Liz Claiborne, American fashion designer and entrepreneur, passed away June 26, 2007. Her company's new chief executive, William L. McComb is 44 years old and is one of the youngest and least-experienced chief executives in the fashion industry. In a move that irked the chief executive of Macy's, McComb made a decision to develop a new product line for J. C. Penney. Macy's retaliated by slashing orders for the Liz Claiborne brand by millions of dollars. Read more about it.
The cover of this weeks BusinessWeek sports a picture of a bejeweled English Bulldog and the main story is entitled “The Pet Economy”. In the U.S. alone we spend $41 billion on our pets which is double which was spent on pets until the late 1990’s.
The same issue ranks the top global brands and #1 is Coca- Cola.
"Lock-box." Not long ago, he was the butt of jokes, putting on weight, a wanderer in the wilderness. No longer. Al Gore is back. Fast Company magazine (July / August 2007) features a cover story on "the untold story of how an epic loser engineered what may be the greatest brand makeover of our time." Gore has cannily used Silicon Valley and Hollywood to restore his image -- and his net worth, which at one time was a paltry $1-2 million but now exceeds $100 million. He's known worldwide for his championing of environmentalism and, in particular, his clarion call on global warming. An adviser to Google, a boardmember of Apple, notable author ( The Assault on Reason ), Chairman and co-founder of cable's Current TV, with almost 40 million subscribers, he is also the star of An Inconvenient Truth. Recently he helped produce the Live Earth concerts, seen and heard by millions -- if not billions -- to raise climate awareness. Ready for the 2008 Presidency? Well ... read the article.
Alumni in the News: MarketWatch from DowJones ( July 25 ) highlights Baby Boomers' growing angst about memory loss and mental acuity, as people increasingly turn to "brain-fitness" techniques. The piece quotes SharpBrains, 'brainchild' company of GSB Alum Alvaro Fernandez and Dr Elkhonon Goldberg, as estimating that the market for brain-fitness software targeting adults will be at between $80 - $100 million this year. (SharpBrains is a portal that orients companies and individuals toward brain-training techniques, tools and services.)
On July 18 we blogged about GSB Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer's new book What Were They Thinking? We are happy to announce that a video interview of Prof Pfeffer talking about his book is now available on the Jackson Library page dedicated to the book.
Young businesspeople notoriously analyze Captains of Industry for their business strategems, personal insights, and political acumen. But what about their reading habits? Diego Rodriguez on his metacool blog cites a New York Times piece on CEO libraries. The wife of Michael Moritz, venture capitalist who built his fortune discovering Google, YouTube and others, calls Moritz the 'Imelda Marcos of books'. He admits that as soon as a book enters his home, it is guaranteed a permanent place. GSB Alum and Nike founder Phil Knight created an extraordinary recessed library at Nike headquarters that is still in use, with volumes on Asian art and poetry. Apple's Steve Jobs has had a long time fascination with the works of visionary English mystic William Blake. Intrigued? Read more at metacool.
The article in August issue of Inc. magazine is all about bringing fun into a workplace. You can even call it making fun a company’s policy. It looks like many successful companies find that some happy times at work greatly benefit their companies in business sense. You can find out some of the real-life practices the companies employ create an atmosphere where the employees and customers feel comfortable and happy. Such as in the words of Paul Spiegelman, the CEO of Beryl Companies (call-centers), “Employees don’t always love the work. But they sure love coming to work.” The article is interesting and, actually, fun to read. Find it in on display in the periodicals section of Jackson Library.
Tom Peters' blog highlights the book Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success, by Sylvia Ann Hewlett ( When the Bough Breaks, The War Against Parents ). Hewlett has been researching transitions in and out of careers and women in the workplace. Check out the interview of Hewlett as she talks about the male competitive model of work, eldercare, loss of female talent in the workplace, the 'unwritten rules' of organizations, and special programs reaching out to women at different companies.
On his blog, GSB Alum Ed Batista of the Stanford Center for Leadership Development and Research weaves observations by Seth Godin and the late Peter Drucker into a short meditation on strategic quitting. There is quitting, and there is quitting. Quoting Godin's book The Dip, Batista writes, "Strategic quitting is a conscious decision you make based on the choices available to you. If you realize you're at a dead end compared with what you could be investing in, quitting is not only a reasonable choice, it's a smart one... " Batista goes on to note that 'only excellence matters', and why one must be realistic about where improvements can be made, and where they are too costly.
