Author Archives: Dave Berkus

Two most powerful words: “Help me.”

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Dave Berkus

Over the years I have heard many stories from entrepreneurs, students, news reporters, even my children, all telling me that they could not get someone’s attention they wanted or needed until they used the words, “Help me.”   The simple request … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others | 5 Comments

Keep constant contact with key customers.

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Dave Berkus

An executive’s job is not easy, nor is there much time in a typical day for outreach of any kind. Especially in a growing company, the CEO is drawn into daily process issues by all of his or her direct … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, The fight for quality | Leave a comment

Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Dave Berkus

Getting any product to market is an act composed of a series of compromises in quality, product perfection, feature-functionality, and cost effectiveness.  If every development engineer could control the release date of the component or product for which s/he is … Continue reading →

Posted in The fight for quality | 2 Comments

Plan for your R&D Tax.

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Dave Berkus

There is a life cycle for any product, and it is much shorter on average today than five years ago, especially in the technology world. Companies that are successful with their first product must begin thinking about the costs of … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, The fight for quality | 1 Comment

Move your team from competence to excellence.

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Dave Berkus

When a new CEO or manager is hired into a company, for a while lots of energy flows from the top and new ideas seem to be generated daily.  It is one reason not to fear the unknown when upper … Continue reading →

Posted in The fight for quality | 2 Comments

Reinvent your business with bits not atoms.

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Dave Berkus

If only newspaper publishers, book publishers, record companies, and movie producers would have had the vision to see their future as we now see it, we might have become a digital society with much less disruption and loss of jobs … Continue reading →

Posted in Positioning | 2 Comments

A good case study is worth many paid ads.

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Dave Berkus

We have grown more than a bit weary of most advertising, no matter in what form.  We are constantly bombarded by ads in multiple types of media, to the extent that we most often tune them out unless particularly entertaining … Continue reading →

Posted in Positioning | 4 Comments

Define your story before anyone else does.

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Dave Berkus

It is an old warning in the entertainment industry.  Define your persona the way you want others to view you – before someone else defines you by comparing you to someone not as flattering as you would like. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Positioning | Leave a comment

Incremental differentiation doesn’t cut it anymore.

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Dave Berkus

One important element of positioning a company is pricing strategy.  There are five niches you can chose when defining your positioning strategy:  price, quality, service, innovation, and elegance. And although many positioning efforts cross the lines between these, great companies … Continue reading →

Posted in Positioning | 2 Comments

Manage your MANTRA.

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Dave Berkus

I am constantly surprised when speaking with entrepreneurs and CEO’s who act puzzled and a bit flustered when I ask, “So what is your mantra?  Tell me about your company in ten words or less.”  Almost every one begins a … Continue reading →

Posted in Positioning | 2 Comments