Here is a brief synopsis of an article written about Raymond Loewy, the father of industrial design, on his philosophy about what it takes to sell something new: He believed that consumers are torn between two opposing forces: neophilia, a curiosity about new things; and neophobia, a fear of anything too new.
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At a consumer products company we’re familiar with, no one on the senior team would ever refer to the company’s products as “commodities.” Managers there know what the competition has to offer, and they know their goods are different. They can name the distinctive features and explain their value—and they can tell you how much they’ve spent on innovation to keep that edge.
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On a recent business trip to London, I surprised the conference organizers by turning down the opportunity to stay at the posh hotel hosting the conference in favor of a rather modest Airbnb flat. The hotel was clearly much more luxurious. The flat would require me to take the tube or an Uber to the event. Who in their right mind would make such a choice?
Read MoreIt was reported yesterday that Westfield Corporation, which operates 32 large U.S. malls is looking to startups to spur innovation. They are concerned with the perception that online retailers are capturing the eyes (and pocketbooks) of consumers, thereby eroding their market dominance and ultimately profits.
Read MoreAccording to a recent WSJ article, Twitter has 313 million monthly active users, but its “total addressable audience” is 800 million (and possible much larger if you include who see tweets outside Twitter’s website or apps, or even every news source that simply cites and/or quotes a tweet.)
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One of the best examples of how small differences can lead to exponential results comes from the world of professional golf. In 2015, Phil Mickelson earned $51 million split between prize money on the tour and endorsements.
His per-round stroke average was 70.5.
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The concept of a 'newsletter' pops into the minds of company owners when they have no idea what to do to boost their marketing. They just know they need to do something.Should they entertain speaking engagements, seminars, networking events, newsletters, other?
Read MoreDollar Shave Club introduced a subscription model for selling razors using slapstick humor on YouTube. Now, Dollar Shave Club is being bought by Unilever PLC for $1 billion cash. Among the lessons learned and traditional industry norms broken are:
Read Morehere’s a cultural problem among companies, especially consulting companies: most of us label ourselves based on our practice area. As an example, in the legal profession: "I’m an estate planning attorney. I’m a M&A lawyer."
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The first time I heard this question answered was from Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos. Jeff was on stage at a press event, and a reporter asked him, "Jeff, what do you think is going to change most in the next 10 years?" Jeff replied, "That's a good question. But a better question is: What's not going to change in the next 10-20 years?"
Read MoreIP authentication is the most important mechanism for authorizing access to licensed e-resources. Substantial business and policy issues for libraries and publishers alike connect up to IP authentication. Today, there is growing interest in eliminating IP authentication, so it is timely to examine the implications if we were soon to see its end.
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Until recently, I’ve considered Bitcoin to be a shady digital currency that facilitates the activities of drug lords, arms dealers, smugglers, prostitution rings, and other nefarious activities that hide in the shadows of an open market. In recent years, however, Bitcoin, has been moving into more pedestrian and lawful activities.
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In 2004, Google began a Digital Book Project, which involved scanning books under agreements with several major research libraries and other institutional partners around the world. The Project resulted in an index of more than 20 million digitized books.
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By John Roemer, Special to the California Bar Journal In the 1990s, incorrigible reefer-puffing criminal defense legend J. Tony Serra was one of the few points where the law and marijuana use intersected.
Read MoreStartup founders often feel pressure to chase rapid growth at any cost. So it is notable that one new program urges them to think small.In an era of startup accelerators, the Good Work Institute, a free business-education program for entrepreneurs with modest-sized firms, might best be called a decelerator.
Read MoreMark Walker had two goals for his startup this year: Get its new line of clothing into as many guys' homes as possible and get them to pay full price. He would have to get creative.Walker, after all, is the CEO of JackThreads, a men's clothing site that has mainly been known for its discounted prices since it started in 2008.
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You’re awesome. You do all the right things for your clients. You give them the best service.So why are your client relationships so damn ... difficult? Why aren’t your clients listening to you? Why is it always an uphill battle?
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