The CNN -YouTube Democratic Presidential Debate on July 24 offered a new political twist – real people asking real questions. Fancy that! Except maybe the talking snowman -- but he did make a good point. The candidates were often able to hide behind their scripted answers, but you did get to see them squirm.
The debate covered the usual topics by the usual suspects. There was the occasional humor, as when two purported hillbilly-types from Tennessee came on screen. But when serious questions are asked by ordinary people, you see the passion and pain in their faces. A father who lost a son in Iraq wondered if he would lose another. Two women asked “ Would you allow us to be married …to each other?” Two brothers submitted a video of themselves feeding a parent with Alzheimer’s. This debate was different -- and I hope the difference is that some of those faces will haunt those candidates enough to make a change.
AdAge reports that people waiting in line to get the iPhone signal a major cultural shift in consumer behavior and consumer empowerment. As customers are buying the portable internet, portable entertainment, news, weather, sports, and shopping, portable branding communication naturally follows.
The author suggested four simple rules to follow in delivering messages to the mobile space:
1. Keep it simple. If you have tried to get your brand promise through in 60 seconds, try 2 seconds on a small mobile screen.
2. Text rules. Word-driven messaging is way cool in mobile media as younger consumers like to text, email, or IM.
3. Interactivity is key. Reinforcing a brand’s personality through interactivity is a big opportunity on third screen. For example, text voting has been a huge factor in the successful branding of "American Idol."
4. It’s personal. Mobile space is personal space, so if you have something to say, make it personally relevant.
According to eMarketer, U.S. mobile advertising is expected to grow from $421 million in 2006 to $4.7 billion by 2011 and globally it will be an $11.3 billion business.
Looking for a job change? HR Magazine July 2007 issue features its latest 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America. The list includes data on Employees, Staffing, Employee Training, Paid Leave, Health Care, and 401(K) or 403(B) plans for each company. Also included are cameo articles on the top firms, such as Badger Mining Corporation, Triage Consulting Group, and Holder Construction. You can find the issue in Jackson Library. Or go online to read last year's list.
Looking over the Jackson display shelves, I stumbled today upon an interesting issue of the magazine Urban Land. The June 2007 issue highlights sustainable development in its many guises. A sampling of articles: 'Building Green', a 26-page report on positive energy buildings, "boom" building and sustainable planning; 'Oregon Green', on how Salem, Oregon is raising the bar for sustainable development; 'China's High Tech Parks', on opportunities in Asia for green urbanization; 'The Coming Green Renovation Boom', about the green movement and its implication for trillions of dollars of non-green real estate; 'Q&A with Rick Fedrizzi', as the President / CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council opines where the green building movement stands in 2007; and 'Climate Change and the Built Environment', talking about the growing consensus of Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, Lloyd's of London and others on matters green. The cover aptly shows a bee gathering pollen -- reminding us of our peril if bees and other creatures vanish in our increasingly urbanized world.
The 2008 Summer Olympics are less than a year away and China has been working diligently on cleaning up air quality in Beijing. The August edition of Wired magazine in the article 'Smog and Mirrors' talks about the hurdles the Chinese government has cleared and those lying before it in preparation for the Olympics. Chinese officials have agreed to pour $12.2 billion into improving environmental conditions in the hopes of gilding China’s image, however progress in greening has been hampered by the strong growth in consumer wealth. More people are driving cars than ever in China, exacerbating the pollution problem. A report entitled Brand China talks a bit about China’s image as perceived by the country and by world.
Among the last ditch solutions, if Beijing can’t bring pollution under control before the Olympics, are pulling cars and trucks off the roads and forced last minute vacations for factory and government workers. The IOC is recommending that some teams prepare in Korea before flying to China for the games. Apparently something similar was done for the Athens Olympics, where air quality is also poor for the athletes.
Tim Berry, President of Palo Alto Software and principal creator of Business Plan Pro, answers Guy Kawasaki's 10 Questions on How To Write a Business Plan. Among them: what are the most important qualities of a plan, what's the optimal process for writing a plan, how can you project numbers for a business with no history, and some common mistakes in writing business plans. We frequently get asked about business plans at Jackson Library. There are books on the subject, but if you're writing a plan, or about to write one, you might want to take this free guidance from an expert.
The biggest? Siemens. Most profitable? Grupo Iusacell. Number 23 on the list? Tata Consultancy Services of Mumbai. Uhh, what are we talking about? BusinessWeek's 2007 Information Technology 100, its ranking of top tech performers. The bad news? Missing tech titans, like Dell, not on the list. A table includes revenues, revenue growth, ROE, shareholder return and profits for the 100. Read it online or in Jackson Library.
