'Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't'. That was GSB Professor Robert Sutton's aim in writing his bestselling book The No Asshole Rule (it is also the book's subtitle). Sutton will be speaking on the topic at Noon, Thursday May 15 in the first floor conference room of Mariposa House on campus. The talk is free and open to all Faculty and Staff of Stanford University, LPCH and Stanford Hospital. Space is limited. To RSVP, call the Faculty Staff Help Center at 3-4577 or email helpcenter@lists.stanford.edu
How much is the cost of living in these modern times? With much talk these days on how far your dollar is not going, you might want to see sources on how to calculate and understand what the numbers mean. Check out these websites:
Who wouldn’t want to get investment advice from Warren Buffett? Or, ask him about his perception of the present state of economy and politics? It turns out that such a session can be arranged especially for the MBAs from various schools. About 15 times a year Berkshire CEO invites business students for the day of learning. The latest get-together with Warren happened in early April. A group of 150 Wharton students spent a day touring one or two of Berkshire businesses, then proceeded to the company’s headquarters in downtown Omaha where for two hours students engaged in a question and answer session with Warren Buffett. The conversation continued during lunch at one of Warren’s favorite restaurants. The excerpts of Warren Buffet’s talk with the students are published in April issue of Fortune magazine. Some of the questions ranged from the state of financial markets, where to invest, to the presidential election, to how Warren himself gets his investment ideas. To find out what the answers are, check the magazine in Jackson’s periodicals area or read the article online.
Last night Jackson Library celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a gala reception at the Library. In addition to faculty and staff of the GSB who attended, librarians from across campus and even "Jackson alumni" from the past were present to enjoy good food from Arguello caterers, good conversation with colleagues and good music with Celso Alberti and his band. Capping off the night were gracious speeches by Professor David Kreps, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (who brought greetings from Dean Joss, currently in India), Professor James Van Horne, long time friend of the Library, Karen Wilson, Associate Dean for Faculty Services and Operations and former Director of the Library, and Kathy Long, our current Director. Speakers paid tribute to the centrality of the Library in the past life of the School, as well as the promise of dynamic new ways of interaction and service in coming years. Also mentioned were the names of those Directors, some of whom were present, who guided the Library to prominence over the many years since its founding in 1933. Finally, honored guest Halle Spurr Heckler, a personal friend of Dean J. Hugh Jackson and his wife, was on hand to enjoy the festivities at the library named for her old friend. For more information, see our special anniversary page. Here's looking forward to our next 75 !
If you want to get your point across, start a conversation. In the March 2008 issue of Jungle, Sally Hogshead points out that if you want to get noticed in today’s business environment you must become a conversationalist. There is a definite shift afoot in today's business environment from 'selling' to 'connecting'. For example, you can no longer march into an interview with a list of talking point based on your strengths; you must be ready to engage the interviewer in conversation. So how to get going? The author offers five simple steps:
1. Ask questions
2. Understand your audience's true motivation
3. Smile (an oft-forgotten basic)
4. Let go of some control
5. Google the #$%!! out of anyone with whom you need to connect
Read online or the print issue in Jackson Library.
The IPO of the Chinese B2B web portal Alibaba.com last November raised a near-record $1.5 billion—at the time trailing only the $1.7 billion generated by Google Inc. in 2004 for the largest IPO haul by an Internet company.
The Alibaba Group—the parent of Alibaba.com—is China's most impressive Internet outfit. Founded in 1999, it comprises six main businesses. In addition to its B2B and the Taobao consumer auction portals, it owns China's most popular Internet payment company, Alipay, which solved the credit card problem with a bank transfer workaround. Alisoft, its Internet-based business management software, delivers tools that allow Taobao customers to communicate before making deals. In 2005, Alibaba acquired its search engine Yahoo! China. The newest entry, Alimama, allows Web publishers to list their advertising inventory, complete with prices and other pertinent information, and then advertisers can scroll for publications that match their needs and click to complete a deal. Alibaba has 4,400 employees working in 30 sales and marketing offices in China, Europe, and the United States.
