AI chip maker Nvidia is replacing Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average this week.  This may seem irrelevant to your business.  But it is, in fact, pretty meaningful.  There is an important lesson in this podcast for all leaders about maintaining relevancy, following trends and smartly investing your resources.

The DJIA members are supposed to be the 30 most secure, powerful and safe public companies in America.  But they keep changing. In the last years some pretty important companies were kicked off the list – Intel, Walgreens, Exxon-Mobil, Pfizer, GE, AT&T, Alcoa, HP, Bank of America, Kraft, General Motors, Kodak, Sears.  Who replaced them?  Nvidia, Amazon, Salesforce, Amgen, Apple, Nike, Visa, United Health Group, Cisco Systems, Verizon and Home Depot.  Do you see a pattern?

Those kicked off were great companies, but they became great being good at something that became irrelevant.  The replacements are companies that recognized big trends, then built on those trends to rapidly grow sales and become important market leaders.  The new guys – like the Biblical David – used new tools to overwhelm industry giants and come out victorious.  This podcast explains how companies of all sizes can act like David in order to be more successful, and overwhelm other competitors that look like giants but can be beaten by using new, available tools.

Thinking Points:

• Do you ever question your relevancy in your market?  To your customers?
• Do you know your customers biggest unmet needs – even if those ummet needs aren’t aligned with your Value Delivery System?
• Do you invest in new tools to be more competitive, or mostly invest in trying to improve what you’ve always done?
• Do you recognize trends, and change where you invest along with the trends to be more successful?

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