This podcast explores why Twitter has lots of more problems that just Elon Musk walking away.
Elon Musk has walked away from his offer to buy Twitter. Now the company is suing him to force the acquisition. Usually management, and the Board, love their company and try hard to avoid an acquisition. But at Twitter the founding CEO (Jack Dorsey) walked away, saying he didn’t know how to lead the company. And the Board has no idea how to lead the company. And Musk has said he doesn’t know how to lead the company. How did Twitter end up so unloved and unwanted?
Twitter started with a powerful Value Proposition about building communities. But over time leadership got so involved managing the platform – the Value Delivery System – that they lost track of the Value Proposition. Twitter was allowed to morph over time, letting VDS focus turn it into a platform for celebrities – who by and large don’t need Twitter (at least not as much as Twitter needs them.) A company with a Value Delivery System but no clear Value Proposition. Thus Twitter has fallen far behind Facebook, Instagram, Linked-in and Tik-Tok. And there is no clarity as to how anyone would increase company value.
Thinking points:
• Do you know your Value Proposition? Or are you too busy managing your Value Delivery System?
• Do you have plans to keep adding Value so you attract more customers and revenue?
• Are you the most relevant competitor in your marketplace? If not, who is? Why aren’t you?