Business Expectations

Technology drives modern business and enables companies to produce and market products that improve our lives and fulfill our desires. The most successful companies are those most adept at taking a new concept, enabled through the development of new technology, and turning that concept into a real product that consumers want or need. This process, in many ways, mirrors the attempts of alchemists to turn common minerals and elements into the most valuable commodity they knew of – gold. Business Expectations proposes that by viewing business practices as an alchemical process that moves a product along a continuum from magic (an idea) toward gold (a tangible product), business leaders can make better decisions and increase their odds of successful market introduction. Written with CEOs, product developers, marketing executives, and sales professionals in mind, this book provides decision-makers with a set of predictive tools for knowing where a technology lies in the alchemical transformation between concept and product. To excel in the New Economy, businesses must create products that transform a young technology with mercurial functionality into a mature technology with tangible features and functions that are desired by the customer. This book will guide you on that alchemical journey. Three distinct sections offer a full perspective on the challenge of turning ideas and technologies into useful products. The first section presents the technology-as-alchemy metaphor and looks at it through the varied lenses of product development, marketing, sales, and consumer perspectives. The second section explores the practical monetary, predictive, and managerial advantages of the metaphorical model. The third section concentrates on the practical, real-world application of this model in meeting a company’s particular needs and facing its challenges. Business Expectations offers new insight on the process of evolving a product or service from prototype to practical technology. It helps managers avoid unrealistic expectations of what technology can do in order to design a realistic and workable e-business strategy to guide their company into a bright and successful future. Find out if you’re using your technology to its fullest with: A road map that guides you along the technological and developmental path from concept to product Tools you can use to position your product or service in order to better satisfy customer needs The knowledge necessary to separate realistic and unrealistic expectations for your technology so you can push it to the limit of its capabilities A plan for marketing your product or service within the framework of your current e-business technology Expert guidance on what it takes to create, innovate, and dominate in the New Economy Bryan P. Bergeron (Brookline, MA) has over thirty years' experience designing and working with computers and electronics. He teaches technology and business at Harvard Medical