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The Chief Outsider
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Recent Posts
Why MedTech’s Brilliant Innovators Must Also Become Commercial Architects
| Great technology is necessary. It is not sufficient. The graveyard of MedTech is lined with brilliant innovations that never found their market — not because of scientific failure, but commercial invisibility. |
I just returned from LSI USA ‘26 in Dana Point — the most impressive gathering of emerging MedTech talent I’ve witnessed in decades. The event convened 2,000 executives, 394 presenting startups, and over 500 active investors and strategics. The scientific ambition in that room was extraordinary.
Timing is Everything: Three Ways to Set the Clock to Your Advantage
Tue, Nov 8, 2016 — Flash back with me for a moment to the 1980s. The decade of big hair, Reaganomics and the DeLorean, the 80s was also the cherry on top for more than three decades of stupendous growth in the music industry.
If Marketing “Leads,” Sales Will Follow: Achieving Alignment For Revenue Success
Thu, Sep 29, 2016 — Travel with me, if you will, back to 2006. It was a time, in the corporate world, when the sales team had all of the power and most of the fun. Company credit card in hand, they would organize meetings at conferences, trade shows, meetings on the golf course, or at their favorite hospitality event. Pleasantries were exchanged, orders were placed – and business kept rolling forward.
Machine Learning: Removing the Emotion from Investing
Sat, Sep 24, 2016 — Humans are emotional creatures. We have an ingrained response to pursue the things that make us feel good, and avoid the things that can harm us. In marketing we often appeal to the emotional side of our customers, playing a little with the promise that humans are not ruthless, calculating automatons - they have sentiments, worries, and aspirations, and we try to find ways to appeal to those. Emotions are part of what make us human, and guide many of the decisions we make in our lives - even when they shouldn't.
The CEO's Challenge of Staying Relevant in an Accelerated World
Mon, Sep 19, 2016 — And what to do about it Almost all CEOs face the challenge of maintaining relevancy in the markets they serve. More specifically, what keeps many CEO’s awake at night is the realization that something is materially changing in their company, in their markets, or within what was once a marquee product line. Yet, the rank and file just can’t see it. And if they do see it, they aren’t responding fast enough. Maybe our CEO can’t fully understand it. But their instincts tell them that it’s more than a seasonal blip; it’s something systemic that could rock the company off its foundation. In many instances, the problem boils down to the company not innovating fast enough. The world is seemingly passing it by. Relevancy is lost.
Forging a Solid Go to Market Plan – Without the Assumptions
Wed, Sep 14, 2016 — Business owners and entrepreneurs live in a constant state of observation. Equal parts tenacious and curious, they never stop watching, listening, and comparing their product and service offerings to the competition. They ask themselves daily, hourly: “Is the competitor’s product better?” and “Am I really putting an impactful marketing message out there?”-- often secretly wondering if they truly know the answer.
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Has Your Company Failed to Order the Breakfast of Champions?
Tue, Sep 13, 2016 — You are a hard-working, dedicated CEO who wants to grow your company – so you have taken the necessary steps to understand your market and develop insights about growth opportunities. You have even transformed those insights into a cohesive strategy, and worked with your team on a successful execution plan. What’s more, you have metrics and milestones galore. Congratulations! You’re ready to grow! …Right?
Thinking Smarter about Machine Learning: A Conversation with Geoff Roach
Sun, Jul 31, 2016 — Artificial intelligence, or machine learning, is on the rise. From Siri to self-driving cars, new frameworks are becoming accessible to the mainstream, and products are growing increasingly "smarter." As massive quantitates of data are being plugged into predictive systems, this leads to a question of quality: How can we ensure the programs we put in place will understand the data we throw at them? Geoff Roach with Chief Outsiders argues that no matter how smart our machines become, humans will always need to be one step ahead.
Driving Marketing Post M&A
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 — M&A continues to be a preferred growth strategy for many executives according to KPMG’s 10th Annual Study of the M&A Outlook. The key trends driving M&A activity vary by industry sector but the primary challenge is consistent across the board - valuation disparity between the buyer and seller.[i] As a result, most of the effort is on financial evaluations during due diligence, and other areas, like human resources, can be postponed or overlooked.
Attention, Company Founders: Keys to Avoiding Colossal Marketing Flops
Mon, Jul 25, 2016 — They’re some of the worst American marketing flops of all time: Smith & Wesson Mountain Bikes, Cosmopolitan Yogurt, and Coors Rocky Mountain Water. These three powerhouses are some of the most well-known brands on the planet – and yet they still hit the skids when their seemingly unique and interesting idea failed to meet customer expectations and gain traction in the market.