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Archives › December 2003

December 31, 2003

* Happy Holidays! II

I cannot speak for my fellow FC Now contributors and teammates, but I do know that I'll be out of the office -- and offline -- for the rest of the week. On behalf of the entire Fast Company team, happy new year! May 2K4 bring only the best in all things.

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:57 PM | * 1 Comment

* The Top 100 Lists of 2003 II

Per a previous entry, the end of the year always brings lots of lists. This year, I'm interested in lists of lists. Fimoculous has done a good job reviewing the year in lists. Categories of special interest include tech, architecture, education, business, advertising and marketing, and ideas.

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Posted by Heath Row at 12:00 PM | * 3 Comments

* Music and Moonlighting II

Business-related music is one of my occasional obsessions, and the Japan Times recently reported that an ad jingle for a Yokohama-based demolition company has become a hit record.

Nihon Break Kogyo Co.'s song splashed onto Oricon, one of the nation's most influential music charts, on Monday. It is the first time a "shaka," or corporate anthem, has made the charts, according to Oricon Inc., a major Tokyo music information provider.

The tune has already been made into ring tones for mobile phones, and two major karaoke song distributors are set to add it to their song books in January.

Unlike the stiff, propagandalike nature of regular Japanese corporate anthems, the up-tempo rock tune, written and performed by a Nihon Break Kogyo demolition worker, sounds like the themes from old Japanese animated films featuring superheroes.

But it's the lyrics that really take the cake. Luckily, a translation of the words is available online, and you can hear the song courtesy of a Flash animation.

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Posted by Heath Row at 11:48 AM | * 1 Comment

* Short-Lived Stores II

In a recent comment in response to an entry earlier this week, FC Now reader Steve asked, "Are they using these stores to gather feedback about concepts or is this a way to generate buzz?"

I emailed Russell Miller at Vacant to pass on the question. Here's his response:

Vacant's retail concept is a way to generate excitement in retail which has been long gone. We do test some products for brands, but mostly, we pick products very carefully that are ahead of their time -- or items you will not find in the country or city we are open in. We carry something of interest to everyone, but mainly like to create inspiration for people visiting the store.

As far as buzz goes, there is definitely excitement when we open a store. We do not release our location until two days before the launch. Our store features press events, exhibitions, and launches every day during the one-month duration.

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Posted by Heath Row at 11:03 AM

* Taking a (Taxi Cab) Stand

RevoT is a Boston-area business that's working to offer alternatives to the traditional taxi and train service to Logan Airport. Currently operating only two vehicles -- Toyota Prius hybrids -- the company aims to not only offer better service, but have a smaller environmental impact. Reports indicate that the fare is about one-third higher than a traditional taxi, but tips aren't expected. Business travelers can make reservations between eight and 48 hours in advance.

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Posted by Heath Row at 10:11 AM

* Photocopy Cats

Relatively cool on the heels of UPS' purchase of Mail Boxes Etc., Fedex announced yesterday that it will buy Kinko's for $2.4 billion. While FedEx was already the exclusive shipper to about 1,200 Kinko's locations, some analysts speculate that the buy is defensive -- UPS bought Mail Boxes Etc. two years ago and currently operates about 4,500 stores.

While most of today's coverage considers the purchase's payoff for buyout firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, which acquired a minority stake in Kinko's in 1997, I think the real story here is one of branding and expansion. I can think of few brands held in such high esteem -- and with such obvious parallels. The deal just makes sense. And even though Kinko's planned IPO soured in the late '90s -- and the company's retail locations are fewer than the UPS Store chain by two-thirds -- plans for more locations are underway.

Seems like a good start to 2004. What do you think of FedEx/Kinko's chances for success in the light of UPS/Mail Boxes etc.? What companies do you resonate with -- and work with -- the most? Take the Fast Company poll.

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Posted by Heath Row at 9:48 AM | * 1 Comment

December 30, 2003

* New Year's Revolutions

As 2003 comes to a close, I'm starting to think about New Year's resolutions and what I'd like to improve in my work and life next year. FC Now reader Jim Murray emailed this noon, asking, "What can we do in the coming year that will have the most helpful impact?"

What do you plan to change in your work and life for 2004? How can your business improve the work and life of your colleagues, partners, customers, friends, and family?

