Business Model Expiration Dates

For most companies, worries about the transience of advantage can seem hopelessly theoretical.  The goal for the majority of companies and their leadership teams is to achieve market dominance, not worry about the staying power of that dominance.  And for those lucky companies currently enjoying their time in the sun, time spent pondering the end of their hard-won market position can seem morbidly pessimistic.

Recent developments suggest that leadership teams from the scrappiest startup to the Fortune 100 would be better served by stepping back and considering the roots of advantage, how it has been attained in their industry/niche, and how market trends will impact the staying power of that advantage.

• Media company Gannett (GCI) recently attracted the interest of investor Carl Icahn due to the company’s plan to spin-off its low-growth print operations.

• Ecommerce startup Fab, which rode to a $1 billion valuation on the strength of its flash sales model, has recently stumbled, with multiple rounds of layoffs, as the company struggles to navigate a path to profitability.

• Consumer Products giant Procter & Gamble (PG), driven by a tectonic shift in consumer shopping behavior, has announced a plan to divest as many as 100 brands.  There is some evidence from the company’s prior efforts at divesting brands that this approach is flawed, and may in fact only delay a more substantive shift in the company’s business model.

• Energy company Kinder Morgan, which popularized the use of a tax-advantaged structure known as a Master Limited Partnership, recently announced a $70 billion plan to simplify the company, citing investor concerns around complexity and a high cost of capital.

• Tech company Microsoft (MSFT), announced that it will cut up to 18,000 jobs in 2014 as it seeks to integrate its recent acquisition of Nokia and implement new CEO Satya Nadella’s revamp of both the company’s culture and market positioning.

Each of these companies are coming to terms with the need to fundamentally reimagine their business models as shifting market dynamics render prior competitive advantages moot.

The lesson, if there is one, is that there is no end in the struggle for market dominance, but only a continuous journey.  It is a lesson that all leadership teams should reflect on from time to time.

About the Author

David Johnson (@TurnaroundDavid) is Founder and Managing Partner of Abraxas Group, a boutique advisory firm focused on providing transformational leadership to middle market companies in transition.  Over the course of his career David has served as financial advisor and interim executive to dozens of middle market companies.  David is also a recognized thought leader on the topics of business transformation, change management, interim leadership, restructuring, turnaround, and value creation.  He can be contacted at: david@abraxasgp.com.