Who would've thought that a rubber tire company would score a huge marketplace hit by diversifying into travel guides? Think Michelin. Think IBM and Linux. Intel and its Centrino chips. The latest issue of strategy + business features these and other great examples of how companies can succeed dramatically by not sticking to their knitting.
The article "Complementary Genius" (reg may be required) touts the wisdom of thinking about portfolio offerings as "complements" to a company's core competencies. It offers five great questions that are highly relevant for professional service firms, as they get better about considering their offerings through a service portfolio lens:
- What complements are currently constraining demand in our markets?
- What new product might boost demand for our core offerings?
- Would our customers buy more if they had better information?
- Would we learn valuable lessons by innovating in complements?
- Do we have competitors whose fortunes are tightly tied to the price of complements?
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