OK, so I am not a big fan of the Simpsons but I do like Slurpees or as they are called in Springfield Squishees. So my husband and I drop by a 7-Eleven which has been converted into a Kwik-E- Mart for the month of July to promote the Simpsons movie. It’s amazing what they are selling “Radioactive Man" comic books, Squishees, pink doughnuts (yes they almost glow with pinkness), Buzz cola, Krusty O's cereal and more. People are snapping them up like crazy. You can read more about the campaign in the AdAge article entitled 7-Eleven's Simpsons Movie Stunt: Brilliant Cross-Promotion. The July 23 issue of Business Week in a short segment entitled “D’Oh! Where’s The Phone?” mentions that 7-Eleven reports that the converted stores are making twice or three times as much in sales than usual.
And if you are wondering where the nearest Kwik-E-Mart in the Bay Area is, look no farther than Mountain View.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows must be raking in a fortune for big bookdealers. Right? Wrong. According to BusinessWeek (July 2), the major retailers have been suffering, slashing prices up to 50% to draw fans to their sites / stores. Even the U.S. publisher, Scholastic Corporation, despite fat profits from the Potter series, often does better in "off Potter" periods, according to analyst Drew Crum of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. "The company tends to lose focus in a Harry Potter release year," Crum opines. It will take a wizard greater than Potter to conjure up profits for his retailers, it would seem.
Toy makers throughout the history of toymaking have been trying to get your kids to bug you (the parents) enough so you will buy them the latest and greatest toy. "A new doll hitting retail shelves this week is familiar in many ways — she’s got outfits galore — but she also has some unusual features: this Barbie, who is smaller and less shapely than her standard namesake, functions as an MP3 music player." Read about it in today's New York Times.
Japan is tanned, rested ... and back. The American Magazine (July / August 2007) in 'Make Way for Japan' highlights a robust economy, recovered from its 'lost years' of stagnation. While China hogs the headlines, Japan, the world's second largest economy, quietly basks in its longest period of sustained growth since World War II. It has put its infamous 'real estate bubble' behind -- when the Palace grounds in Tokyo were worth more than the entire state of California -- and is moving forward. Toyota just surpassed GM, knocking it out of the top spot for the first time in 76 years. Bank lending is on the rise. Sony, Canon, Honda, Hitachi are corporate world leaders. The challenge? Shrinking demographics; Japan's population fell last year, for the first time in 60 years. Read more in the issue in Jackson Library.
Pepsi is going to the max with a new variant of Diet Pepsi, their first new brand in a decade. According to Advertising Age (June 25), Diet Pepsi Max is a cross between a soft drink and an energy drink, and is geared towards men -- the toughest diet market to crack. Much of their 55 million dollar advertising budget will be spent during National Football League programming, with baseball coming in second. Only time will tell if beer has met its Monday night match. But the real question is -- do we really need more caffeinated, hyper, football fans?
Guy Kawasaki on his blog asks his 10 Questions of our own GSB Professor Jeff Pfeffer. Pfeffer, an internationally recognized authority on organizational behavior, answers questions about his latest book, What Were They Thinking? The book targets many of the dumb, self-defeating things companies do, and advice on how to turn things toward the positive.
Stay tuned for a video interview with Prof Pfeffer about his book, to be announced on this blog.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shunned acquisition approaches to remain independent to execute his vision of creating “social graph” and to provide services to different demographic groups in Facebook. This asset, connecting people to create value, can be used by web services such as shopping or product recommendations. Although one can get product recommendations at Amazon, at Facebook the recommendation comes from someone you know.
Its competition MySpace ranked top, surpassing Google, as the most popular website based on US internet usage for June 2007 according to Hitwise data. However, many believed that Facebook has recently outpaced MySpace in gaining unique users. Since last September, Facebook has opened up membership registration to anyone.
And what about Google? "There's no network effect [on Google]. The fact that I use Google and you use Google doesn't make us any closer to each other," said Max Levchin, a co-founder of PayPal and CEO at Slide, a major widget company that is devoting part of its team of developers exclusively to making applications for Facebook.
Stories at Time, AdvertisingAge
The AARP is tackling the issue of a--holes. So reports GSB Professor Bob Sutton ( The No Asshole Rule ) on his blog. Journalist Adam Penenberg is writing a story for the AARP Magazine about workplace bullies -- in technical Suttonian parlance, "a--holes". If you want to tell your own story of such experiences, you can feel free to send Mr Penenberg the gruesome details. He is actually encouraging people to "name names" -- a unique opportunity to out that local office tyrant. The magazine reportedly has one of the largest circulations in the world, so this piece can pack a punch.
