Business Turnarounds: Sometimes It Looks Easy
I’ve been watching a business turn around. I had not expected it to happen; in fact, I had predicted just the opposite. The previous owner was a friend of mine, and I knew he wasn’t …
Incentive Systems: Markets, Medicare, and Your Business
"Markets and Medicare" is a great article in today’s Wall Street Journal by my good friend John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis. The article has value beyond the Medicare debate, but …
End of the “China Price”
In December 2004, Business Week magazine published a special report on The China Price: They are the three scariest words in U.S. industry. Cut your price at least 30% or lose your customers. Nearly every …
Social Networks for Business
The Wall Street Journal interviewed Jerry Sheer, CEO of Sparta Social Networks, in this article (subscription required) Unfortunately, neither the reporter nor the interviewee really made the case for social networks as a profit-increasing tool. …
Business Uses for Web 2.0: How Companies Can Help Their Customers and Their Employees While Cutting Costs
Mainstream companies can use Web 2.0 tools to help their customers and their employees, while cutting costs. A business does NOT have to be Internet-based or high-tech to use the new tools. My article on …
Nike Strategy: The Trial and Error Economy
Nike has implemented a major change in strategy, according to an interesting article in Forbes Magazine. The company had previously advertised with a mass market focus. Its "swoosh" logo was everywhere, as was it’s great …
Business Goals vs. Strategic Intuition
Read the first two paragraphs of this Wall Street Journal book review: Set big goals. Do whatever it takes to reach them. These muscular sentences form the core of commencement addresses, business-advice books, political movements …
Merrill Lynch Firing its CEO: Lessons for All Business
Looks like Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O’Neal is on his way out, as Merrill is taking an eight BILLION dollar write-off on mortgage-related securities. Here’s the most telling comment from the Wall Street Journal article: …
Mark Sanborn Interview Posted: You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader
We’ve posted a new interview from the Businomics (tm) Audio Magazine. I spoke with Mark Sanborn, a leadership expert, author and speaker, about his new book, You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader. …
How to Prepare for Recession
The Wall Street Journal’s survey of economists (subscription required) shows a sharp rise in the probability of recession. I’m not quite a pessimistic as the panelists, but I agree that there’s a significant chance of …
Prepare for Recession: Just in Case
The recent financial crisis highlights the need to prepare for recession. Now, I’m NOT forecasting a recession. But the risk is there, and we economists are not real good at predicting just when a recession …
Venture Capital: Looking for New Ideas, Not Necessarily New Technology
Venture capitalists are looking for new ideas, not necessarily new technology, according to an interesting article from Knowledge @ Wharton. Some of the greatest business successes among new ventures in recent years have used off-the-shelf …