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:47 PM | * 1 Comment

* Best Practices, Practices, Just Great

In her blog Managing Product Development, Johanna Rothman shares some thoughts on why best practices don't always guarantee success. It's a solid question: How do you tailor other organizations' best practices to best meet the needs of your company and work?

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:28 PM | * 3 Comments

* Air Bud

The office I'm working in features an excessive amount of white noise because I sit directly below an air vent of sorts. I've gotten used to it, but working in this temporary space made me remember an experience I had while working at another magazine back in 1996.

One day, my colleagues and I had the sense that something was wrong. Off. Awry. And we couldn't quite put our fingers on it. Turns out that the air conditioning had turned off, and what was disturbing us was... silence. We were uncomfortable because the white noise we'd become accustomed to was gone.

This noon, while going through my daily Web reads, I came across a mention of the ESP Personal Air Purifier. And I'm now thinking about the air I breathe -- and the water I drink -- at work. I have no idea how healthy any of the office buildings I've worked in are -- and I've never given thought to using anything like an air purifier. Until today.

How healthy is your workplace? Are products like this bunko -- or boffo? What do you do where you work to stay healthy and make your workspace your own?

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:15 PM | * 3 Comments

December 29, 2003

* Short-Lived Stores

Last month, I mentioned Song's experiment with a short-lived retail store in New York City. Its shelf life? Six weeks. An alert FC Now reader emailed me about a similar retail experiment -- one that may very well have been the inspiration for Song's shop.

Vacant is a lifestyle goods store-cum-gallery that opens retail locations for one month only. To date, the organization has installed shop settings in New York, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and Los Angeles -- showcasing one-off and hard-to-find products. Vacant releases the address of the store location only moments before the opening, and not all products are available for purchase.

Next year, in addition to continuing its current work, Vacant will open Vacant Annex, a series of permanent store locations within existing retail shops around the world. The first location will be in New York City. Regardless of whether Song cribbed Vacant's concept, this is an idea worth pursuing: boutique businesses with a half-life of weeks. Reminds me of Marti Guixe's interactive interior design work for Camper.

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Posted by Heath Row at 4:50 PM | * 2 Comments

* Rest in Peace

Phillip York Goldman, former Apple software engineer, WebTV cofounder, Microsoft veep, and recently founder and CEO of Mailblocks, died Dec. 26.

Update: SiliconValley.com features a longer writeup of Goldman's life and work.

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Posted by Heath Row at 4:00 PM

* Parmalat, Impermanent

An FC Now reader emailed yesterday afternoon suggesting that we consider commenting on the Parmalat case in Italy. Catching up on the last few days of coverage -- the events have really been accelerating -- I was saddened as it struck be that these stories seem to be remaining the same. Accounting scandal, insolvency, fraud, arrests. I almost yawned: Yeah, yeah, yeah, same old, same old.

It's getting hard not to turn the page when coming across another corporate corruption case. But I wonder: Do business leaders become deadened to such events? Or will people continue to push and pry and prod for transparency and accountability? Is this an uphill battle -- or is this truly not the way business should work? I think the latter. But some of the coverage raises interesting questions.

Continue reading "Parmalat, Impermanent"

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Posted by Heath Row at 3:05 PM

* The Top 100 Lists of 2003

It's that time of year again: List time. The top 10 this. The 25 best that. The most important events. The biggest stories. Now there's a service that will make lists of the best, well, lists for you, your company, and your industry.

Special Issues tracks special issues, editorial calendars, and other content from industrial and trade magazines. The result is an expansive roundup of industry-specific best-of's. Under the business and industry management category alone, the service offers almost 100 rankings looking at global marketers, corporate reputation, growth regions, the largest employers, and more.

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:41 PM | * 1 Comment

* Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb

A study done earlier this year by Wharton marketing professor Stephen J. Hoch and Edward J. Fox, a marketing professor at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University, addresses the aspect of "cherry picking" -- shopping done by well-informed, proce-sensitive consumers who go from store to store to find the best bargains. The short form? The money saved is well worth the time spent seeking deals.

Parallel to our recent online event with Paul Williams and John Moore, the resulting paper considers the role of customer loyalty -- and the characteristics of three kinds of shoppers: store loyals, store switchers, and cherry pickers.

