"We are the Music Makers and We are the Dreamers of Dreams."
--Willy Wonka (in response to the snotty skepticism of Veruca Salt)

And on that note let me launch this new "Industry Insider" to focus on the intersection of the enterprise and its customers. I say "intersection," but, in truth, one might quote Hamlet and call it an "undiscovered country." I'm convinced there are vast gaps and unmet opportunities on the "demand side" of business today.

While worry warts obsess over the loss of supply side work to China, India and Mexico, they ignore the extraordinary potential associated with addressing the unfulfilled demands, desires and dreams of customers. The opportunity is virtually infinite. If America goes into decline, we surely must blame it on an absence of imagination (and empathy) and not on an absence of potential.

This new site -- this online publication, this business "blog," this network catalyst -- is designed to illuminate the realm of emergent business innovation that lies between companies and their clients. The objective is to give consistent and compelling voice where silence now reigns -- to span senseless boundaries. Indeed, it seems that the concepts of "business intelligence" and "customer relationship management" have become inadequate on their own. We need to look deeper -- and more carefully explore the convergence of the two.

More importantly, we are impelled to examine the enterprise strategies and organizational transformations that can play out when insight meets action. We can draw inspiration from enterprises such as the Oakland A's, Harrah's, Capital One and others -- organizations that demonstrate we can realize tremendous success and outmaneuver richer competitors through rigorous analysis, actionable intelligence and a willingness to defy conventional wisdom.

As for Veruca Salt, well, the world is full of these types. When I recently asked a PR professional from a well-known firm to comment on my idea of launching a new publication on the web that would explore the realm of "customer intelligence," she merely rolled her eyes. "I don't read blogs," she said, suggesting they don't have the credibility of established media. "I would think twice before attaching my name to something like that."

It was just the kind of validation I was seeking. Here was Ms. Salt saying to me, "Snozzberry? Who ever heard of a snozzberry?" And as she said it, I heard my own Mr. Wonka in the back of my head. He was beckoning me to join his chocolate factory -- an unconventional empire on the rise. What was it he said? "We have so much time and so little to do... Strike that, reverse it."