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Sense-and-Respond Economy!

PikeNet 2000 / Apr 5-7, 2000 / San Francisco

Is Planning Dead? ... Yep, the Internet has killed it, at least according to Stephan Haeckle of IBM's Advanced Business Institute. Check out his October 26, 1999 article in eBusiness Week. (Use this link.) Here's the theory. Your firm used to plan strategy and launch new initiatives annually. But now you're continuously connected to your customers (at lease theoretically!) via the net. So "a firm's operations today must be driven by current customer requests, implicit as well as articulated."

A firm must move from a "make-and-sell" model to a "sense-and-respond" model, which is enormously difficult. For this means "changing its structure from that of an efficient machine to that of an adaptive social system." Strong digital connections and "authentic communication" will be your competitive advantage. "Companies and managers must learn a fundamentally new competency: designing and leading organizations as systems rather than as collections of products and functions."

Yikes, this sounds like anti-real estate! After all, many successful developers and brokers have been notoriously independent. But I know that many professionals and firms are seriously exploring how to embed the net in the creation of real estate e-service. In fact, it's fun to sit in a meeting with senior executives who suddenly see "the road ahead." And, yes, it will be a wild ride down this pike (pun intended!). ... If you've got a story about how your firm is taking advantage of the net, send e-mail to me . ... Next Dispatch issue will be Dec 27. Happy Holidays!

PikeNet 2000... The subtext of this year's conference is "When Will Real Estate Jump the Chasm?" which comes from our keynote speaker, Paul Weifels of the Chasm Group. Rephrased, "What will motivate the bulk of the real estate industry to take advantage of the Internet?" Or, "When will we grow past the early adopters (all PikeNet subscribers!) scattered around each company?" For insights into how other industries have faced this issue, read "Crossing the Chasm" by Geoffrey Moore. ... PikeNet 2000, Apr 5-7, 2000, in San Francisco. Click the link at the top of the home page or www.pikenet.com/pikenet2000.

--Peter