Cherry picking is worth it because of a combination of factors. When people go cherry picking, two things happen: They double the number of discount opportunities that will be available to them because they go to two stores. And, because stores have deals on more than one item, that expands the opportunities for cherry pickers to save money. The second thing, the thing that really makes cherry picking worth it, is that these shoppers buy more items than other shoppers. To make cherry picking pay off, you have to buy a lot of stuff. Cherry pickers ... plan in advance to buy a lot. They save a lot not only in percentage terms but in dollar terms, which is what really counts.

Instead of trying to fight cherry picking, which is seen by some retailers as an irritation, the researchers suggest that store owners embrace it -- and seek ways to encourage cherry pickers to buy even more once they're in the door.

Even if you're not in the retail business, does cherry picking play a role in your work?

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:20 PM

* Places, Trading

The Chicago Tribune published an impressively wide-ranging study of inside trading among top executives. Offering several examples of such trades, the heavily researched piece found that:

  • Top executives and directors are active stock traders before telling investors their earnings outlook has changed.
  • They frequently jumped in before particularly bad news.
  • For most sales, the timing was profitable.
  • Those closest to the top had the biggest savings.

While many executives referred to in the report declined comment, several said that any stock sales by chief executives are dicey. Bill George, author of the October Fast Company Book Club selection, said, "There's never a time when I don't have inside information as a CEO. That's my job." And Michael Jordan, CEO of EDS, remarked, "I doubt that I would sell any shares while I was active."

As a business journalist, I do not actively trade stocks in companies covered by Fast Company. And it seems fair to expect that chief executives would be extremely careful of their individual trading activity -- especially given the amount of information they have about their organizations' performance.

But what do you think? Should top leaders actively trade stock in their own companies? Take the Fast Company poll.

A subscription is required to access the Chicago Tribune online.

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Posted by Heath Row at 11:56 AM | * 1 Comment

* My Way or the... Wi-Fi Way

In July, Charles Fishman took a look at how transportation and logistics companies are using GPS technology to better manage their businesses. In Saturday's Chicago Tribune, Jeanette Borzo considers how long-haul trucking companies such as Crete Carrier and Flying J are using Wi-Fi technology to access directions and construction updates -- and even upload photographs if they're in an accident. Count semi drivers among the road warriors.

Now, truck stops are even adding Wi-Fi networks to their services. TravelCenters of America plans to add Wi-Fi to more than 150 stops in North America. And Truckstop.net currently offers 500 hotspots, which the company dubs "hotstops," to drivers -- and plans 3,000 more.

If you're an active business traveler and you don't find yourself near a Starbucks or, ahem, McDonalds, consider parking by a Citgo station for a spell. Pull over, log in, work on.

A subscription is required to access the Chicago Tribune online.

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Posted by Heath Row at 9:56 AM

December 23, 2003

* Material Guilt

There's a fascinating essay in the Los Angeles Times today on the guilt trip over the usual American buying binge during the holidays. Michael J. Silverstein of the Boston Consulting Group assures us that it's okay to buy.

Guilt? Forget about it, he says, or more to the point: "Please. Exactly when was it that Americans cared nothing for material things? William Bradford of Plimoth Plantation fame owned a snappy red waistcoat. Thorstein Veblen coined the term 'conspicuous consumption' in 1899. And it's not just us. People in every society, in every era, have treasured material goods."

Continue reading "Material Guilt"

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Posted by Editor in Chief at 4:48 PM | * 2 Comments

* Bah Humbug?

Did you get a holiday bonus this year? If so, you were clearly in the minority. Hewitt Associates, the big HR consulting firm, says that nearly two-thirds of U.S. organizations decided not to offer a bonus to employees over this holiday season.

Why? For one thing, nearly half of the companies polled in the Hewitt survey have never offered a holiday bonus. Some 17 percent of the organizations "discontinued their program." Of those that did away with the holiday bonus, 52% did so between 2000 and 2003 -- fairly tough years for most businesses. Another 42% cancelled their bonuses in the 1990s.

Continue reading "Bah Humbug?"

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Posted by Editor in Chief at 4:23 PM | * 8 Comments

December 22, 2003

* Happy Holidays!