Corporate Counsel, May 1, 2008
Weblog Strategic Sourcing Europe on Alisoft
Wikipedia on AliBlog
Customer Communications in North America
On 3 April 2008, Alibaba.com started their first official blog targeted for the international small and medium sized enterprise (SME) community, with a special emphasis on communicating with merchants in the United States. Their blog, the AliBlog, is marketed as "the latest word from Alibaba.com on our news, events, and community" while promising to be an official source for information and opinion from an employee's perspective on Alibaba.com.
It’s been 38 years since Earth Day was designated. The Reuters article U.S. Earth Day Goes Political and Corporate gives an overview of how public and private enterprise came together to celebrate. The EPA has set up a page on their Website to raise awareness and Greenpeace has launched a website called Stop Green Wash with the goal to expose companies purporting to be environmentally friendly.
As I was watching a DVD of an Hollywood classic movie this weekend I pondered on the evolution of the movie industry. Gone are the dictators that ran the Hollywood studios such as Louis B. Mayer and Harry Cohn who with just a word from them an actor could foreseeably "never work in this town again!" Now movie studios are just a part of a conglomerate and the studio boss reports to a bigger boss. Studios are under more and more pressure to turn out movies that will make a profit for the parent company while on the other hand more and more people are not going out to the neighbor hood cinema. What is a movie studio to do?
Check out this blog The Box Office Junkie, which answers the question why is popcorn so expensive at the movies?
 Also the book The Big Picture : The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood by Edward Jay Epstein, located in Jackson Library. These two sources might shed light on the workings of the modern motion picture studio.
A few items gleaned from various blogs, for your viewing pleasure ... GSB Professor Hayagreeva "Huggy" Rao and Alan Webb of McKinsey did an interview of Brad Bird, Oscar-winning director of Ratatouille. Read Professor Bob Sutton's comments and link to the McKinsey site, where you can read the interview for free upon registration (it includes sound clips and pictures). Guy Kawasaki on his blog cites the clever idea of using play equipment like a see-saw to generate power; he salutes the work of innovative inventors who can use innocent childish pasttimes to power our world. Andrew Hargadon on his blog muses about the selective memory of History, particularly in regard to inventors. Commenting on a recent New York Times article, he recalls Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, creator of a recording technology 17 years before Thomas Edison -- and reminds us that Edison's patent for the incandescent light was turned down because it matched one filed 40 years before by a J.W. Starr. Lastly GSB alum Tom Peters ( MBA '72, PhD '77) on his blog spotlights the Chevrolet Volt, an electric plug-in hybrid introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in 2007. Peters opines this is a chance for GM to reclaim its role as an innovator, that this is a critical crossroads for the company. He offers suggestions on how GM can make this baby go -- for both the company's good and the world's.
According to a paper written for the National Bureau of Economic Research entitled The Macro-Foundations of Microeconomics by GSB Professor Paul Oyer, MBAs can expect up to a decade of decreased salaries after an economic downturn. An article in The Stanford Daily takes a look at job prospects for soon to graduate MBAs. Read what MBAs have to say and what the bloodbath is all about in MBAs Crafting Careers Despite Downturn.
The opening keynote presentation at the ad:tech san francisco Conference this week was delivered by Jeff Hayzlett, Kodak's Chief Marketing Officer. Business updates included the following: The new Kodak business has transformed from print to digital and from B2C to B2B. The Kodak Gallery, where photos are organized, shared, and archived online, has 70 million members worldwide. The challenge is to move it from a site of 70 million users to a community of 70 million users. Blog outreach: Kodak was one of the first companies to hire a female Chief Blogging Officer. The blurring of advertising and content: the Kodak printer was placed in the Celebrity Apprentice show where apprentices competed in creating an ad in the streets of New York. About the Olympic game sponsorship: Beijing 2008 will be the last Kodak-sponsored Olympics. Hayzlett said that sponsoring the game is not a good media play for Kodak. Instead, Kodak will be in PGA. The 26 most difficult holes across 26 tournaments will be Kodak holes. You bet there will be big Kodak moments at these holes!
