Starbucks’ Instant Brew for Instant Change
It's been a little more than a year since Howard Schultz returned to the iconic Starbucks Coffee Company as CEO. The stock, which has tumbled from 19 at the beginning of 2008 to 10, hasn't performed quite as well as analysts expected and shareholders hoped. Now, Schultz introduces Via, its inaugural venture into the instant coffee category, to a less than enthusiastic public. Starbucks fanatic blog "Starbucks Gossip" gave sneering remarks: "Okay, company over. Everyone go home" If there's one thing Schultz loves, besides growing an empire of coffeehouses, it's a well brewed cup of coffee. Starbucks has been known for its luxury ...
Top 30 Innovations Over the Past 30 Years
The word "change" may never be the same. For some, it's change from the previous political administration. For others, it's global change and a new approach to each problem we encounter as a world. But looking back over the last few decades, what would be the most significant innovations that changed how we live? PBS' Nightly Business Report celebrated its 30th year on the air with a special on the top 30 innovations in the past 30 years. NBR solicited nominations from the public, and a panel of professors from Wharton sorted and awarded the top innovations. From medication and technology marvels ...
A Change in the Rapacious Executive
With unemployment on the rise and stressed out executives unsure where they may find their next deal, the business world has succumbed to an epidemic of an unusual kind: politeness. In an article from The Economist, one journalist writes: Rudeness is out, and civility is the new rule in an uncertain world. The former kings of abrasive behaviour—Masters of the Universe bankers, hedge-fund traders, private-equity chiefs—have been humbled. On Wall Street, says a banker, “it’s now all about charm and openness and taking time with people.” Cocky young things straight out of the best business schools have stopped skipping interview appointments, ...
The One Question Google Asks All of its Products
Take a look at some of the web services Google has grown, bought or cultivated in its web arsenal. We have their basic search, the AdWords network, YouTube, Maps and Streetview, Gmail, Documents and Calendar, just to name a few. We also see some of those little products that don't quite appear on the main page but they still support, like Google Earth, Chrome, Goog 411, Knol, Picassa and trends. Some products are related directly to search and finding answers to information, but others (especially products like the now defunct Lively) entered into new worlds and industries. How could Google possibly evaluate ...
The IKEA Effect: Why We Keep Failing Projects Alive
Even when signals and coworkers tell us that a project may not work, we push to finish. We could have exhausted all resources and be well beyond our deadline, but we refuse to say enough is enough. Why is this? After all, our time could be better spent on our projects and more innovative ideas. Michael Norton, for the Harvard Business Review, calls it "The IKEA Effect." Imagine assembling a complicated piece of furniture. Regardless of how much you paid for the piece, you're unlikely to give up assembling the item until it is finished. It may take hours to put ...
Strategy
Starbucks’ Instant Brew for Instant Change
It’s been a little more than a year since Howard Schultz returned to the iconic Starbucks Coffee Company as CEO. The stock, which has tumbled from 19 at the beginning of 2008 to 10, hasn’t performed quite as well as analysts expected and shareholders hoped. Now, Schultz introduces Via, its inaugural venture into the instant coffee category,... [Read this article]
Top 30 Innovations Over the Past 30 Years
The word “change” may never be the same. For some, it’s change from the previous political administration. For others, it’s global change and a new approach to each problem we encounter as a world. But looking back over the last few decades, what would be the most significant innovations that changed how we live? PBS’... [Read this article]
The One Question Google Asks All of its Products
Take a look at some of the web services Google has grown, bought or cultivated in its web arsenal. We have their basic search, the AdWords network, YouTube, Maps and Streetview, Gmail, Documents and Calendar, just to name a few. We also see some of those little products that don’t quite appear on the main page but they still support, like... [Read this article]
Read More Articles From StrategyManagement
Top 30 Innovations Over the Past 30 Years
The word “change” may never be the same. For some, it’s change from the previous political administration. For others, it’s global change and a new approach to each problem we encounter as a world. But looking back over the last few decades, what would be the most significant innovations that changed how we live? PBS’... [Read this article]
A Change in the Rapacious Executive
With unemployment on the rise and stressed out executives unsure where they may find their next deal, the business world has succumbed to an epidemic of an unusual kind: politeness. In an article from The Economist, one journalist writes: Rudeness is out, and civility is the new rule in an uncertain world. The former kings of abrasive behaviour—Masters... [Read this article]
The One Question Google Asks All of its Products
Take a look at some of the web services Google has grown, bought or cultivated in its web arsenal. We have their basic search, the AdWords network, YouTube, Maps and Streetview, Gmail, Documents and Calendar, just to name a few. We also see some of those little products that don’t quite appear on the main page but they still support, like... [Read this article]
