2009-11-14 11:37:49 - Dr John Mullins at International Management Institute, Delhi

International Management Institute (IMI), Delhi in association with National Entrepreneurship Network, hosted Dr John W. Mullins, Associate Professor of Management Practice and Chair of the Entrepreneurship group at London Business School at the institutes campus for a lecture on Entrepreneurship. The occasion also saw the launch of his new Book “Plan B” by Howard Business Press.

Illustrating on successful business

models Dr Mullins began his speech linking quantitative insights with numbers to make business models successful .
With the help of a case study which involved chalking out the best business model for a business he further explained 5 key elements in every business model that are Revenue model, Gross margin model, Operating model, Working capital model and Investment model.

He said “Today’s start up process is seriously flawed because of unrealistic assumptions—SWAGs – Silly Wild Ass Guesses”. He interacted with the audience and taken their views on How to develop a business model that works?

While Launching his book Plan B, Dr Mullins said that “Plan A is usually never successful. One has to have to have a plan B/C/D etc up your sleeve”. He further continued explaining the above in three key points
• Analogs: gud things you can learn from Plan A
• •Antilogs : things which you have learnt because of the failure of Plan A
• Leaps of faith : Guess and faith that it will work out

Speaking on the five key elements in every business model Dr Mullins said that there is the Revenue Generation model - for e.g. Apple and Google which had analogs, antilogs and leaps of faith, the Gross margin model or the e-bay model where surprisingly Plan A worked. The third element being the Operating model for which where he gave the example of Ryan Air where the low cost airline was successful because of its saving on operational costs. The Working capital model where companies like Costco charged customers to shop there (a yearly charge of $50 to be a member) and break even on the cost of the products by having very low prices. 2/3 of revenue came from membership fee. The investment model being the fifth was given the example of Skype v/s Vonage “Vonage failed but Skype triumphed because of its p2p model”

Dr Mullins explained that all these five model examples have 2 things in common: a) Success achieved in Plan B and post Plan-B, not in Plan A, except E-bay. b) They just concentrated on only a single element of the business model either revenue generation of operating model etc

Plan A seldom work because of unrealistic assumptions, lack of experience, loop holes, a more vibrant plan B, analogs and antilogs.

John W. Mullins is Associate Professor of Management Practice and Chair of the Entrepreneurship group at London Business School. He earned his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Ph.D in marketing from the University of Minnesota. An award-winning teacher, John brings to his teaching and research 20 years of executive experience in high-growth firms, including two ventures he founded, one of which he took public.

Since becoming a business school professor in 1992, John has published three books and more than 30 articles in a variety of outlets, including Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Business Venturing, and the Journal of Product Innovation Management. His research has won national and international awards from Marketing Science Institute, the American Marketing Association, and the Richard D. Irwin Foundation.

John is co-author of Marketing Management: A Strategic Decision Making Approach, 5th edition and Marketing Strategy: A Decision Focused Approach, 5th edition. His trade book, The New Business Road Test: What Entrepreneurs and Executives Should Do Before Writing a Business Plan (London: Prentice-Hall/FT 2003), is the definitive work on the assessment and shaping of market opportunities.

John has consulted with and done executive education on three continents for a variety of organisations both large and small, including Roche Diagnostics, Time Warner Communications, the Eastman Kodak Company, Pumpkin Ltd., The Musicland Group, Montgomery Watson, Inc., the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and others.

About International Management Institute (IMI)
International Management Institute (IMI) was established in 1981, as an autonomous non-profit educational society under the Societies Registration Act 1860, to meet the widely felt need for internationally oriented management education/ training for managers at all levels in industry, government and public systems. The academic programs of the institute continue to enjoy full support of the corporate sector as well as the Government of India since its inception. Today, IMI holds a place of distinction among the premier schools of management for being the first corporate sponsored business school with strong international orientation in India.

IMI follows international standard curricula in its programs, which has been enriched by its academic collaborations with a number of leading B-schools in Asia, Europe and North America and prepares participants to successfully manage and lead in an increasingly global business environment. IMI's educational programs have been recognized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. The corporate world in India, public, private, multinational companies, international consulting firms and other organizations have employed its alumni who are rightly called, the Achievers. For more information about the IMI please visit www.imi.edu