Genesis Automation - Introduction

August 2001: Houston, Texas

Brent Hoffman, CEO of Genesis Automation, Inc. retired to his corner office, directing his calls to voice mail. It was time to select the portfolio of projects his company would pursue in the upcoming year. In the past, portfolio selection had been easy, but a recent decline in company performance (Exhibit 2) and a weakening market (Exhibit 3) had muddied the waters, and conditions in the 21st century seemed more complex.

Twenty years earlier, Brent was a central figure in the decision to move away from mainframes towards UNIX-based systems. At best, critics described the move as premature. At worst, they called it customer abandonment and groundless faith in immature technologies. Upon reflection, Brent considered the event a career-defining moment. His unwavering stance won out, and the new product had given Genesis not only a competitive edge, but had propelled the company to market dominance. There was no denying that Brent’s input then, and at many subsequent forks in the road, had helped Genesis become the leader in pipeline automation.