Customer advocacy and inconvenient truth

In my years at Apple, Network Equipment Technologies, Network Appliance, and later as a consulting associate with the Chasm Group, I was witness to soaring successes and thudding failures, sometimes serially. But some recognizable patterns emerged. It was obvious whenever the company's "DNA" was expressing a marketing gene. It always happened when the strategies and the tactics were customer-minded rather than product-centric. Whenever the customer-orientation held sway, bingo: success followed. When a management team is ready, willing and able to change course, modify product features, and accommodate consumer preference, it will be rewarded. Conversely, those who find a way to postpone necessary changes, will face harsh consequences. These are the inconvenient truths of marketing.