Tough love for bad business ideas: How to advance the extinction of innovative, but unevolved, business ideas

There’s been a lot of sadness communicated over a list of 25 ideas about to become extinct with examples ranging from the US Post Office to milkmen. Luckily, apple pie missed the list. Commentators on the fates of these dying species mourn the loss and wonder how business leaders could have seen the hand just before the plug got pulled. Business Genome views the extinction differently–as a wake up call for business leaders who are avoiding the sometimes unpleasant task of constructing a gallows for their current corporate initiatives that are leading nowhere.

Business Genome offers a 7-step checklist to guide corporate leaders through the task: How to Pull the Plug on Bad Business Ideas. The key to avoiding extinction is not to mourn when it’s too late, but to stick to a discipline of facing facts before the fate is sealed.

Toughen up, stop the bleeding, and move on.

And, do it with a smile. Because after shedding dead ideas, the Phoenix rises, bringing better business ideas.

Con artists get a bad rap: How to become a master “corporate pro-artist”

How to develop a leadership message that rallies the troops in times of economic crunch? Is it ethical to become a mega-cheerleader when you’re in the midst of rough seas? What can business leaders learn from the wink and nod attitudes of con artists that would instill the type of optimism in their employees that would lead toward upticks in business results? What messages work?

The Business Genome’s rules for How to Be a Master Corporate Pro-Artist provide the guide on the side advice for leaders trying to climb out of the downward spirals of business performance.

Umami, the fifth sense for business leaders: How to build a business based on what customers want but can’t tell you

Umami represents the fifth sense in the science of the physiology of taste. Although long-recognized in the East as a flavor sensation that augments the taste dimension that westerners have defined as salty, sweet, bitter, and sour, umami has only recently gained traction in the rest of the world.

Translate the concept of a formerly unnamed “sense” finding a name to the world of business and you have one of the Business Genome’s core lessons on how companies can uncover formerly unnamed consumer preferences. These preferences, sometimes called “latent customer needs”, are elusive to many, yet open a world of opportunity for business leaders charged with developing new products or services with legs in the marketplace. The Business Genome offers the how-to’s of uncovering “customer umami”–the fifth sense for sensing what the market is ready for, but cannot name.

Business School of Rock, aka, you say you want an evolution: How to yield the economic benefits of invention and creation

David Bowie’s Bowie Bonds represented a 1997-style innovation designed to shift the balance of power in the economics of music creation and distribution. Bowie’s original idea allowed individuals to buy asset-based bonds linked to the future value of his songs. Fast forward to 2009 and a new seismic shift in the creative landscape is starting to rumble where the dollars for ideas are up for grabs again–this time with books and their authors. Amazon’s Kindle and a new gadget in the works at Apple both threaten to take the power away from once-secure distributors and publishers. If the current direction of electronic book distribution continues, there may come a day where electronic book distributors outstrip the traditional publishing house’s ability to command the lion’s share of distribution dollars, thereby cementing a closer relationship with the authors. How might that affect the future economics of publishing? Business Genome’s Rules to Avoid Fossilization are the best bet for publishers and others whose lock on distribution will be threatened by new technological alternatives.

Free at last: How to navigate a business world where “free” is an option

How can a business leader navigate a world where “free” is an option? How can value be understood and price determined if everything from news content to navigation services that once commanded a premium price are now being traded for free? Chris Anderson’s new book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price” explains his theory on the new pricing ecosystem and warns companies that commerce has a pull toward free exchange of goods and services. The Business Genome takes a slightly different perspective, offering the warning signs that your business might be heading toward commoditization and that what was once highly sought-after might no longer command a premium price.