What Do Dead Armadillos and Once-Great Companies Have In Common?

When someone mentions American Airlines, Ford and Yahoo, what comes to mind? What about Southwest Airlines, Honda, and Netflix?

The first group frustrates me with their repeated questionable decisions and poor PR after the poor decisions. The last group is bleeding edge on whatever they do and it’s FUN to be a customer of theirs. I’d much rather fly Southwest than American even if you have to catch a connecting flight.

Our focus in 2008 at Innovative has been redefined. We want to make our Customer’s experience with Innovative LEGENDARY. We want to do whatever the customer needs to help them succeed at their business. Any initiative that we take on this year must have an impact on how we interact with customers. If it doesn’t,  it is put on the shelf.

I ran across this article written by Bill Taylor which helped to reinforce our decision to change our focus and do what other Industrial Automation companies struggle to do.

My favorite comment is:

What do they say in Texas? “The only thing in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead armadillos.” To which we might now add: “And once-great companies that are slowly going out of business.”

Bottom line…Focus on what you are good at and everything else is just a distraction. You’ll become a Dead Armadillo — entertaining the distraction while the 18-wheeler is heading at you head on! —  Ken Skillett