Originally Posted by
Pontius Pilot
American companies tend to look for the overnight innovation - something that will revolutionize their business overnight. If it doesn't work in a few weeks they abandon it. How did Toyota get to be such a dominant force in the automotive industry? They make little changes, thousands of them in a year, small steps...and they continue to pursue and nurture them. Their idea of innovation is that tiny little steps will eventually produce a great thing. They listen to customers, managers and people working on the production line. The result is a product that is dominant and a brand that people will pay more for because of perceived value for the money. So we add something at a US airline and abandon it a month later because it didn't show any immediate return. This is not a good practice at all. Slow and steady wins the race!
You've hit the nail on the head with a dark hidden problem in American management. That is exactly what happens when you become a slave to stock price and large fund investors. They want a quick ROI and if the stock doesn't budge, they bail for the next one hit wonder. That is how our market is structured. Unfortunately, it is resulting in the gutting of American industrial might in favor of financial fragility. The airline industry is only the most recent iteration.