pharmaceutical companies the opportunity of oursourcing their less profitable activities so they could focus on their most profitable activity: finding blockbuster drugs. They did not not stop there. Cardinal has continued this strategy and just last year was listed #17 on the Fortune 500.

• What areas can you transfer your core competencies to?
  
• What relationships do you have today to capitalize on?
  
• How can you use your current situation to expand into related opportunities? 
  

When you take your current value and extend it to new areas for existing or adjacent customers, you can grow dramatically even in a tough market.

Next week, I cover the third of the three strategies: Capitalizing on your relationship assets to uncover new opportunities for value creation.

Who's cracking the value nut for e-magazines today?

Read my latest post in Fast Company with excerpts from my conversation with a former Newsweek CEO who has an exciting new idea he is bringing to market.

Creating a Shared Stake in Success

Dramatic, sustained improvement is largely determined by a leader’s capacity to both enroll and engage others in a mutually supported vision of the future. Read my latest post on the American Express OPEN forum to find out how.

Happy New Year!

It's a great time to find new tools for making your dreams come true. Next week I'll provide a short story and link to the coolest to-do list application I know - it changed my life and I'll tell you how and show you how it can change yours, too!