So in reading RIMM’s financial results, it struck the similar Blockbuster v Netflix meme that business strategies are forged and like a slow freight train, it can take years to see a well curated, once successful strategy get rolled over. Why is it like a slow freight train? Because it takes years to dethrone a winner giving that winner buffer to get its act together.

Over years, Apple a product company with a strong base as a software company, stepped into the cell phone business. Even if RIMM knew nothing, they could imagine what was next in their world.

Companies are driven by culture and culture can be an asset or liability. Some say RIMM still has a chance, but that train has probably already left the station. Wheels off.

Working at a manufacturer, times couldn’t be more intriguing given distribution and education paths are sorting out the credible from the also rans. In fact, Google is helping that process with cleaning up content farms.

How we learn, communicate and consume are changing. What a great time to be a marketer.

This post goes way beyond investing from my perspective. Tom highlights something far too many companies are falling in the trap of: fast following. The river is getting so easy to follow. Specifically, the data flow is so robust that tracking the latest news is becoming a widely followed business model. As Mauldin would say, when there’s too many people on one side of a trade, the trade is going to fall apart as a bubble at some point. The river is increasingly a bubble.

What isn’t a river? A cave where people develop independent from the rush of the river trends.

Both the cave and the flow are important, but as important is realizing just how many folks are lined up on each side.

The hunt for income dollars are coming in all areas. As we’ve covered, distressing times are when business models are broken [Hint: Amazon quietly gets into private labels after buying and selling, then charging a commission for its marketplace, now house brands...]

Here’s my bet: Stock market lifts and better #s compared to LY’s melt down will lead to a slightly positive holiday, but capped by unemployment and the lack of credit.

In fact, many companies and industries are digging into themselves to find what makes them unique and whether that means anything in this new market. Consumers have changed what they are buying and companies are having to shift gears to line up with those new needs and expectations. For the nimble and lower engineering development companies, shifting product and service programs can be done on the fly. For higher tech companies, shifting gears will take months if not years.

What has happened is a downshift to value based products and consumption, v. premium products and upselling. Having a role in value retail is showing me that the market is hot in sectors. Family Dollar and WalMart can thrive, while Abercrombie hopes teens can get jobs this summer so they can continue to buy $80+ jeans.

Get the word out with your customers that you’re on your toes (and still in business). Use SEO to get found for free. Find the products that you can add on to previous sales. At a time when everybody is struggling to justify buying anything, those that are trusted are going to survive.

First, The Conference Board posts a month survey of consumer sentiment:

The trend line where the US consumer stands is more important than the single points each month. While not perfect, retail sales and consumer shopping tie into this pretty well.

I’ve also learned over time who to trust when it comes to where the stock market and the consumer divide. Even though the consumer feels better when the stock market goes up, it isn’t the only factor in driving up confidence, thus consumer behavior. Top of the list is Mauldin primarily because he doesn’t post every day, provides analysis instead of reposting of news and is not truly main stream.

I’m believing more and more that the 24×7 news cycle is creating momentum swings faster. We’re getting to the same end point, but are facing a lot more churn in the process. Turn all the noise off, watch the long term trends and stay sane.

While many older parts of the US are not as well penetrated as younger ones, what we’re starting to see is the likes of Facebook gain the benefit of network effects and is likely the gateway to deeper use of such tools. The adoption of these tools will create a chance for business models to shift to the much written about referral based, pull demand from consumers instead of push marketing to the masses. In short, conversations, positive experiences and then sales instead of a shotgun and a falling bird.

“Intel has weathered difficult times in the past, and we know what needs to be done to drive our success moving forward,” Paul S. Otellini, chief executive at Intel, said in a statement.

Most companies focus on both strategic and financial goals. This year is different and all but the most basic financial goals (=positive cash flow) are out the window. For managers, we’ve reached a time to focus on the strategic, non-financial targets like picking the right fields of play, ROMI, innovation relevance, organizational alignment and market share.