• The P&G story:
• Awareness
• Mass Advertising
• Product functionality (real or perceived)
• Lafly is bringing P&B back!
• Jim Collins' book, From Good to Great:
• Superb at most basic competence needs
• Poor to totally wrong on many other macro conclusions.
• Explain why - for a simple reason. All his success examples happened in an excess demand world, with old rules for winning. Irrelevant rules for today's world.

So, what are the implications of the excess supply world on business? (Among them):

• To cut costs.
• To increase productivity.
• To focus on constant innovation.
• To recognize the customer as king.
• To build relationships and trust with customers and consumers.
• To build strong brands based on relevant differentiation.
• To develop your own model to understand the world.
• To identify the key strategies for success in the
• 21st Century excess supply world.

Finally, the 3rd force - I need to say little about it: continuing political instability - and risk.

As long as there are huge numbers of people - disconnected from the free enterprise system - political and social instability will prevail, and thrive.

9/11 was just an example. And sadly more will come. Other forms of instability in our own backyard will be created by the disconnected, the disenfranchised in our own communities: the elderly-poor, the disenfranchised ethnic minorities, the disconnected youths - among others.

So we have to learn to live with risk, with instability, with social disorder, with acts of terror, and with the threat of terror. All of these will be part of your real world.

So there you have it. The likely major forces affecting your business lives: the powerful engine of free enterprise, the excess supply business paradigm, and lots of instability and risk. That is the near-term context, in which the business world will perform in the short decades ahead.

So what will it take for you and your clients to make it, in the fierce,tough, competitive business environment ahead?

Let me offer 5 strategies. Be on your guard, a couple of them are counter-intuitive.

First, your clients will have to embrace creativity - as the most vital enterprise resource. Creativity is the only leverageable asset, on a company's balance sheet! (Repeat)

So, let's talk about a company's balance sheet. What do we find there?

• Cash of different forms:
• Actual cash/cash instruments
• Receivables
• Inventories
• Access to cash (debt)
• Property
• Equipment

All these are important, but there is nothing leverageable here! All are basic commodities. (Pause)

There are two critical items not on the U.S. balance sheets:

The value power of a brand(s), which do appear on the balance sheets of some European companies.

And 2nd, the creative capacity of an organization!

In a world, where most all needed resources, are relatively accessible and cheap - the only discriminating and leverageable resource, for an organization, is, its creative capacity.