The Agility Advantage

lon Musk has no trouble competing against established giants like Nissan, Ford, and GM in auto manufacturing, GE in solar power, and NASA in space travel—because large companies like these tend to innovate incrementally

Traditional market research often focuses on your biggest, most

The first step in the process is simply to notice what is going on around you—to see the risks, trends, and potential changes that might affect you.
The second step is to decide which changes matter—which represent significant opportunities or threats

The trucks are packed in a way that allows employees to optimally unload product—from the front to the back of the store. This approach maximizes the speed and efficiency with which store associates can stock the shelves, and minimizes disruption in the aisles

Ask for specific examples of when your product or service made a difference to a customer's business results, and help him or her translate this example into a dollar figure. Ask “what-if” questions (“What if we could help you perform this step of your process 20 percent faster? What would that be worth?”)

To address this risk, Musk and the Tesla team identified two major consumer concerns that might stop customers from buying

Observe the Customers' Daily Environment, the Tools They Use, and the People They Interact With

The trucks are packed in a way that allows employees to optimally unload product—from the front to the back of the store. This approach maximizes the speed and efficiency with which store associates can stock the shelves, and minimizes disruption in the aisles.

Being agile means acting quickly when an opportunity presents itself—which requires alignment among members of a management team

Verbalizing the elements of the My Worst Nightmare scenario helps them mentally rehearse how they might respond should aspects of the scenario begin to play out one day