e-Strategy Pure and Simple
Chapter Two
The e-nigma: Page One

The day that amazon.com went on-line, Barnes & Nobles’ and Borders' business models were put into jeopardy. The day that e-Trade went on-line, Merrill Lynch’s business model of selling stocks through thousands of highly commissioned salespeople was put into jeopardy. The day that autobytel.com went on-line, Wayne Huizenga’s Autonation business model of selling cars by offering thousands of models displayed on massive lots was put in jeopardy. The day that Jay Walker went on-line with Priceline.com, the entire airline industry’s business model was put in jeopardy.

Why is this happening to highly seasoned and extremely successful business executives such as the CEOs of the companies mentioned above? The us the answer is very simple: to most CEOs and management executives, the Internet and its electronically wired world is a king-size enigma! They simply don’t understand it.

The Ultimate Enigma

No change represents as large a challenge to every CEO now, and for years to come, as the Internet. Because of the intangibility of the Internet, it is difficult for most executives to "get their arms around it".They can’t see it; they can’t touch it and they have no experience with it or anything like it. As a result, most executives have great difficulty adroitly assessing the impact the Internet will have on their business. It’s an unknown and the "unknowns" can be very unsettling. And there are very good reasons for this malaise.