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Trilogy Tidings
January 2013
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You know I won't steer you wrong. I always refer you to good stuff. That's especially true this month:
- Having trouble getting a handle on your market's landscape, user needs, emerging trends, game-changing developments? Maybe you haven't exercised one of the most important skills known to man: asking artfully.
- Want to know what's up with the Net, the Cloud, the Phone, the Tablet, the Next Big Thing in tech space? Maybe you should check out the views of a real expert on such matters (not me).
- If your thing is medical devices, should you be concerned about the ACA (ObamaCare) or its 2.3% excise tax? Actually, no.
- Want to know the likely economic future of the U.S.? Read a credible source.
Finally, Happy New Year to us all! We can hope, right?
Regards,
Joe
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| Great Insights from Artful Conversations
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I read one of the most useful articles I've seen in a long time. It's about having productive, fact-generating conversations with people. At the risk of exposing some of our own "secret sauce", I'll share it with you.
I've mentioned many times that we do a good deal of market research to deliver business-critical insights to our clients. Much of that research is so-called primary research, i.e. talking directly with our clients' customers and prospective customers, key opinion leaders, industry experts, buyers, investors, etc. (Our work with customers is guided by some hard-learned principles that you will find summarized here.) I'm convinced of the importance of having artful conversations with these folks, and I finally realized the criticality and rarity of the skills necessary to make those conversations happen when I read a recent article by Shane Snow in Fast Company.
Snow shares some really useful suggestions in this piece. We usually follow most of his advice, but I also learned (or perhaps reminded myself of) some great tactics in this brief article. He comes at the topic from what can be learned from expert journalists, a dying breed in my view. I recommend his article to your attention.
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What's Happening in Tech?
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If you want to know, a very good way to start is to ask Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley, a well-known expert technology analyst. No need to call her however. She has just released her latest summary in the form of an 88-slide presentation which you can see here.
There's a wealth of hard data in her presentation, perhaps more than some of my medtech brethren care about. But I should remind them that info-tech and medtech are coming together quite dramatically, so med-heads need to pay attention!
I recommend your review of Mary's presentation.
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Will ObamaCare Hurt Medtech?
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Well, as near as I can figure, perhaps it will in the short term. But nobody (even you) really knows. Opinions on this issue are flying fast and furious, but I think a recent summary of selected comments taken from posts to LinkedIn's Medical Devices Group gets to the heart of the matter. My conclusion: Stop whining, work smarter, and work harder.
Let's be honest. There's plenty of unproductive work and duplication of effort to limited effect in the medtech industry. So fix that. Generate more revenue to achieve the same level of profitability despite the excise burden.
I readily admit that the new tax is a poor solution to Washington's supposed revenue shortfall and will hurt fledgling enterprises the most, especially those which are currently unprofitable. But let's be clear. What we all need to do in 2013 is:
- Devise better strategies
- Develop better product plans
- Execute better
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Are Better Days in Store?
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According to Joe Davis, Chief Economist at Vanguard, the answer is a qualified "yes". In my view, Dr. Davis knows his stuff. His recent speech to business leaders at a conference in Washington makes for insightful reading. Not only does he rationally prognosticate, but he does so after setting a long-term historical stage in clever fashion. Good stuff. I suggest you read his speech here. |
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Resources from our Archives
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Check out our Reading Room to view my published articles, presentations and white papers on a variety of topics.
And, you can examine an archive of my prior newsletters (since February 2007). |
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What does Trilogy do?
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Trilogy Associates facilitates business growth and renewal through commercialization of new products, providing the following services:
- Opportunity assessment
- Business planning and enterprise growth strategies
- New-product conceptualization, commercialization and marketing
- Market research and competitive assessment
- Business development and partnering
- Market and technological due diligence
- Assessment of the therapeutic and diagnostic potential of novel technologies
- Design of efficient and effective development strategies for early-stage biomedical products
- Business and technical writing/publishing
Inquiries to establish whether and how we might support your business initiatives are always welcome. Contact us. And check out our partner, Innovalyst, A Catalyst for Innovation. |
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