Business Model Generation
Business models are central to sustainable social change projects, and the full title to this fascinating new book by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur is: Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers.
Hundreds of people are listed as co-creators of the book, and one of them, John Smith, told me a little about the book's draft-by-draft development, in which the authors were able to gather a working community, each of whom received a copy of the first edition.
A preview pdf is available at Osterwalder's Business Model Alchemist website, and the second edition is available for pre-order.
Here is a piece:
We believe a business model can best be described through nine basic building blocks that show the logic of how a company intends to make money. ...
• Customer Segments: An organization serves one or several Customer Segments.
• Value Propositions: It seeks to solve customer problems and satisfy customer needs with value propositions.
• Channels: Value propositions are delivered to customers through communication, distribution, and sales Channels.
• Customer Relationships: Customer relationships are established and maintained with each Customer Segment.
• Revenue Streams: Revenue streams result from value propositions successfully offered to customers.
• Key Resources: Key resources are the assets required to offer and deliver the previously described elements…
• Key Activities: …by performing a number of Key Activities.
• Key Partnerships Some activities are outsourced and some resources are acquired outside the enterprise.
• Cost Structure: The business model elements result in the cost structure.