Apparently executives suffering a scruples deficiency have been engaged as crypto-cheerleaders for their own companies on the Web. The New York Times (July 16) cites the sad example of John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, who seems to have created a fictitious Internet account to tout his own persona, attack corporate opponents and enhance his firm's stock. This form of deception, known on the Web as 'sock-puppeting', has entangled not only Mackey but Conrad Black, the currently embroiled CEO of Hollinger International, who allegedly joined a Yahoo chat room to blame others for his company's stock performance. Makes one wistful for happier times, when a sock puppet named Lamb Chop chatted with Shari Lewis about sugar and spice and everything nice.
The founders of SharpBrains.com, Alvaro Fernandez (GSB MBA '01) and Dr Elkhonon Goldberg, recently published an article on aging and how to partially control it (in The Complete Lawyer, vol. 3, no. 4). The article appears in a legal publication, but has advice for all of us, regardless of profession.
They pointed out the following:
- Neuropsychology Indicates That We Can Control Our Aging
- Aging Means Lifelong Development, Not Automatic Decline
- Some Skills Improve With Age
- Some Skills Need To Be Continuously Nurtured And Trained
- Not All Instances Of Forgetting Are Of Equal Concern
- We Are In Control, To A Large Extent
- There Are Four “Pillars Of Brain Health”
- Cross-Training Our Brains Builds Up Cognitive Reserve
- Computer-Based Brain Exercise Programs Can Help
- Embrace “Good” Stress; Eliminate “Bad” Stress
- Retirement Is Overrated
Read the full article online.
Online gaming has attracted 17% more individuals than last year according to comScore. "The comScore World Metrix study took into account all sites that provide online or downloadable games, excluding gambling sites. The sector attracted 28 percent of the total worldwide online population in May and recorded an average of 9 visits per visitor." Read about how 217 million worldwide are spending their time online.
Interested in how Phil Knight and his son Travis Knight became business partners five years ago? Read the story in July/Aug. issue of Fast Company magazine. Travis, who had never put his foot in his father’s Nike empire, worked as the ardent animator at Will Vinton Studios in Portland. The company was struggling and, actually, losing all its contracts up until the year of 2002, when Phil Knight invested the initial $5 million in the company and eventually took over the company renaming it Laika. He became Chairman of the Board and brought in the new management team. Convincing his son to join the Board, he hopes to turn Laika into the next great animation studio, with its first movie about to be released. Read the story online or in the magazine in Jackson Library.
What you do or say in public can be your undoing, your 15 minutes of infamy. Tom Friedman points out in a thought provoking June 27 New York Times op/ed piece that around every corner lurks a potential, publisher, filmmaker or paparazzi. No one is safe. If you have a little too much to drink and dance the night away with the proverbial lampshade on your head, you can emerge from your hangover a star in your own film, courtesy of YouTube. Friedman contends that our reputations are set in stone much earlier than in past generations. In the Good Old Days, young adults could make mistakes, learn from them and be none the worse for wear. The present generation does not have this luxury; their foibles are recorded for all to see in Face Book, My Space or YouTube. So boys and girls, remember that when you grow up and start looking for a job, there is a good chance your employer will do a Google search and download all those skeletons in your electronic closet.
Do Something, a youth organization in New York, has created Karma Tycoon, a free online video game to introduce teenagers to the nonprofit world, encourage volunteerism, and teach financial responsibility.
Players have to watch their budgets carefully as they set up a nonprofit organization — a homeless shelter, youth center, senior center, animal shelter, or performing-arts group. They also have to apply for grants and loans, and decide whether to pay for their organizations' expenses with cash or credit. They earn "karma" points by the number of people or animals they help, but lose points if they spend too much and their organization has to close.
The nonprofit organization has also created a guide to help teachers integrate Karma Tycoon into their lesson plans for grades seven to 12.
The JPMorgan Chase Foundation awarded Do Something a grant of nearly $600,000 over three years to develop the game.
Reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Are you a woman looking to start her own business? Well, read about the "Ladies who Launch". The founders of Ladies Who Launch, Beth Schoenfeldt and Victoria Colligan say that women follow their instincts and build businesses that stem from their lifestyles. "They seldom begin with a business plan or financing. They multitask the many parts of their lives, hatching companies on the side while working in other jobs or raising families. And their careers rarely follow linear paths."