Welcome to Hedgie Heaven, where mindboggling profits are the stuff of everyday life. Meet John Paulson, fund manager, who made $3.7 billion (yes, that's with a b) last year. How? According to the New York Times, by betting against mortgages and the complex financial products that held them. Or James H. Simons and George Soros, who reaped almost $ 3 billion each (yes, there's that b again.) These gentlemen come from the new Alpha magazine annual ranking of top hedge fund earners, who quietly rake in staggering sums that would have made JD Rockefeller's eyes rotate. In an era when the middle class struggles to maintain decent salaries and avoid home foreclosures, such astronomical amounts are, well, disquieting. As William Gross, chief investment officer of bond fund Pimco, puts it, "There's nothing wrong with it -- it's not illegal. But it's ugly." The median American family earned roughly $60,000 last year. By contrast, these top 50 fund meisters last year earned a total of almost $30 billion (and for the last time, that's with a b.) Read more about this hedgie hegemony in Alpha, on the Jackson periodicals racks.
And on a related note, see the Barron's top 75 hedge fund list in the 4/14/08 issue -- also on the Jackson periodicals rack.
Changethis is an online magazine GSB Professor Bob Sutton recently touted on his blog. By his reckoning it may be more fascinating reading than the Harvard Business Review -- though he is hasty to add that HBR remains at the apex of required reading for today's business literate (by way of disclaimer, Sutton admits he has published in both.) Recent highlighted titles from Changethis include 'The Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness', 'The New Rules of Viral Marketing: How Word of Mouse Spreads Your Ideas for Free', 'The New Time Management: Simply Focus on the Fundamentals, and Toss Away the Tips', and 'Trust Economies: Investigation Into the New ROI of the Web', among others. If your appetite has been whetted, read more.
GuideStar Premium database became available at the Jackson Library's database website for the Stanford GSB community and visitors to the Library. It provides nonprofit organization information via two search methods: 1) Nonprofit & Donation Search and 2) People Search. The license provides 2 simultaneous users. This resource was funded by the Jackson Library and the GSB Corporate Governance Research Program.
Theoretically you should have mailed your taxes already, for the rest of you there is still time until midnight. For those of you who have filed for an extension this might still be helpful. The Nightly Business Report has put together a list of Tax Tips 2007 for you. If you owe taxes it might be nice to know you are not alone in the boat some very famous people have owed taxes. Additionally don’t forget this is a very special year you aren’t eligible for the Economic Stimulus money if you did not file your income tax.
TechSoup is one of a new brand of companies called “social enterprises” because they pursue social missions instead of profits. But unlike most nonprofit groups, these organizations generate a sustainable source of revenue and do not rely on philanthropy. Earnings are retained and reinvested rather than being distributed to shareholders.
The new companies typically begin as small groups of intensely motivated people dedicated to the goal of building a product or service. Read more about it.
I’m back from the world of car manufacturers to talk a bit about the cell phone world. Bloomberg Markets has a great article in the May issue entitled Google’s Wireless Gamble. With profits from their online advertising down and the company still growing Google is trying to find other ways to make money. In case you haven’t seen their stock it has taken a nose dive and is basically back where it was a year ago (US:GOOG). They are developing an operating system for cell phones. The system will be named Android and will be released this summer.
I read an interesting local story covered by the New York Times today. A Sunnyvale couple was sued by their neighbor because the redwood trees they had planted some years ago were now covering up some of their neighbor's solar panels. The couple who planted the trees, Carolynn Bissett and Richard Treanor, were convicted of violating a law, based on the complaint of their neighbor, Mark Vargas, and were ordered to make sure that no more than 10 percent of the solar panels are shaded. The 1978 state law protects homeowners’ investment in rooftop solar panels. Trees that impede solar panels’ access to the sun can be deemed a nuisance and their owners fined up to $1,000 a day. The Solar Shade Act was a curiosity until late last year, when a dispute over the eight redwoods(a k a Tree No. 1, Tree No. 2, Tree No. 3, etc.) ended up in Santa Clara County criminal court. Read more about it.
