Insights and ideas

So things are getting desperate in Japan. All those years of recession have resulted in deep cuts in the available workforce just as it’s roaring economy is expanding demand. So what are the second-order effects… Read more »

This comment was in response to a reporter’s inquiry about Gillette and the 5-bladed razor The blade madness in my opinion has to do with the longstanding competition between the major players in the industry…. Read more »

I was recently asked by a reporter how grocery stores could compete with Wal-Mart. Here are some ideas.To compete against the ‘everyday low price’ theme of Wal-Mart, supermarkets have to find some way of differentiating… Read more »

I was recently asked by a reporter how grocery stores could compete with Wal-Mart. Here are some ideas.To compete against the ‘everyday low price’ theme of Wal-Mart, supermarkets have to find some way of differentiating… Read more »

I was recently asked by a reporter to comment on the pros and cons of municipal Wi-Fi networks (which could also extend to Wi-Fi networks based in libraries and public schools, not to mention your… Read more »

I was recently asked by a reporter to comment on the pros and cons of municipal Wi-Fi networks (which could also extend to Wi-Fi networks based in libraries and public schools, not to mention your… Read more »

I’m just back from a most amazing visit to Dubai, where I learned a thing or two about how strategic a government can be. Dubai’s leaders have figured out how to make the place attractive… Read more »

I’m just back from a most amazing visit to Dubai, where I learned a thing or two about how strategic a government can be. Dubai’s leaders have figured out how to make the place attractive… Read more »

Well, the computers arrived this past week. They got here when I was in Finland, so by the time I got home there was a smoking mound of packaging occupying the entire dining room, and… Read more »

Well, the computers arrived this past week. They got here when I was in Finland, so by the time I got home there was a smoking mound of packaging occupying the entire dining room, and… Read more »

A fascinating article in Fortune (August 8 2005, p. 32) details the mass destruction of the telecommunications industry perpetrated by the fraud at WorldCom (now MCI). During its heyday it’s (illegally) efficient cost structure drove… Read more »

A most interesting article in the Harvard Management Update (Lauren Keller Johnson – Stamp Out Budget Shenanigans, Harvard Management Update August 2005) outlines some good practices to help address common games people play at budget… Read more »