How do companies make money? How much do (can) they make? Those questions pop up in the minds of anyone who is contemplating starting a business. New York magazine wondered, too, and sent reporters out to dig up the facts and stats for a variety of NYC-based businesses, from cab driver to drug dealer to […]
Category Archives: authentic self
Wal-Mart's mixed marketing message
The other day I wondered about Dell’s mixed marketing message. Now it’s Wal-Mart’s turn. Traditionally the low price leader, Wal-Mart has been trying to swim upstream — I mean, move upscale. They want to hold on to their marketing base while attracting upscale consumers shopping for higher-quality goods. But a confidential report based on interviews […]
Burt’s Bees: Simple products, "naturally" profitable
Burt’s Bees is a great example of a small, homegrown Maine company that has grown into a giant by keeping things simple: simple products, simple packaging, even a simple marketing message. Founded by a Maine beekeeper and a graphic artist in 1984, the company has become legendary for quality and a down-home image. As the […]
F'ree enrollment at MIT?
Well, not quite. But the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has opened the gates of its vaunted curriculum to the masses — no charge, no registration required. (No degree either, of course.) MIT OpenCourseWare is an ambitious project to post all MIT courses on the Internet, open to anyone who’s interested. A “free and open educational […]
Why work hard?
By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss — so you can work twelve hours a day.-Robert Frost
What you can learn from Toyota's success
Toyota didn’t get to be the world’s largest auto manufacturer by ignoring the details. Its kaizen (continuous improvement) approach can teach any organization a lot about quality, productivity and taking care of business. The two main pillars of Toyota’s approach boil down to: 1) respect for people and 2) continuous improvement; constant and never-ending improvement […]
Campbell's canned food drive: "Cause" for cynicism?
The 15th annual Stamp Out Hunger canned food drive is tomorrow (5/15). The idea is for us to go to the store, buy some canned food, then leave it in our mailboxes tomorrow. About 230,000 USPS letter carriers in more than 10,000 communities will collect donations and haul them to local food banks, where they […]