Creating a strategy My friend Carey’s business had stalled. Since I’m one of those people who loves to offer unasked-for advice (knowing the recipient will be eternally grateful), I offered some. “You need an overarching strategy,” I intoned, sagely. The unfathomable...
strategy
Here are articles on strategy
The Internet will destroy commerce
Last week I wanted to buy product X, locally. I couldn't. Every search phrase I could come up with took me to a custom site from a big company. "Widget, Miami, FL" didn't go me Miami Florida local businesses, it gave me specially crafted, search engine optimized pages...
JetBlue speeds towards brand destruction
The essence of a strong brand is differentiation in a way that makes customers want to use your product or Service. JetBlue has announced a decrease in legroom and increase in baggage fees in an attempt to boost lagging profits. All I can say is, "idiots." The entire...
What’s your industry? The answer may surprise you.
The way people define industries is really quite interesting. I've once again been asked to be a judge for the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition. They asked what industries I'm comfortable commenting on. It's a surprisingly hard question to answer,...
Please work for free. Not.
I'm sure you have never asked someone to work for free. But just in case you know someone who has---or if you've ever been asked---here's the kind of thing you really should say. Today I received this letter: Hello Mr. Stever, I am writing to you on behalf of...
Targeted Ads are the Worst of all Possible Worlds
The justification used for the incredible invasions of privacy on the part of the internet marketers of the world is that they want to serve us "targeted" ads. Targeted ads are ads that relate to what we're doing at the moment. Theoretically, if I'm having a...
Customer acquisition via poor service
I'm curious. I've noticed some web sites, stores, etc. try to gain or retain customers by providing bad service. They hide their prices so you have to start the purchase process to discover pricing (just try finding out how much it costs to make 10 color copies at...
Growing companies: Moments of Truth
High-growth entrepreneurial companies reach points where they must fundamentally change what they do. Here are several of the events that quietly herald a need for major change in a rapidly growing company.
Meritocracy: A Fine, But Mythological, Idea
I love the idea of a meritocracy! It's a glorious myth that makes a wonderful story. But if you look at how resources, wealth, prestige, etc. get distributed, it's very hard to make a case for meritocracy. It's no surprise we believe in meritocracy. We spend our...
The potential of the one stop shop
Autumn is here, with a chill in the air. Which is why it was especially traumatic when our Rheem hot water suddenly stopped working last week. Ever since we had this hot water heater installed 3 years ago, it's been a problem. We went without hot water for almost a...