Visits to the toy store were a lot different for Jim Clayton since he took the job as president of Playto Industries. Long lines at the checkout counter used to infuriate him. Now they delighted him because they signaled a boom in sales for Playto. Trips up and down the aisles used to be part of an agonizing search for a gift for a child. Now every aisle represented a potential new product line and information about the competition. Jim loved every minute of it.
A version of this article appeared in the January–February 1989 issue of Harvard Business Review.