According to an article in the December issue of Jungle (Dec 2007, page 31) women don’t want what men want when it comes to work. There is a distinct difference between male and female populations of MBAs as to what they view as important when looking for a job. Women look for a company that fosters a diverse workplace and is committed to social responsibility. They also want a place that offers them at least a semblance of a personal life. The article lists 100 ideal employers for women. Read more (the full article is in the print issue in the Library.)
The elegant sports car Bugatti (owned by Volkswagen VOW.GR) known for its speed and elegance, sells a model called the Veyron for a cool $1.7 million retail. Bugatti now in collaboration with Hermes is going to release 10-15 models of a special Veyron costing about $2.4 million, as mentioned in a report entitled the Worlds Most Expensive Car by Market Watch. To view some fun information on Veyron accidents and tickets see Auto Trader out of the UK.
The title of this post is the same as the title of one of the latest and most popular reports issued by Forrester analysts Ron Rogowski, Harley Manning, and Steven Geller. According to the authors, a strong web contents should be focusing on the two key factors: reinforcing the brand and supporting user goals. A combination of the two doesn’t happen often. The authors suggest two ways of creating strong web contents that create the brand presence: communicate value in emotionally engaging way and deliver value by offering useful contents. The authors give best practice examples selected out of 153 reviewed company sites. For complete report, Stanford users should login into Forrester database with their Forrester accounts.
Facebook at a Glance
The sixth-most trafficked site in the U.S. (according to comScore) has the following:
• More than 64 million active users
• An average of 250,000 new users registered each day
• More than 55,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high school networks
• More than 14 million photos uploaded daily
• More than 65 billion page views per month
• More than half of users are outside college
• The fastest growing demographic of 25 and older
The U.S. has the most users, followed by the U.K. with more than 8 million active users, and then Canada with more than 7 million active users.
InformationToday.com, March 2008
India might have been part of the British Empire one hundred years ago but now India is doing quite well as seen by the purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata motors earlier this week. Ford, which owned both brands, has made changes at both companies but they were not enough to propel sales and help a floundering Ford.
An article in Reliable Plant entitled Auto Industry Focus Continues to Shift to Emerging Markets talks about how, while production in mature markets is falling off, emerging markets are growing.
Futures magazine March 2008 issue highlights the Top Traders of 2007. Prominently mentioned are Michael Geismar, Jaffrey Woodriff and Greyson Williams of Quantitative Investment Management (QIM), Randy Shell and Simcha Bluth of Jalex / Kesef Trading, and Gregory Cotter of Tri Global FX. Included is a summary of the year that any member of the CTA (commodity trading advisor) set will appreciate. But read the full story in the issue on the Jackson Library current periodical racks.
Looking at Apple and its famous CEO, Guy Kawasaki, Apple's former chief evangelist, admits "Steve proves that it's OK to be an asshole." The Wired Magazine April 2008 cover story is about none other than Steve Jobs, Silicon Valley legend, charismatic genius, and ... corporate tyrant ? Maybe so. But GSB Professor Bob Sutton in his bestseller The No Asshole Rule, while noting the man's legendary offensiveness, exempts Jobs from the excoriation he gives many other, uhh, you-know-whats. Typically, an insider told Sutton that Jobs could demean his staff to the point of tears, yet "be almost always right." Sutton was even shocked, shocked to find himself defending Jobs on national TV recently; he feels that most horror stories about Jobs apply to his reckless youth. In addition to Jobs, author Leander Kahney points to the Apple legacy of opacity and secrecy that has helped the company stymie competition while flying in the face of conventional Silicon Valley culture. Read how Apple and its CEO repeatedly break the Valley's rules -- and succeed.
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