The 2008 Radio Shack YouTube video alongside has an eerie feeling today as the CEO stepped down. It was somewhat sad to see that CEO James Gooch is stepping down after a mere 16 months. The stock price has declined 80% since May 2011, when Gooch took over. Sadness given that Radio Shack had that nostalgia feelingContinue reading “2008 Radio Shack YouTube Video predicted CEO change today”
Category Archives: Branding Strategy
Innovation and US jobs: two types of opportunity- of iPhones and frozen yogurt
Given the substantial interest in previous posts about how innovation creates jobs here are some more thoughts on exactly how these jobs can happen. But first about innovation which is at its most basic level is: doing something new. The newness can be huge like when the iPhone was introduced or can be just openingContinue reading “Innovation and US jobs: two types of opportunity- of iPhones and frozen yogurt”
Sticking to your mission statement and setting up execution routines
Organizations of all types seem to be muddling through because of an inability of two purposes of management (a) Defining your mission and (b) Set up execution routines and people; that deliver that mission.
Product Innovation Charters must define market by needs and value and not your product
Product Innovation Charters (PIC’s), still tend to be defined around whatever industry or product the organization operates in. Thus, if you make cars and are trying to innovate to the next model your entire focus on building up the PIC is based on the existing car and its technical specs like mileage,technology, space,speed and so on. By just staying with this “internal” focus innovators make a big mistake.
Lessons learnt: Internal Organizational Culture and the CMO- Joel Ewanick ousted at GM
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is outwardly focused always looking at the market and customers- right? Wrong if you see the recent ouster of Joel Ewanick the CMO at GM
The Smiley Curve of Innovation-celebrating the American spirit 4th of July
This is the July 4th weekend in America and celebrations are underway – and it's a great time to think about the Smiley Curve of Innovation. The Smiley Curve came to my attention reading Fareed Zakaria's great book "The Post-American World," and here are some thoughts on "The Smiley Curve of Innovation " this AmericanContinue reading “The Smiley Curve of Innovation-celebrating the American spirit 4th of July”
GlaxoSmithKline 3B$ fine – balancing innovation and ethical marketing
GlaxoSmithKline is to pay a 3B$ fine, the largest ever for healthcare fraud in the US. In the past, numerous big pharma companies including Abbott, Pfizer have been fined and this is something the industry seems accustomed to. It’s important to understand why pharma marketing becomes unethical, if the unethical sales practices are to stopContinue reading “GlaxoSmithKline 3B$ fine – balancing innovation and ethical marketing”
Company website deals don’t seem to reach distributor salespeople
Just as gas gets cheaper and Auto sales rev up for the July 4th holiday it is surprising that salespeople at auto dealers don't seem to assume that a customer is very likely to have checked on the website offers of the manufacturer. This disconnect between company website and distributor salespeople is amazing because todayContinue reading “Company website deals don’t seem to reach distributor salespeople”
Stopping J.C. Penney Coupons was a bit like introducing New Coke
The troubles at JC Penney that started with stopping coupons in February sort of reminds one of the New Coke fiasco. In both cases company leaders misjudged what their brand really means to their customer. Here is what happened: JCPenney marketing folks figured that their customers hated all those coupons and keeping track of theContinue reading “Stopping J.C. Penney Coupons was a bit like introducing New Coke”
Credit Cards: What do people complain about ?
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has put out the complaints that it has received about credit card companies since June 1. Banks are naturally unhappy. But they should not be because instead of a "buzz" in forums, Facebook here are actual complaints that give huge insight as to what annoys folks the most.Continue reading “Credit Cards: What do people complain about ?”