Entity Dossier
Company

Airbus

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Competitive AdvantagePioneer Buyer Leverage With ManufacturersCapital StrategyAsset Rich Cash Poor as Permanent StateRelationship LeveragePersonal Intelligence Network Before Every MeetingSignature MoveIrish Whiskey and a Handshake to CloseCornerstone MoveSwallow Competitors Whole When Cash-PoorIdentity & CultureLoyalty Repaid With LoyaltyDecision FrameworkNon-Refundable Deposits as Commitment TheaterCornerstone MoveTurn Cost Drains Into Cash MachinesSignature MoveScrew the Bankers, Let's Do ItSignature MoveCasting Director Not OperatorStrategic PatternProduction Over Exploration ImmunityCornerstone MoveDouble the Bet on the Last RollSignature MoveCliff-Edge Comfort as Strategic WeaponSignature MoveKeith Stanford's Briefcase as Survival SystemStrategic PatternMonopoly Through Sequential AcquisitionRisk DoctrineMonarch's Fortune on the LineStrategic PatternCaptive Market Before Mass MarketStrategic PatternPrizes and Spectacles as R&D AcceleratorsCapital StrategyPartnership Limited by Shares as Power WeaponSignature MoveRegistration Numbers Not NamesIdentity & CultureClan Secrecy Forged in Clermont SoilSignature MovePencil Stubs and Metro Rides for the BossCornerstone MoveRescue the Customer, Own the IndustrySignature MoveApprentice Files Scrap Metal Under a False NameCompetitive AdvantageSupplier Fragmentation as Secrecy ArchitectureOperating PrincipleFacts on the Floor Not Reports in the OfficeCornerstone MoveSelf-Finance Until the World Is Too Small, Then Debt-Fund Continental ConquestCompetitive AdvantageCustomer as Battering Ram Against IntermediariesSignature MoveLocked Doors Even Against de GaulleCornerstone MoveMake the World Need More Tires Before Selling ThemSignature MoveSabotage Your Own Tires for the EnemyCornerstone MoveWartime Radial in a Basement, Peacetime Dominance for Decades

Primary Evidence

"Pilots of fixed-wing aircraft often show disdain for helicopters; to them, a helicopter is essentially unstable (which it is) and decidedly more dangerous to fly (which it is not). Aside from the risk of total structural failure, which is rare, both types of aircraft are safest while travelling at cruising speed and altitude. The majority of incidents occur during takeoff and landing, procedures that a working helicopter may carry out far more frequently in a given time period than a scheduled fixed-wing aircraft. A Boeing 737, for example, may complete one takeoff and landing cycle every ten hours, and a long-distance Boeing 767 or Airbus 4340 might do two cycles every twenty-four hours. In contrast, working helicopters routinely perform a full takeoff and landing cycle every five or six minutes."

Source:One Hell of a Ride - How Craig Dobbin Built the World's Largest Helicopter Company

"Suddenly, however, Kléber is going to wake up. The V 10 runs well. Very well, in fact. Bulgaria, East Germany, and Yugoslavia buy the license. Kléber’s aviation tires equip not only the Caravelle and Mirage but also the Concorde and Boeing 747 (as they will soon equip Airbus). The Paris Stock Exchange discovers the old Colombes company with eyes like Chimène. Financial analysts readily present it as a growth stock. The stock prices soar. The cash flow, indeed, progresses faster than the sales. Huvelin has embarked on an ambitious investment program in France (Toul) and in Saar (Saint-Ingbert) which is expected to bear fruit soon. In the French tire market, Kléber’s penetration rises to nineteen percent in the years 1969-1970. In Germany, it approaches ten percent."

Source:Michelin: A Century of Secrets

Appears In Volumes