Living on the Fault Line: Managing for Shareholder Value in the Age of the Internet
By Geoffrey A. Moore
Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN# 0887308880
Living in Silicon Valley as we do, Geoff Moore’s newest endeavor – Living on the Fault Line – strikes home at several levels. Obviously we actually do live in a fault area but we were also attracted to the book because it deals in the business area we live and work in daily and our clients are always concerned with both the stock market value and the shareholder value.
The founder and managing director of The Chasm Group has burrowed into a new set of issues facing companies today and arrived at another set of guidelines, ideas and recommendations that force us to think about what is really important and vital to a company’s success. We’re not certain if his latest book is evolutionary or revolutionary but like Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado, his earlier best sellers, it gives business managers a clearer understanding of the challenges and opportunities they face today.
Every professional we know emphatically says that what he or she does creates shareholder value. And until you’ve read Living on the Fault you’re positive that’s true. After reading the book, you’ll question how much of what you do is – as Moore has identified the areas – core or context.
Why should you care about what Moore has to say? Quite simply being forewarned is forearmed. There’s a good chance your boss might read the book and have a new perspective on what efforts and activities are of real value.
Moore points out that too much of a company’s time is spent on tasks that are context and not enough time is spent on those that are core.
A task is core if it directly affects the fundamental value propositions of the firm. Or put simply, if it raises the stock price it is core…everything else is context. According to Moore the goal for context related activities are to execute effectively and efficiently based on the core functions.
Striking at the basic justification for our advertising brethren, Moore takes the position that differentiation based on context is the single biggest waste of resources of companies today. He explains that differentiation soaks up time, talent and management attention that don’t add to shareholder value. From his perspective if the company’s goal is to manage for shareholder value then these actions then they have to be stopped.
Moore explains that core and context interoperate to create quality and they are fundamental to the company’s effectiveness. How well they interact determines how much core value gets to the marketplace. But he warns that context can’t get in the way of core.
Moore gives management a simple litmus test. How much time is spent in meetings and how much in actually doing the business of the company. In small companies that exist throughout Silicon Valley Moore estimates that 20 percent of the time is spent in meetings and 80 percent is spent in doing – adding value. On the other hand, in large corporations 80 percent of the time is spent in meetings and 20 percent in contributing.
Bottomline?
It costs the large company four times as much to achieve the same throughput. Even then Moore asserts that much of that work is on context activities, not core work. Moore’s solution is simple…outsource the context. Obviously you can hire more people to do the context work to free yourself to focus on core activities but does that contribute to shareholder value? No because staff affects the bottomline while outsourcing comes above the line. Big difference to the company’s P&L and shareholder value.
An even greater danger for companies today and managers specifically is that while individuals realize their activities provide some level of contribution, they aren’t really core so their jobs could be eliminated. As a result, employees act in a conservative manner…they don’t rock the boat. This translates into an innate resistance to change even in the face of major, disruptive technology shifts. When these shifts take place as they do on an increasing basis today people resist and devote more time and effort on context tasks rather than core activities.
Business-as-usual exists throughout the corporation, not just in public relations. As a result, nothing is done quickly and often nothing is done at all.
Moore’s recommendations – which are the prime reason every manager should read Living on the Fault Line – is to outsource anything that doesn’t give the company a competitive advantage. Insource the design and management of the majority of your programs and outsource much of the execution and operation. That manages shareholder value.
Reviewed by G.A. “Andy” Marken
Marken Communications Inc.
Andy@markencom.com
Living on the Fault Line - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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