Creative Construction

Creating a formidable, durable enterprise rarely happens because it is extremely hard to achieve. It requires a well-conceived, novel business model and the successful implementation of that model. Getting all the pieces of a business to fit snugly together provides the potential not only for substantial long-term growth, but also for sustainability and unassailability as well. Although Christo’s ingenious methodologies will outlive him, his enterprise will not because it centers around his personal skills and perseverance. Hugh Hefner’s Playboy brand has had an impressive fifty-year run and will likely have legs beyond its founder, though its media properties have entered terminal decline. The most successful, enduring business models become self-reinforcing when management weaves together multiple threads of the enterprise strategy. Companies that have numerous competitive advantages, not solely product advantages, have the potential to become significant, if not dominant, players in their industry and to generate larger profits for longer periods of time. The challenge remains how best to conceive of the innovations that deliver these advantages, and then to execute the winners. Originating a recipe that mixes together the proper ingredients in the optimum amounts is challenging, and infrequently comes prepackaged.