I cannot speak for my fellow FC Now contributors and teammates, but I do know that I'll be out of the office -- and offline -- Dec. 23-28 for the holidays. We've lined up a good holiday week's worth of FC content for the home page, and next week, I'll again don the FC Now mantle for the days leading up to New Year's. On behalf of the entire Fast Company team, may you and yours have the happiest of holidays.

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Posted by Heath Row at 5:05 PM

* American Brandstand

I'm not even going to try to come up with a better subject line. Lucian James's American Brandstand project has tracked brand-name references in Billboard Top 20 singles since January. Now that the year is coming to a close, James returns to offer some key findings. Some statistics:

  • There were 82 different brands mentioned in the Billboard Top 20 in 2003.
  • Of the 111 songs in the Billboard Top 20, 43 had brands in the lyrics
  • The most mentioned brand: Mercedes Benz
  • The artist who mentioned most brands - 50 Cent.
  • Only one branded song was not connected to hip-hop or R&B... Good Charlotte's "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
  • The most amount of brands in a single week of the Billboard top 20 in 2003 was 47, on April 12th.
  • The most brands crammed into one song... 14 -- by Lil' Kim in "The Jump Off."

The analysis also considers the inclusion of lifestyle brands launched by musicians -- a la Russell Simmons's Phat Farm -- and announces the top 10 brands. To counter the trading up trend, there are also some surprising examples of trading down: Payless Shoe Source, K-Mart, U-Haul, and Cool Whip.

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:54 PM | * 3 Comments

* Gifting Up

The clock is ticking, but if you haven't yet, you still have time to get some last-minute gifts for co-workers and business partners (and, if you're like me, family members).

But what to get them? What do you get for the business woman who has everything? Gift Elan offers some useful tips and tactics for office gift exchanges.

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:29 PM

* The Day the iPod Died

When the battery in Casey Neistat's beloved iPod gave out after 18 months of almost daily use, he set about trying to replace it only to discover that Apple didn't offer a new battery. You're better off buying a new iPod, the techies on the support line told him. That's not what Neistat, a multimedia artist in New York, wanted to hear. So he did what any self-respecting, pissed-off multimedia artist does these days: He fought back on the Web.

Neistat's short film, iPod's Dirty Secret, features him spray-painting a "public service announcement" on iPod ads around the city: "iPod's Unreplaceable Battery Lasts Only 18 Months."

The film generated buzz among iPodites. And a funny thing happened. Within days, Apple started selling iPod batteries. It was merely a coincidence, the company said. Either way, this fascinating story, which appeared in the Washington Post over the weekend, raises some interesting questions. If you create a product that customers develop an intense emotional attachment to, how long should that product last before it needs to be replaced? And when the product does die, how should you respond to avoid turning your most ardent supporters into your most vociferous critics?

Of course those aren't the only questions surrounding Apple these days. In the January issue of Fast Company, Carleen Hawn explores a larger and more fundamental issue: If Apple is so brilliant and innovative, why isn't it more successful?

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Posted by Chuck Salter at 11:47 AM | * 3 Comments

* Guest Host: Customer Loyalty III

Inspired by their time contributing to FC Now, Paul Williams and John Moore have started their own blog. Launching about a week ago, BrandAutopsy continues the conversation started here, addressing marketing, the aspiration gap, reader responses, why executives don't blog, executives who do blog, and branding. It'll be an excellent addition to my daily reads.

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Posted by Heath Row at 11:09 AM

* (Air)Port of Call II

When traveling, sometimes all you need to do is drive a little to save a lot on airfare, parking, and other business travel expenses. Sunday's New York Times features an extremely useful look at smaller airports that might be better alternatives to their larger, urban-area counterparts.

While the online feature doesn't include the comparative chart that accompanied the print article, its content is worth noting. Here are some alternative departure points to consider:

  • Logan International (Boston): T.F. Green (Providence), Manchester
  • La Guardia: Westchester County, Long Island MacArthur
  • Ronald Reagan Washington National: Baltimore/Washington International
  • Miami International: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
  • O'Hare International (Chicago): Midway International
  • San Francisco International: Oakland International
  • Los Angeles International: John Wayne (Orange County), Ontario International, Burbank Glendale Pasadena, Long Beach

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Posted by Heath Row at 10:45 AM

* Rest in Peace

Harold von Braunhut, the holder of 195 patents -- and mail-order seller of gag gifts such as the Amazing Sea Monkeys -- died late last month. Despite some concern about his political beliefs, von Braunhut was a tireless innovator, an energetic pitchman -- and the inventor of X-Ray Specs. Talk about transparency in business!

