March 28th, 2011
Business books on the power of stories tend to fall into two categories – science-based perspectives on how narratives work in the brain; and business-driven case studies that show off the talents and oratory skills of some high-ego CEO. The new book, “Tell to Win,” is both, and neither – and one of the best ones [...]
December 6th, 2010
What the TSA got wrong wasn’t the technology, but the message. At first, the Transportation Security Administration’s backscatter body scanner looked like a panacea, but things have quickly devolved into increasingly frantic hullaballoos over invasions of privacy, especially now during the busy holiday travel season. Passengers have come forward saying they feel violated: In order [...]
October 8th, 2010
Employee engagement is critical to your brand. Research by Towers Perrin shows that less than 25% of all workers are engaged – defined as giving discretionary effort on the job – and, worse still, 38% are shown to be working against the company. Setting aside bottom line issues such as presenteeism, it comes down to [...]
August 26th, 2010
Who knew something so small could attract such attention. We’ve all done it one time or another, chosen a bunch of bananas because of the funny labels that are adorning that particular one. Now Chiquita is giving the public the opportunity to customize their own labels, and submit them. The submitted customized labels will be entered [...]
July 23rd, 2010
Online fashion shopping has become a growing trend—and with sites like Gilt, Rue La La, and ideeli offering top brands and styles at extreme discounts (some as high as 80%), it’s tough not take a peek. Last year, Gilt.com generated $170 million in revenue, up from $25 million the previous year. While these web boutiques [...]
December 13th, 2006
One of my employees was in my office this morning looking at a WSJ ad for Samsung’s new BlackJack because she’s thinking out getting one. Drawing on my past experience with smart phones, I strongly recommended that she not get one with one of those new-fangled keyboards that have two letters and one number per [...]