e-FORUM - 2008 Volume 10, No. 2 - BOOK EXCERPT: THE LASTING COMPETITIVE EDGE: NOT WHAT YOU DO, BUT HOW? (Page 78)

THE REAL COMPETITIVE EDGE:
IT’S HOW YOU DO
WHAT YOU DO
MARKETING’S “FOUR P’S A — PRODUCT, PRICE, PLACE AND PROMOTION
–– ARE IMPORTANT, BUT TODAY THEY’RE MERELY TABLE STAKES, SAYS
BOB LIVINGSTON, A CPG VETERAN whose career includes a stint as sales
head of Lipton/Unilever and advisor to companies including CROSSMARK
and The Nielsen Company. The real edge, he says, is and will be the
customer relationship. In his new book, “How You Do... What You Do,”
he blueprints this “how.” Here, we provide an excerpt from Chapter 10,
“Seek Continuous Improvement,” and talk with Bob about why he is
calling for service revolution.