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Posted by Heath Row at 10:37 AM

* The Theater of Business

Sunday's New York Times included an article on the Ariel Group, a "dramatic leadership development" firm that brings performing arts and theater training to companies such as the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies.

Working with executives to help them become more spontaneous and expressive, the group also encourages leaders to incorporate storytelling into everyday work situations.

In our November issue, Fast Company caught up with Second City to learn more about improvisation in the office. Previously, contributors have looked at theater techniques in business -- including corporate meetings.

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Posted by Heath Row at 10:32 AM | * 1 Comment

December 19, 2003

* On Social Capitalism IV

A Company of Friends member in Portland, Oregon, recently emailed members about a new online community for people interested -- and involved -- in social entrepreneurship. The Skoll Foundation's Social Edge is a free service offering a library of articles and other resources, a discussion forum, online events, and a searchable directory of members -- and their discussion posts. FC Now readers interested in our new package on social capitalism might want to check it out.

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Posted by Heath Row at 4:32 PM | * 1 Comment

* What Happens When Your Job Is Taken By Someone in India or China? III

Alternet's Kevin Danaher and Jason Mark have one answer: white collars get white hot. In an article yesterday entitled "White-Collar Anger," Danaher and Mark take a look at the increasingly populist uprising among a new labor class -- what was once the new economy labor class.

Bennett isn't a laid off Ford or GM employee. He used to work for companies such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, where, as a contract database programmer, he earned between $80,000 and $90,000 a year. But in the last year, he says, he hasn't been able to find any programming work.

The story cites two studies of note:

  • A November 2002 Forrester Research study estimated that over the next 15 years some 3.3 million US service sector jobs would be sent abroad
  • Economists at UC Berkeley say as many as 14 million programming, accounting, paralegal and other service jobs are at risk of being offshored

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:53 PM | * 14 Comments

* Wired? Number 8 Wired!

It's a shame that this column about New Zealand's culture of adaptability and creativity is no longer available online. Considering such efforts as the Weta Workshop's work on the Lord of the Rings movies -- and the country's campaign to foster effective innovation -- Web reports on the piece cite its reference to Number 8 wire culture.

"Number 8 wire culture" -- a term derived from the days when people lived on lonely farms scattered far apart.

Number 8 fencing wire was the only material they had in abundance. So they used it not only for cattle fences and paddocks, but also as an all-purpose material, bending, twisting and shaping it into coat hangers, kitchen utensils, gate-locks and even chairs.

Over time, the Number 8 wire came to epitomise a culture of adaptability and creativity, a 'can-do spirit' of which the Kiwis are proud.

Does your company have a Number 8 wire culture? What tool, skill, or practice do you consider your Number 8 wire?

If any FC Now readers can track down a free online version of the piece, please send me the URL.

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Posted by Heath Row at 11:22 AM

* Logo, Going, Gone

The Stone Twins in Amsterdam have published what appears to be a beautiful book, Logo, RIP. Featuring 20,000 words and 50 illustrations in just under 200 pages, the book has an accompanying Web gallery as a "commemoration of dead logotypes."

These logos disappeared, yet in contrast to the ceremony and pomp that greeted their arrival, they often suffered an ignoble death.

Among featured long-gone logos: the Spratts dog, the Enron tilted E, and the BP shield. One logo lasted all of three years -- 1996-1999.

How do you know when it's time to bench a logo? What does a logo change mean for your company that, say, a name change doesn't? And, if you work for an organization that doesn't have a logo, were you to design one, what would it be?

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Posted by Heath Row at 10:55 AM | * 1 Comment

December 18, 2003

* Our Town, Now Your Town

Residents of Tortilla Flat, a small town in Arizona, are trying to sell the town -- on eBay. Writing in TechDirt, Mike expresses that listing items on eBay has moved beyond simple commerce -- and into the realm of PR. "Big or weird items on eBay are like an automatic ticket to press coverage," he says. (Consider this entry a perfect example of that, I suppose.)

