Death in the middle
In politics, finding the middle ground is often challenging, but typically it’s what is needed to make societal progress.
In conducting our own affairs, behaving moderately–what the Buddhists call “the Middle Path”–is usually the best way to find happiness and serenity.
Yet in business, the middle is often the place to get stuck and eventually die.
Years ago, the middle was the place to be, the way to serve the broadest possible market and to maximize market share. Think Sears.
Today, the middle is the place to try to be something to a lot of people, but ultimately not mean much to any of them. Think Sears again.
In a world where consumers have virtually infinite choices, tremendous access to information at their fingertips and digital business models allow for increasingly deep levels of micro-segmenting, you can’t straddle the line anymore. You need to pick a lane.
The retail graveyard is filled with once great brands that at one time commanded strong customer loyalty, dominant market share and lofty PE’s.
None of these brands got sick and died quickly.
They all failed to understand shifting consumer desires.
They all failed to see how technology would change their core business models forever.
They all defended the status quo, while upstart competition went from interesting to good to great.
They all watched while others acted, and then their belated action came to look more like flailing than strategy.
If you are feeling safe in the middle, you might want to think again.
This post was originally appeared on my prior blog site on October 10, 2011.

Store Expansion May Not Be A Slam Dunk For Struggling Digitally Native Brands
Warby Parker’s disappointing earnings report is just more evidence of what I call the profitless prosperity of disruptor brands. They join a growing list of retail innovators that are posting strongly growing revenues while their profits continue to worsen. Given that...

Regrets? I’ve Had A Few.
Are you trying to live a life with no regrets? Well good luck with that. Not only is it non-sensical, it can be harmful. Trying to live a life without regrets, is to play it way too safe. It's to miss out on so many possibilities--the potential to love deeply, expand...

The Myth of The Great E-commerce Acceleration
One of the most pervasive retail industry narratives is the belief that online shopping growth was massively accelerated by the pandemic. Set your WABAC Machine to the spring of 2020 and you’ll find scores of references to how we experienced “10 years of growth in...