Can You Imagine A World Without. . .

1. Apple

2. Nike

3. Coke

4. Costco

5. Walmart Let’s take Apple for instance. If Apple vanished tomorrow, what would Apple users do? How has Apple shaped its customers lives and how much does its customers depend on the company each day? Yet while Apple is now the biggest tech company value wise, it is getting thumbs down on several issues, recently its antenna problem with its new iPhone 4. Also, people are yapping that Apple is too big to care about its customers like it used to when it was much smaller and that Apple is too corporate. Steve Jobs in fact will address the antenna issue Friday; it will be interesting to get his take on this. But what if Apple said we did our thing and we are retiring? What if Walmart said they want to be the new high price leader? What if Nike said watching TV is healthier than running so who needs athletic shoes? Can you imagine a Coke drinker drinking Pepsi? What companies come to mind that you could not live without? I would bet the list would be less than five. What does it take to be a company people can’t life without? Plenty. I will be talking more about that tomorrow. In the meantime, TNG has ranked in the top 95th percentile with your customers as it pertains to that question. For that, we are quite proud. As we continue to rock and roll (remember Grand Funk Railroad?), we hope that you could not imagine a world without us. Happy Thursday!