We all recall the grammar school joke: "What's black and white and red all over? A newspaper!" Well, a new day has dawned. As Time magazine points out in its cover article How To Save Your Newspaper, news is still widely read, but ... nobody wants to pay for it. More people in the U.S. now get their news free online than pay for print newspapers and magazines. The Deal February 8 issue Black And White And Red All Over notes that the industry was already suffering before being hit by the latest economic whammy, and describes some the desperate strategies news services now employ. It probably has not escaped your attention that both of the articles cited in this blog are free online. So what is the future? And what are we gonna wrap fish in ?
The NY Times has created a new topics page called "Energy & Environment" which encompasses articles on Green Energy, Clean Tech and related subjects.
All you wanted to read about but were afraid to ask!
 This past weekend Mike Spence (retired dean of the GSB) spoke with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo about the state of the economy and his view on the impact of the stimulus plan. He clearly states that the banking and financial services sectors need further stabilization and that the government should be more specific about its future plans in order to improve the situation. They also discuss “bad assets” and the need for these to be publicly traded in order to get a better overview of their worth. Also discussed are the mortgage and automotive industries. You can view this candid interview in its entirety.
One of our favorite bloggers, Stanford's Professor Bob Sutton (The No Asshole Rule), opines that new CEO Carol Bartz may be just what the doctor ordered at Yahoo! Sutton argues that the company has suffered from a lack of clear strategy and some internal dysfunction and lack of cohesion, and feels that Bartz is bringing the kind of strong centralizing force Yahoo! needs to mend any wounds. But Bob has a soft spot for Yahoo!, considering that it grew out of the Stanford School of Engineering and its founders have donated generously to the University. So if you feel he's too kind and motherly, you are welcome to comment at his blog.
If you are thinking of putting your creative ideas into a venture, you might find useful a few tips from Asheesh Advani, the veteran-entrepreneur and the president of Virgin Money USA company. Asheesh gained his experience in raising money during the last recession, and he offers three tips on raising financing for a new business. If interested, read an article in in March issue of Entrepreneur magazine or online.
The auto industry is taking on water and needs to be balied out? Mayday is the cry of the big 3 automakers.
An article in the NY times states that "President Obama's decision to act as his own “car czar” means that in the next few months he faces decisions no American president has made since the invention of the automobile."
The President's chief concerns, "whether two of America’s three surviving domestic carmakers should be forced into bankruptcy, how many more concessions should be extracted from unions that helped propel him into the Oval Office and, perhaps, even what kind of cars will be produced in the United States."
Interested to know where all the financial bailout monies are going? Tim Geithner announced a week ago the launch of a website, www.financialstability.gov, which is supposed to display transparency and accountability by providing documentation of how the $700billion TARP money has been spent so far. As you can see the site is still limited to a few press releases and announcements. There is certainly more information available about the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
For those who have lost money as a result of the Madoff affair, relief is now available. Sort of. For $99 you can vent by purchasing a smashable Bernie Madoff figure. OK, so maybe you didn't lose any money, but still want to express your ire. The figurine is on display at the 2009 Toy Fair in New York City. Uhh, just don't get any ideas if you spot the real Madoff on the streets .....
If you are a news hound, there is a site you must check out. It allows you to scroll over different cities on a world map and get the most recent headlines of selected local papers everywhere. Double click and the page gets larger. You can then read the PDF version, or click through to the paper itself through the upper right corner. Omniscience ... at your fingertips. And it's free !
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Today we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the births of two remarkable men whose imprint remains all about us. Abraham Lincoln, whose staunch defense of the Union during the Civil War and abhorrence of slavery have remained a model for all future presidents, was born the same day in 1809 as Charles Darwin, architect of the theory of evolution that is without doubt one of the most influential concepts to shape modern human civilization, becoming absolutely determinative in the biological sciences. These men grew up in radically different settings -- Lincoln amid rustic log cabins on the American frontier, Darwin in an educated English family that included paternal grandfather philosopher Erasmus and maternal grandfather industrialist Josiah Wedgwood. And historians know, of course, that not all Lincoln's ideas have stood the test of time, nor was Darwin alone in the development of evolutionary theory. But this does not detract from their monumental achievements. Let us hope that in future we continue to see the emergence of similar bright lights in our cultural firmament. Huzzah !
