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It is possible for a company to participate or excel in more than one discipline at a time, as we'll see with several of the highlighted companies, and in particular in Chapter 17 with GE. However, Treacy and Wiersema observed that straying from a disciplined focus is fraught with danger, partly because companies pursuing a value discipline need to align their culture, management, IT, organization, and processes.

It's a challenge to focus on one discipline. What company wouldn't rather have streamlined processes than cumbersome ones, great products rather than outdated, shoddy replicas, and delighted, loyal customers rather than high churn, lawsuits, and bad word of mouth? However, a key component of Treacy and Wiersema's argument is the need for focus. They argue that Sears tried operational excellence, offering everyday low prices and cutting costs. However, Sears didn't match Wal-Mart's single-minded focus on cost reduction through its innovations in supply chain management and logistics. In what Treacy and Wiersema considered a customer intimacy strategy, Sears then tried expanding beyond its Kenmore and Craftsman brands by carrying well-known ones, which merely matched competitors' product variety. Finally, Treacy and Wiersema pointed out that Sears attempted a product leadership strategy via celebrity endorsements, but didn't execute as well as a top competitor at that time, J.C. Penney.45 Trying to be all things to all buyers – simultaneously pursuing operational excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy – can be like trying to undercut Hyundai pricing with a custom-designed Lamborghini.

Their advice is still often valid. After the market close on January 28, 2015, McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain, ousted its CEO after a two-year tenure. McDonald's financial results had gone stale, but the CEO had gone from out of the frying pan and into the fire partly because of his attempt to simultaneously pursue multiple disciplines: operational excellence by offering low-cost Dollar Menu items and quick-service – i.e., fast food – convenience; product leadership through a broader selection of menu items including some “premium” items such as McWrap; and customer intimacy through a “make your own burger.” As one investment advisory firm said, “Trying to please everybody is one of the issues that they're dealing with.”46

There are multiple problems with such an approach. Product leadership conflicts with operational excellence as customers balk at items not on the Dollar Menu. Operational excellence conflicts with product leadership because food is partially prepared in factories and then flash frozen, pitting efficiency against freshness. Customer intimacy and product leadership conflict with operational excellence as customization and extensive menus slow down the drive-through lines.

Less than 40 hours after the McDonald's shake-up, Shake Shack sizzled as its IPO (initial public offering) opened at more than double its offering price. Shake Shack is focused on a 100 percent, all-natural product leadership strategy, offering fresher, higher-quality ingredients at premium prices: they advertise “100 % all-natural Angus beef, vegetarian fed, humanely raised and source verified. No hormones or antibiotics – EVER. We pride ourselves on sourcing incredible ingredients from like-minded artisanal producers.”47 A double SmokeShack bacon cheeseburger goes for $9.49, compared to say, a McDonald's Bacon Clubhouse Burger: $4.99.

In short, Treacy and Wiersema's position was that companies should ideally pick one (although they also pointed out that some companies, such as USAA and Toyota, were excelling at more than one) value discipline, and do whatever is required to attain a leadership position in that discipline and at least maintain parity in the others. Today, the economics of information goods and technologies may enable more companies to pursue multiple disciplines. For example, Netflix can deliver individualized entertainment recommendations (customer intimacy) across a broad portfolio of titles including award-winning Netflix-produced content (product leadership) via convenient, streamlined delivery channels (operational excellence).