Jan Bosch

There’s no such thing as customer value

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As alluded to earlier, I work with quite a few companies in a consulting, advisory, board, research collaboration or other capacity. In many of these engagements, the discussion turns to what to build or how to extend the product with new functionality. When asked why we’re prioritizing certain types of functionality, the typical answer is … Read more

There’s no such thing as innovation

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Everyone loves innovation. It communicates that things will be better. That we get more of what we want. That customers will love us more. That we’ll stand out from the crowd and be recognized for the great work we do. That the people we work with are motivated and excited. That everyone will beat a … Read more

There’s no such thing as “the company”

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During my time in industry, I learned that every company has two cohorts of employees: the transients and the lifers. The transients would change company every couple of years whereas the lifers were on track to spend their entire professional life at one company. These lifers may have tried some other companies early in their … Read more

There’s no such thing as “the supplier”

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No company is an island. Instead, we’re part of a value network or business ecosystem where we co-exist with customers, partners, suppliers, competitors and so on. The ecosystem is continuously evolving and changing and occasionally, there are large disruptions. Many feel that suppliers are the ecosystem’s most stable and trustworthy members. They have a vested … Read more

There’s no such thing as “the business model”

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Although not everyone likes to talk about making money or generating revenue for the company, the fact is that every organization needs funds to survive, grow and develop. For this, we need customers who actually pay us and that’s where the business model comes in. Before digitalization became such an important development, many companies used … Read more

There’s no such thing as “the product”

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Of the words that get misused or oversimplified, “product” is one of my favorites. It creates such an easy image in people’s heads that often is completely inaccurate, especially in the high-tech domain. When we hear the word “product,” we tend to think of this widget that passes hands from one of our salespeople to … Read more

There’s no such thing as “the customer”

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If there’s one person I’d love to meet, it’s this “customer” virtually all the companies I work with refer to. In many businesses, the customer is this mythical individual who has all the answers, who is the only reason why we can’t or must do certain things and whom everyone must appease for the company … Read more

There’s no such thing as “the ecosystem”

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Similar to living creatures in a biological ecosystem, companies live in a business ecosystem. According to James Moore, a business ecosystem is an economic community supported by a foundation of interacting organizations and individuals – the organisms of the business world. A business ecosystem is characterized by three aspects. First, there’s a symbiotic relationship between … Read more

There’s no such thing as “the data”

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One of the typical patterns I experience a lot when working with companies on digitalization is the claim that they have all the data in the world. They can just pick what they want from the candy store to get the data-driven insights they’re looking for. When inspecting the data in detail, it rapidly becomes … Read more