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Background

Welcome to the Genome Era

First came the Human Genome Project in 1990, designed to identify the genes and genetic sequences that make up human DNA. A project that started with gene mapping, analysis of the data is ongoing and has already, since 2003, led to medical breakthroughs.

Then came the Music Genome Project in 2000, a technology that organized music based on categories, rather than genres, freeing fans from dated music industry terms such as "Rock," "Classical," "Heavy Metal," "Rap," "Country," or "Rhythm and Blues." Pandora followed, an internet radio station that combines the elements of music's DNA with a thumbs-up/thumbs-down voting system that allows the station to create a personal profile for its customers.

In 2006, Netflix arrived on the scene, a company that transformed video rental into a unique online community of video renters enlisted to predict film and television ratings and selections. (That effort resulted in more than 100 million ratings done by 480,000 viewers of 18,000 films in 2007.)

Fast forward to today...and the introduction of the Business Genome process. The Business Genome process is based on the idea that the possibilities for business success are about what to do next rather than simply what's been done before. The Business Genome team answers tough questions like:

What do you do when what you've been doing is leading to flat sales results or decreasing market share?

What should your next product be?

How can you capture a new market?

What can you learn from other companies in other industries with proven success?

What is the secret sauce that will drive growth for your company?

The Business Genome team attempts to take the collective successes across industries and uncover a genome, helping individual companies to decide what step to take next in the path to continual improvement.

Unlike the Netflix approach, Business Genome isn't predictive. But like Pandora, user interaction tightens a business's genetic structure, and offers a counterintuitive approach to growth. What can a cereal company learn from a clothing designer's experiences with teen purchasing trends? What can a restaurant company learn by watching shifts in the grocery store purchasing patterns? How can a manufacturer benefit from a defense contractor's insights into applications of hydraulics? What can FedEx tell a medical equipment distributor about global logistics innovations?

The Business Genome team, formed in 2008, strives to apply the genomic approach to business to create a sense of possibility for decision makers who aren't sure where to head next, want to look at what's worked in other industries, and find out what's on the minds of other business leaders. The Business Genome process is designed to spark new insights for translating the DNA of one business to the growth challenges of another. Welcome to the era of the Business Genome.