Patrick Lefler
Patrick Lefler
Patrick Lefler is the founder of The Spruance Group -- a management consultancy that helps growing companies grow faster by providing unique value at the product level: specifically product marketing, pricing, and innovation. He is a former Marine Corps officer; a graduate of both Annapolis and The Wharton School, and has over twenty years of industry expertise.
Marketing is a battle of perceptions…
In his 2008 book In Search of the Obvious, Jack Trout makes the case that the minds of customers or prospects are difficult to...
Market risk versus technology risk for startups…
The odds of success for most startups is about .1% - that means for every winner the likes of Google and Facebook, there are...
Iridium rises from the ashes…
In an earlier post a few weeks ago in which I wrote about Microsoft pulling the plug on its Kin Mobiles Phones, I mentioned...
How Canon used the New Lanchester Strategy to defeat Xerox
By far the most important aspect of the Lanchester Strategy is the need for concentration. In most cases for startups, that means splitting your...
The New Lanchester Strategy for startups
We briefly touched on using the New Lanchester Strategy for startups in an earlier post here. Today I want to expand on how the...
What is the New Lanchester Strategy…and why should you care?
Frederick W. Lanchester was born on October 23, 1868, in London, England. After graduating from the Royal College of Science, he built England's first...
The man who saved the Swiss watch industry…
This past July, Nicolas Hayek, a lebanese-born business consultant died at the age of 82. While Hayek’s name may not be familiar to most,...
Microsoft does the right thing and pulls plug on Kin Mobile Phones
In an earlier post, we talked about the how important it is to ‘fail fast and often’. While Mircosoft is by no means considered...
Will yesterday’s Supreme Court 2nd Amendment decision increase firearm sales? Think again…
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the constitutional right to bear arms overrides state and local laws. While the decision may strengthen Americans’ rights...
Barnes & Noble and Amazon engage in price war. Consumer perception of the value for e-readers spirals downward!
The Wall Street Journal reported this afternoon that Barnes & Noble Inc. cut the price of its Nook e-reader to $199 on Monday. Hours...
Peter Drucker, Jack Welch and outsourcing…
Despite having the reputation as one who promoted respect for the worker and beliefs that employees are assets and not liabilities, Peter Drucker will...
Social norms versus market norms
There’s a NY Times article today that talks about AT&T’s new pricing plan (which we wrote about last week here). In the article, a...
AT&T’s pricing change – Much to do about nothing…unless you own an iPad
This past Wednesday, AT&T announced that they were going to end their unlimited 3G data plan for smart phone users. Starting later this month,...
Ford to kill Mercury – unfortunately, it’s been dead for years!
Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported today that CEO Alan Mulally has already won support from key members...
More discounting = less value = fewer sales
A few weeks ago, I pointed out in a that JoS A. Bank (the clothier) was inundating my inbox with more and more sales...
Is it a meal or an ‘experience’?
Well known Chicago restauranteur Grant Achatz of Alinea has announced plans for a new restaurant with a what he calls a ‘unique pricing model’. ...
Fail fast and frequently…
What’s the secret for success in the start-up world? It’s failure! Here’s a short clip of Tina Seelig, Executive Director of the Stanford Technology...
Skin in the game for start-ups
Earlier this week, I got involved in a LinkedIn Group discussion regarding start-ups and the concept of skin in the game. The original question...
The power of FREE!
In his book Predictably Irrational, author Dan Ariely recounts a great story about what happened when Amazon.com began to offer free shipping on orders...
How many fees can the airlines charge you at once?
There’s a pretty good article in today’s NY Times titled Seating Game: You Pay to Play that describes the various approaches airlines are using...