Posts by Ryan Greene
Avoid Becoming a “Zombie” Brand With These 3 Lessons
It’s not so much people but the retail stores in malls that are likely to become zombies, so says The Wall Street Journal writer Christopher Mims. In this context, “zombies” are the stores that continue to have a lot of overhead, fixed costs, and short-term goals. It probably won’t shock you to hear that traditional…
Read MoreWant to Compete in Retail in a Post-Amazon World? Here’s How.
It’s true that Amazon is disrupting the retail industry. In fewer than 10 years, it has become the dominant player in nearly every consumer retail product category and during that time its yearly growth rate has been above 20% every single year. So it would be easy to blame the current U.S. retail industry meltdown…
Read MoreSurvival of the Clickest: How Netflix Will Conquer the World
For all those out there that love Netflix, we recommend checking out this fascinating Wired article that offers a behind-the-scenes view of the Netflix content and personalization machine. It’s rare glimpse into how the innovative company thinks about, and exploits, customer data. The article highlights how data has been key to the company’s success. Core…
Read MoreMining for Data Gold
Nathaniel Popper from The New York Times published a revealing article regarding the ongoing tech company claims that big banks are pulling in the reins when it comes to sharing customer data. Big retail banks, Silicon Valley executives say, are refusing to pass along information around the fees and interest rates that they charge their…
Read MoreWhy You Should Embrace the Data Storage Renaissance
What keeps us on earth? What keeps the earth rotating around the sun? Gravity, you say. Data also has “gravity”. a16z partner Peter Levine said it in on a recent a16z Podcast: The Storage Renaissance. “Data has to live somewhere and be made accessible. It might not be sexy, but storage and cloud computing is what…
Read MoreCEO Doug McMillon Discusses Innovation and the Future of Walmart
Harvard Business Review editor in chief Adi Ignatius recently interviewed Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, on how the brick-and-mortar retail giant is adapting to the digital age. The Walmart board hired McMillon as CEO in 2014 to bring the company into the future without disrupting the franchise. Walmart’s case illustrates how the biggest challenge of…
Read MoreMcKinsey: How to Start Building Your Next-Generation Operating Model
McKinsey’s Joao Dias, David Hamilton, and Christopher Paquette recently published an incredibly in-depth report about the technology and organizational strategies needed for a modern operating model. “How to Start Building Your Next-Generation Operating Model” is chock full of insights that illuminate why this is often a struggle for organizations—and why they have only seen marginal…
Read MoreHarvard Business Review: The Rebirth of the CMO
The “M” in CMO is much more than just marketing now. Factor in understanding data technology, analytics, and customer experiences, too. The role itself is changing rapidly and becoming much more critical to lead the digital transformation of a company and how it will win in the new digital economy. The recent Harvard Business Review…
Read MoreJavelin Group: What’s in Store for the Next 10 Years of Retail?
Will Treasure, Javelin Group’s Director of Operations, recently published an interesting list of predictions for the future of retail. “Retailing is a particularly dynamic industry, and in 100 years has changed from the butcher and baker ‘living over the shop’ via organized retail, self-service, and big-box to today’s omni-channel,” Treasure writes. We couldn’t agree more.…
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