"The mantra of product, product, product is overly simplistic," he says. "The customer has abundant choices. The half-life of your great idea is about three weeks."

Locally-based Liz Claiborne has tried to diversify in efforts to keep up with the changing industry. Known for years as a wholesaler and for its namesake retail stores, Liz Claiborne also operates emerging, hot chains such as Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand Jeans and sells through a variety of channels, including stores, department stores, catalogs and the Internet. The company's specialty-store division operates about 700 units, and executives plan to open 125 to 135 more every year for the next four years.

Besides good products, companies now need superior design, merchandising, marketing, customer service, presentation and other initiatives to compete, Charron says. Executives of the future must also be trained beyond learning specific functions of a company. "It is the way we work together that adds sustainable competitive advantages," he says.