EBay dedicates a section to Web sites and businesses for sale, but there aren't too many cities listed. Is eBay a new form of VC or M&A? Would you sell your business on eBay? Would you buy a business on eBay?

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:51 PM | * 2 Comments

* Generalist Sherman?

In the blog Creative Generalist, Steve suggests that generalists make the best leaders.

Generalists are needed to identify specialists and to direct their activities in such a way that benefits the whole project. They are needed as seers of the big picture.

Too often, Steve writes, specialists are promoted into leadership positions. "The great, highly talented specialists get promoted and eventually become mediocre company leaders unable to competently comprehend other essential parts of the organization -- including other personality types and working conditions -- and the environment in which it operates."

What kind of people do you think make the best leaders? Generalists or specialists? Take the Fast Company poll.

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:30 PM | * 4 Comments

* Project Mismanagement II

Baseline offers a useful assessment tool FC Now readers can use to determine the risk level of a project. Featuring 10 quick questions, the quiz considers interdepartmental collaboration, best practices, and industry stability.

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:12 PM | * 2 Comments

December 17, 2003

* Surviving the Offshoring Trend

Fast Company's long-time friend Tom Peters offers some very good advice to survive the ongoing migration of white-collar jobs to India, China and elsewhere.

In his new book, Re-imagine!, the author of one of our most famous cover stories, The Brand Called You, offers up "The Brand You Survival Kit."

If you're going to survive, here are ten (obviously abbreviated on this blog) traits you'll need in your kit bag, according to Peters.

Continue reading "Surviving the Offshoring Trend"

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Posted by Editor in Chief at 9:21 PM | * 4 Comments

* On Social Capitalism III

To accompany the January 2004 article on the state of social capitalism, the Fast Company team has developed a special resource center that expands on the package in the magazine.

Visit the resource center for expanded profiles of the 20 featured organizations, details about our methodology, profiles of our advisory board members, additional commentary -- and ways to donate to the organizations involved.

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:43 PM | * 2 Comments

* What If Your ID Badge Says Halliburton?

"At the time of the capture [Saddam] had $750,000 in cash on him. They think he was trying to buy three gallons of gas from Halliburton." -- Jay Leno

"I did not have financial relations with that company." -- ficticious quote attributed to former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney at allhatnocattle.com, a satirical Web site

Bashing Enron and WorldCom is so 2002. Halliburton is the new punching bag, the new punchline. Whether it's the White House's ties to the company or its near monopoly on reconstruction contracts in Iraq or questions about its having overbilled the Pentagon for gas and cafeteria services, Halliburton is under fire like no other American company these days, with the possible exception of Wal-Mart.

At least with Wal-Mart, though, you can do something if you don't like the way that it treats its employees or vendors: You can shop elsewhere. Halliburton, however, seems impervious to the barrage of criticism. "They're not selling to guys like you and me," one industry analyst says. "They're selling to guys like Exxon and the government."

During the Enron fallout, Charles Fishman explored the question, What if you'd worked at Enron? In light of the controversies surrounding Halliburton, it seems appropriate to pose a few similar questions: Would you work for Halliburton? How much controversy is too much for you? And as a manager, how would you maintain staff morale?

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Posted by Chuck Salter at 2:21 PM

* Monsters of Blog

A content producer at Monster.com has just started a corporate blog. Rebecca says she plans to help job seekers by providing career advice, tips, news, and information. There's not much there yet because the blog just started, but as a contributor to FC Now, Fast Company's blog, I say, "Right on!"

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:52 PM

* Save Your Dignity (and Your Job) at the Holiday Party!

What is it about the office holiday party that makes otherwise reasonable people lose total control? Who knows. But in an effort to offer some helpful hints about how to behave at this year's holiday gathering, I wrote the December Office Handbook column on this very subject. The next thing I knew, I was making appearances on NBC's Today show and CNN's American Morning dispensing advice (hugely ironic for anyone who knows me, but I digress).

Now, loyal readers, I need grist for the mill. What are your tips for having fun while keeping your personal integrity intact? Do you have any holiday party horror stories? Please share!

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Posted by Ryan Underwood at 10:36 AM | * 5 Comments