Oil, presidents, mergers, and valentines - check out the February JacksonLine.
Has YouTube gone mainstream, or is the New York Times looking for a Second Life? Although the venerable paper has not invested in the virtual world, they have invested in video content via YouTube. Check in daily to watch new videos from the producers and editors of the Times. And instantly comment on video content. No more waiting to see if your editorial comment will get published, ha ha. A few keystrokes, and your opinion reaches around the world.
The GSB hosted Brenda Barnes (CEO of Sara Lee) this afternoon as part of the View From the Top series at the school. Ms. Barnes spoke about her experience as a CEO and what her view is from the top. Sara Lee has about 44 thousand employees and about $13million in sales with about 75% of profits coming from outside the U.S. Also of interest is that they are the 3rd largest global coffee provider.
Ms. Barnes spoke about managing for the long term in a short term world, and creating value for shareholders over time. She stressed the importance of listening to employees, and often employees knew when something was not working and needed to be changed. The three most important elements in running a company according to Ms. Barnes are governance, strategy and operations. Governance through effective boards can be very helpful in getting an outside perspective to provide guidance as well as years of experience. Barnes mentioned that having an activist investor on the board has been very helpful in steering the board.
During the Q&A session Barnes mentioned that she sees Sara Lee focusing on developing more health conscious products. She also sees continued application of “lean” manufacturing and production.
Is the American financial system broken? According to journalist and author Fareed Zakaria our system is approaching the terminal stage. Banks are moving toward insolvency, buried under a mountain of bad assets and, despite a huge influx of cash, they are not lending. Speed and money are crucial. Zakaria believes President Obama understands the issues, but is concerned that Congress does not understand the severity of the situation. He believes we must act swiftly to restore America‘s credibility by first putting her financial house in order.
An interesting article in 2009 Jan./Feb. issue of BizEd magazine talks about the cell phones and how these devices literally transformed the way people communicate, conduct business, or just pass their time reading or watching movies. However, the main topic of the article is the future of mobile phones in the classrooms, specifically in business schools. Admitting, that the capabilities of the modern cell phones are not being used in teaching courses, the author sees that in the nearest future the mobile phones will became a standard tool of the education process. Technology is evolving around producing more and more applications for cell phones. Basically, the “phone” function is becoming just one of many applications. And talking about the applications, the accompanying material includes the listing of cool websites where you can learn how to use your cell phone for a variety of tasks. For more details, find the article in the periodicals display area of Jackson library.
The 2/16 issue of The Nation magazine speaks to building a "green recovery". Discussion in the articles focuses on a green investment agenda, the power of governmental transparency, how green investments beneficially impact energy costs, a need for federal intervention in creating green jobs, the current opportunity to boost mass transit in America, the value of rooftop solar power, and Newark NJ's hope to become a model green city.
Fortune has just released its list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. The usual suspects are still on the list, such as Google, Genetech and Whole Foods. Topping the list this year is NetApp a data storage company located in Sunnyvale, CA. The CEO of NetApp Dave Hitz just published a book entitled How to Castrate a Bull: Unexpected Lessons on Risk, Growth, and Success in Business and will be speaking at Stanford Breakfast Briefing on March 11.
The SF Chronicle has started an occasional series focusing on a Stanford economics undergrad Stephen Sebro who is set to graduate this June. It will follow his progress as he faces life after graduation into the business world which is now anything but welcoming.
Sebro is hoping to start his business here in California where unemployment is 9.3 percent, the highest level in 15 years.
Miss any Super Bowl ads? You can catch all of them at AdAge.com. Enjoy!
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