Dead Ahead: The Web Dilemma and the New Rules of Business

Managers who recognize the Internet's importance but don't know how to incorporate it into their own operations will benefit from Dead Ahead. Written by consultant Laurie Windham with Jon Samsel, it introduces six utilitarian cyberbusiness guidelines derived from firsthand research and observations by practitioners such as Robert Olson of Virtual Vineyards. They are: satisfying individual market requirements (such as information, sales, distribution, and support); resolving conflicts with existing strategies (such as those related to Encyclopedia Britannica's total reconfiguration of its sales procedures); establishing and sustaining customer loyalty (by addressing factors including visibility and awareness); creating appropriate executive and organizational structures, skill sets, and funding models (with suggestions for "educating and energizing" management, among others); making long-term technology decisions (through explanations of hardware, content, and additional components); and understanding barriers to global expansion (with, for instance, advice on learning specific local regulations). There's also a useful concluding chapter with checklists and questions to help put the ideas into practice. --Howard Rothman