Black Enterprise in its July issue offers its third annual survey of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity. Included are breakdowns such as the 15 best firms in marketing diversity, supplier diversity, senior management diversity, workplace diversity and more, as well as brief summaries of pack leaders and programs they have created to foster a diverse workplace. As the piece notes, corporations have long moved past simply discussing diversity; today, African-Americans lead Merrill Lynch, Aetna and Time Warner. Read a short version online, or the full piece in the issue in Jackson Library.
I’ve received great feedback on my blogs about global warming, so here I go again. In a poll done by the Bay Area Council over 50% of CEOs in the Bay Area believe that Global Warming would have an adverse effect on the economy and quality of life in the region. Most businesses in the Bay Area support the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) the goal of which is to reduce gas emissions by 25% by the year 2020. The PEW Center on Climate Change gives a great overview of the California Global Warming Solutions Act.
John Foley and John Soat square off in 'Titan or Tyrant?', a piece in the June 25 InformationWeek that examines the legacy of Bill Gates. Both contributors get in some punches, citing praise for Gates from rivals and his philanthropic beneficence, as well as his "genius in predation" and reputation as a bully. As a timeline in the article makes plain, Gates has come through thick and thin, and his imprint on the history of computing is huge. Read the article online, or in the issue in Jackson Library.
J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) announced the results of research on transforming one type of bacteria into another type by transplanted chromosome. “The successful completion of this research is important because it is one of the key proof of principles in synthetic genomics that will allow us to realize the ultimate goal of creating a synthetic organism,” said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., president and chairman, JCVI. “We are committed to this research as we believe that synthetic genomics holds great promise in helping to solve issues like climate change and in developing new sources of energy.”
More on the story at wsj.com
Looking for just the right wine for your next dinner party? How about a bottle of ... Charles Shaw Chardonnay? Yes, you read right: the Shaw 2005 Chardonnay, sold at Trader Joe's markets for roughly $2, beat out 350 other Chardonnays in a blind tasting by 64 judges at the California State Fair. This means 'Two Buck Chuck' won over competitors costing $25 and up. The news is from GSB Professor Bob Sutton, who admits on his blog that he has an ongoing prejudice against what are euphemistically called "approachable" wines -- but who has nevertheless taken steps to stock up some bottles of this vintage. Sommeliers, take note.
The pressure is on to find the perfect name for that little bundle of joy. According to the June 22 Wall Street Journal, traditional family names continue to lose favor as anxious parents spend more and more time choosing a name. Corporate branding mavens have nothing over moms and dads who worry about every consonant that will "brand" their child for life. Thankfully, for every perceived problem an industry is born. Parents no longer need pore over books or watch a soap opera to find the perfect name; they can consult a numerologist for $475 or a consultant for $350. If this proves too pricey, they can take matters into their own hands and download software or surf the web. Still deadlocked over a name? BabyNames.com will help you find a solution for a $25.00 fee. So say goodbye to Linda, Carol and Mary -- and hello to Apple, Shiloh and Suri.
A landmark report on the cost of pollution in China had been substantially cut under pressure from Beijing government ministries. The report found that about 750,000 people die early every year in China because of the filthy air and water.
To calculate levels of air pollution, the biggest killer, the report uses the globally recognised measure – which looks at the concentration of particulates measuring less than or equal to 10 microns per cubic metre of air.
Only 1 per cent of Chinese urban residents live in cities with concentrations of such particulate matter below 40 microgrammes per cubic metre of air. The WHO guideline sets the bar at 20 microgrammes.
In 2003, 58 per cent of Chinese city dwellers were exposed to particulate matter of more than 100 microgrammes, “twice the annual average standard in the US”, the report says.
Story at FT.com.
Technology trivia per washingtonpost.com
Which wireless carrier is the only one that sells Sidekicks?
- AT&T?
- Nextel?
- T-Mobile?
- Verizon?
Answer at washingtonpost.com (scroll down to the Technology Trivia Quiz box.)
An article in the June 17th New York Times Magazine discusses a study by Harvard Political Science Professor Robert Putnam ( Bowling Alone ), that contends that people living in ethnically diverse environments tend to "hunker down" and distrust those around them. The more diversity, the more of a cluster the group becomes. The distrust is not limited to those of another race, but also affects those of the same race. For some reason a diverse mix drives down social capital and makes people withdraw. In spite of his findings, Putnam himself sees long-term benefits from diversity. Read his complete study in Scandinavian Political Studies, June 2007, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p 137-174.
|
