It is not a Static World

March 23, 2005 - by Robert E. Stevens, GENESIS II (The Second Beginning) E-Mail: views@aol.com

Over the years, I have become a fan of Isaac Newton. It was the depth of understanding in his three laws of Motion that attracted me to his writings. While Newton's Laws were directed to the motion of the universe, I have found that they apply to business as well as life in general. Consider his three laws and how they are in play in the following case studies.

Newton's First Law of Motion: Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.
Newton's Second Law of Motion: The relationship between an object's mass (M), its acceleration (A), and the applied force (F) is F = MA.
Newton's Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.(This is my favorite of the three laws).

Study #1 : At P&G we had a new product initiative under way that received extremely high test scores. It was in a new category for us which required a major capital investment. We put our best marketing effort towards the introduction. The introduction was heavily loaded on the front end with a large promotion (Mass) and a fast introduction (Acceleration). The results were very favorable. We gained a significant test market share while punching the major market giant in the nose. He was not a gentle giant. He retaliated and we quickly lost some of our initial market share (All three of Newton's Laws in action). He not only had a manufacturing advantage but he also held a significant distribution advantage. As the competitive action continued we had to withdraw from the cookie market.

Study #2: A young man was just promoted to brand manager on a new brand about to go to Test Market. The new product was a blind test winner versus the major market brand. A high scoring advertising copy was produced, and a pilot plant was constructed and ready to produce the new brand. In less than a month on the job, the new brand manager concluded that the company should pull the plug on the new brand. The new brand manager's boss thought that his suggestion was suicidal. But the brand manager insisted that the proposal be moved forward. It was, with the boss's dissenting opinion. The advertising manager also dissented but forwarded the proposal anyway. The Division Manager agreed with the brand manager's analysis and recommended closing down the brand. The new brand manager not only looked at his brand but also looked at the resources available to the competition and concluded that the competition could easily copy our brand and have national introduction before we could establish national production facilities. The brand manager understood the principle of Newton's Third Law. Within a very short time the brand manager was promoted to the brand manager of New Products and responsible for five new brands.

Success of a brand does not depend only on the acceptability of the product but also on the resources and those of the competition you are facing. As the market changes, so does the competition.

As a grandfather/great grandfather to 20 young people, I frequently have the opportunity to talk to them about relationships with other people. Newton's Third Law is something the older children frequently hear about from grandpa. Whatever you do, regardless of how small, there will be some reaction. It is your choice, it can be a good reaction or it can be bad.

Another perspective: I wonder if the manufacturers of Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra gave thought to Newton's Third Law?

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