The Happiness Machine
“I have learned that the best way to lift one’s self up is to help someone else.”
Booker T. Washington
American Educator 1856-1915
FOR YOUR EDIFICATION, ENLIGHTENMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT
The Happiness Machine
Fire the best, keep the rest?
Days of Disruption (No. 27): “How is a TV Like a Fax Machine?”
Your Customers are the Problem
Habits Female CEOs left behind
Econ Recon: Is the Plow Horse back?
“The Happiness Machine”
When you’re trying to innovate, maybe you should start with what you already have and build from there. Coke did that by looking at an ordinary vending machine and asking what could they do to create a memorable experience for the customer. Check out their answer in this short video “The Happiness Machine.” I’ll bet these customers will remember that Coke made them happy!
Fire the “Best”, Keep the Rest?
We hear a lot about culture, but those who are really serious about it are willing and able to make some REALLY hard choices to achieve it, like the one that Blogger Gary Vaynerchuk describes during this powerful three minute video.
Days of Disruption (No. 27): “How is a TV Like a Fax Machine?”
“How is a television like a fax machine?” is the question that technology watcher Robert X. Cringely asks in his latest technology blogger. The former PC World Columnist summarizes the history of TV’s business model since World War II with a recap of the disruptions along the way that got the “box” to where it is today….and the really big disruption that is about to happen.
Check out his thoughts on the “The Future of Television.” Perhaps you will discern some parallels to the coming disruption of your own business; a day that will surely come for every industry.
Your Customers are the Problem
While we’re on the subject of disruption, in an earlier newsletter I mentioned an author who had done some interesting regarding the true origins of disruption, Here’s a quick recap from him on the HBR Blog with a list of industry leaders, who’s disrupting them….and some additional reading to learn how it’s happening. Check out “Disruption Starts with Unhappy Customers, Not Technology.”
Habits Female CEOs Left Behind
Experts on business strategy tell us that what we decide not to do is as important as what we do. It’s true in our personal lives as well as business and particularly so in the habits we acquire. For a primer on the eight habits successful female CEOs are kicking, check out this Fast Company Article which appeared in their “Strong Female Lead” section.
Econ Recon: Plow Horse Blues?
Plow Horse Blues?: During the early part of the post 2009 recovery (now the longest on record), economist Brian Wesbury lamented the slow growth of GDP, often referring to it as “the Plow Horse Economy.” The faster pace of the past two years caused him to drop that description, but recent events have him worried that perhaps the Plow Horse will return.