Read More Articles From ManagementMarketing
Starbucks’ Instant Brew for Instant Change
It’s been a little more than a year since Howard Schultz returned to the iconic Starbucks Coffee Company as CEO. The stock, which has tumbled from 19 at the beginning of 2008 to 10, hasn’t performed quite as well as analysts expected and shareholders hoped. Now, Schultz introduces Via, its inaugural venture into the instant coffee category,... [Read this article]
Poaching Innovators From Your Customer Base
Media and tech companies may not need to look much further than their own customers for adding value to their product lines. According to a recent article in the Financial Times, companies like the BBC and Last.fm, an online music service owned by CBS, have held events to gather independent developers for a day of invention and creation. People are... [Read this article]
Whatever You Do, Don’t Cut Your Ad Budget
If we’ve seen a recent pattern of topics from prominent publications, it’s the suggestion for companies to avoid cutting any of their marketing dollars. Harvard Business School, Knowledge@Wharton and Chief Executive are all pitching in to offer their reasoning on why a recession is the perfect time to not only maintain but actually increase... [Read this article]
Read More Articles From MarketingHow To
The One Question Google Asks All of its Products
Take a look at some of the web services Google has grown, bought or cultivated in its web arsenal. We have their basic search, the AdWords network, YouTube, Maps and Streetview, Gmail, Documents and Calendar, just to name a few. We also see some of those little products that don’t quite appear on the main page but they still support, like... [Read this article]
How To: Write a Pitch Letter
Bnet posted an article on how to persuade coworkers by drafting the perfect pitch letter. In addition to focusing on what to say, consider how to express your idea. A few suggestions from the article: The introduction should establish a problem or void that your suggestion will solve Make the purpose clear and concise Avoid stating personal or political... [Read this article]
How To: Get the Most Out of Your Ad Agency
Watching TV shows like Thirty Something or Mad Men gives a glimpse into the lives of advertisers and their agencies. Building a strong relationship between the client and the agency is crucial for the success of the brand and prevents clients from looking elsewhere when the economy begins to shake or sales begin to slip. In an article for BusinessWeek: It’s... [Read this article]
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Finding the Next Bubble
Following dot com failures, oil and corn, investors are asking themselves where they can jump on the next bubble. Matthew Lynn writes for Bloomberg: One thing we know for sure about today’s global economy is that there is always an investment bubble somewhere. If you get in early enough, you can make a fortune riding the boom. Investors are... [Read this article]
Read More Articles From InvestingLeadership
The One Question Google Asks All of its Products
Take a look at some of the web services Google has grown, bought or cultivated in its web arsenal. We have their basic search, the AdWords network, YouTube, Maps and Streetview, Gmail, Documents and Calendar, just to name a few. We also see some of those little products that don’t quite appear on the main page but they still support, like... [Read this article]
The IKEA Effect: Why We Keep Failing Projects Alive
Even when signals and coworkers tell us that a project may not work, we push to finish. We could have exhausted all resources and be well beyond our deadline, but we refuse to say enough is enough. Why is this? After all, our time could be better spent on our projects and more innovative ideas. Michael Norton, for the Harvard Business Review,... [Read this article]
Renegade Goals
The first quarter of every year sends executives scrambling for a set of annual goals to submit to their managers. Goals have been shown to improve company performance in just about any organization in any industry. The problem arises, however, when executives are blinded by the benefits of goals to see how they may fail to fulfill the objectives... [Read this article]
Read More Articles From LeadershipEverything Else
The Great, Online Executive Job Search
CareerBuilder? Monster? Not if you have a decade of industry and managerial experience under your belt. Basic job search sites are great to launch a career, but here’s our list of job resources that cater to modern executives. Think of it as life after CraigsList. Theladders The Hook: Premium professional jobs, most with salaries above $100,000. The... [Read this article]
Game Site Grows Up
Launched in an apartment during the dot com boom, Miniclip has grown into an online empire with more than 43 million unique visitors a month. Their target audience skipped the typical teenager and tween crowd to gather adults and working professionals with a few minutes of free time during their day. Miniclip had a novel business plan for the time:... [Read this article]
Implementing a Successful Corporate Turnaround
Greg Brenneman spent a good portion of his career serving floundering corporations, including Continental Airlines, Burger King and Quiznos. So how does Brenneman save a dying company? In an article from The Economist, he gives two not-so-simple steps: Stop the activities that drain your bottom line and then formulate a clear strategy, and stick... [Read this article]
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