Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don't
ISBN:9780385525947 read summary

Technology journalist Kevin Maney coined the term "fidelity swap" to describe the choice consumers make between "convenience" and "fidelity," which is the quality of the experience that a product or service provides. People make such trade-offs many times every day. To illustrate, consider whether you would rather watch the Yankees play live at Yankee Stadium or see the game from the comfort of your home? Would you rather enjoy the experience of browsing the aisles of your local bookstore or have the convenience of ordering books online? Products or services that lie on either extreme of the fidelity versus convenience continuum are most successful, while those that offer neither high quality nor extreme ease of use fall into the "fidelity belly," where they are doomed to mediocrity unless they can swim out. In his engaging book, Maney expertly uses numerous colorful case studies to explain the fidelity swap paradigm and lucidly demonstrates how to adopt it as a corporate strategy. getAbstract recommends his work to businesspeople contemplating issues of price versus prestige, availability versus exclusivity, and what works in the market, what doesn't and why.

I really enjoyed reading this book... It gives you a different frame of thinking that can be very valuable when applying it to small biz. I also liked the fact that the author relies on recent products / experiences to sustain his theory...

If overwhelmed and not sure where to go with a business "Trade-Off" is a good, simple book to help start the process of stepping back, orienting, and deciding. There are two key concepts - fidelity and convenience. Fidelity refers to a total, unique experience, e.g., going to a rock concert. Convenience refers to how easy it is to get something, e.g., buy the band's CD. Using these two concepts the book focuses on business risks. The first of two extreme risks discussed is the Fidelity Mirage - an attempt to provide unique experiences in a mass market approach, e.g., Coach Bag wanting to mass-market products. The other extreme risk is the Fidelity Belly with low fidelity and low convenience, e.g., Kodak holding on to film-based cameras for too long.
The above concepts combine and work towards a simple truth, i.e., the boundary between fidelity and convenience never sits still. So, staying aware of factors that can shift that boundary should be an on-going activity. It is important to decide how close a business can get to one extreme or the other and thrive.
It is not deep with data and models. If it were, the ability to step back and look at things from a fresh perspective would be lost. Again, it is a good place to start to generate a realistic view of where a business sits and the odds of survival.

Tiffany's Sells Swatches! Extremely unlikely, given there pull-back on $100 Charms because they recognized the trade-off they were making in serving that Customer verses serving the Elite Quality Oriented Customer, that they built their reputation on, according to Best Selling Author Kevin Maney in his recent book Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On And Others Don't (Random House) Forward by Jim Collins.

In his book he explains how organizations who excel, inherently understand this trade-off. His book will help you get crystal clear about the Trade-off that you need to make if your going to compete in the market place and have your product or service catch on. He gives examples of both those who never made the trade off and shrank into oblivion. And those who made the brake-out that most organizational leaders envision. This book is not an academic tomb, it is alive with wonderful examples that remain with you long after you put it on your bookshelf or archive it on your Kindle.

One of the examples he provides in fact is of the development of Kindle. I marvel at the richness of his social network and how it elevates the details and understanding that he draws from these relationships. It provides credibility and insight that many books miss.

Business books often over do it just to fill pages, where you likely will feel diminishing value after the first three chapters. Not this one of them, Kevin keeps it interesting from the first page to the last or from the first click to the last. I read all his reviews on kindle and I thought I would give him a chance to respond to those critics (not that there were many critics) in an upcoming interview on Just Ask Leadership's Blog.

Many academics give you a list of what to do, Kevin gives you a mental model that will help you think about your business and the Trade-off the market is wanting you to make to get your products or services to catch on. What is that Trade-off for your organization?

Interview with Kevin Maney Author of Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On And Others Don't - can be found on my blog Just Ask Leadership (can't post links so you will have to google it.)

Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don't

I only knew Kevin well-enough to say hello in the elevator in 1991 when he and I worked in different departments at USA Today. But things he was writing about even then continue to play-out now. HIGHLY recommended reading, if knowing what-next matters to you.