Wisdom Consulting Group, Inc.

Synergy on the Road to Hana

May 28, 2007 | By Raymond T. Hightower

The Hawaiian island of Maui draws tourists from all over the world. What a great source of revenue for local businesses! Here’s how one Hawaiian entrepreneur used technology and a clever business partnership to make customers and the local police happy.

The Road to Hana
Hana is a small town along the eastern coast of Maui. Visitors reach Hana by car, along a narrow and winding road through the mountains and along the coast. The road is dangerous and beautiful.

The joy of visiting the town is not necessarily the town itself. Rather, it’s the journey. Drivers along the Road to Hana are treated to some of the most scenic vistas in all of Hawaii. Spectacular waterfalls, exotic plants, tropical flowers, and views that leave one breathless.

The Tour Guide
When traveling to Hana, or anywhere else new, it helps to have a tour guide for several reasons:

• You don’t want to miss anything. Some of the best sites are hidden behind groves of trees or rock formations.
• As beautiful as the views are, they can also be dangerous. Even dry rocks can be slippery. Slippery rocks don’t always advertise until it’s too late!

  Of course, hiring a personal tour-guide for an all-day trip can be expensive.

  Enter technology.
  
  Birth of the Hana CD Guide
  Craig Henderson is a Maui-based photographer who spotted the need and fulfilled it with a product. Henderson noticed that visitors to the island would miss many of the most spectacular parts of the drive to Hana, simply because they did not know what to look for. He created the Hana cassette guide in 1985, later the Hana CD guide.

  Beyond Tourism
  It’s not just about pretty flowers. Henderson provides stories from Hawaiian history and recent events along the way. It’s almost like listening to a PBS broadcast. I like that!

  Illegal Van
  In 1985, Henderson parked his van along the highway and began selling the guide. Problem: That’s illegal, and the local police told him so. Solution: Find a gas station on the road and park there. When the station owner noticed the increase in gas station traffic generated by the guide, Henderson was offered a permanent fiberglass booth on the property. Synergy triumphs, and everybody wins.

  Win/Win for Everybody
  Everybody wins in this arrangement.

• Henderson gets an outlet for the Hana CD guide.
• The gas station gets a steady flow of customers. The Hana CD guide is only available at this gas station!

• Buyers of the guide get information that they would not have had before.

  Why This Matters
  The best business ideas are not just about providing more product at a lower price with a quicker delivery time. Sure, that’s part of it. But the best businesses are born when people with complementary skills & needs come together to create something new where everybody wins. Technology can help, but only if synergy is there first. Information technology must serve business goals.