vkern

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Progressive Insurance: Flo is an Operational Genius
vkern
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 8:17 pm
Progressive Insurance is a great example of a company that has truly aligned its business model and operating model to achieve true “operational innovation”. Operational innovation, goes beyond reducing defects or making processes more efficient within a company by completely [...]

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On December 14, 2015, vkern commented on New York Road Runners: Run for Life :

Very interesting post about NYRR! A few things that I would like to know about NYRR are:

1. It seems that NYRR is able to scale up or scale down based on the popularity of the event from a participant and spectator perspective. I wonder if there is an ultimate capacity that NYRR can hold. Where do they draw the line on the number of participants and spectators and why at that point?

2. It is my understanding that the NY Marathon was cancelled in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy and that this was very upsetting to its customer base. Has NYRR established guidelines or precautions for best dealing with these types of scenarios going forward? How does NYRR determine whether a race will continue in light of a potential threat or unpredictable weather?

3. As they continue to develop as an organization, how is NYRR adapting both its operating and business models? Will they begin to charge more as they become more popular? Will they aim to make their processes more efficient as technology becomes more prevalent? Hopefully they continue growing and evolving with the times to continue being the strong organization they are.

On December 14, 2015, vkern commented on Combatant Gentleman: Dress Smarter :

What a great post!

I think the idea of Combatant Gentleman is very interesting especially since there are places such as China where you can get a tailor-made suit for a very affordable price. Combat Gent seems to be bringing these services to the US in order to satisfy the lower end of the suit market.

Similar to Charlie’s comment, it seems that everyone likes their suits tailored a certain way and wants to have a good quality product that will last them for some time. I wonder what happens when a customer gets a suit that does not fit well or needs a quick alteration. Do they get a refund? Do they need to alter it on their own? Other things to consider: Are there enough variety of fabrics? How good is the quality of the suit material? Is it durable? How long will it last for?

The business and operating model of Combat Gent is very intriguing, but it seems like they will have to overcome some of these perceptions in the market before gaining a large market share.

On December 14, 2015, vkern commented on Athenahealth: Taking on the Giants and Disrupting the Health Care Space :

Completely agree with the comments above – Athenahealth is definitely disrupting the EMR environment with its cloud-based solutions. As I think about their future, I can’t help but wonder:
1. Do you think that they will be able to continue growing at such a fast pace? If so, how do you think this growth will impact their operating model or internal organizational structure?
2. A known issue within hospitals and even across hospitals and payers is the inability to easily share data. As they begin to think about hospital solutions, are they considering how to connect the various disparate devices within the hospital to their cloud-based solutions?
3. How does their More Disruption Please program complement their core business model. Does it currently bring any added value to their client relationships?