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April 29, 2005

Staples' Desk Apprentice a Big Seller

Last week I wrote a not altogether kindly FC blog post about the Staples Desk Apprentice, brazenly calling it a "hulking monstrosity." One week later, it looks like I'll have to at least nibble on a bit of crow. I got a call this morning from Shuan Clair, who works for Staples' PR agency, telling me while he found last week's post "humorous," he thought I should hear the Desk Apprentice's sales stats so far. Fair enough. In one week, the company sold all of the roughly 30,000 units it had rushed to market to be available the day after the episode ran. And--lending credence to H.L. Mencken's famous theory that "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public"--the waiting list for the Desk Apprentice stands at 15,000 and continues to grow.

Continue reading "Staples' Desk Apprentice a Big Seller"

Posted by Ryan Underwood at 12:49 PM | 8 Comments

April 28, 2005

Arranging Change

There's an interesting blog discussion going on between Frank Patrick's Focused Performance and Gaping Void about what drives change -- new tools, or new processes and relationships among peers.

The respective entries -- and the comments they've attracted so far -- resonate well with the May issue's cover story: Change or Die. As part of a wide-ranging analysis of how people are wired in terms of change, John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor, offers, "The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people."

Is that the same as culture? Would Kotter agree with Frank and Hugh? Or is behavior separate from organizational culture?

Posted by Heath Row at 12:28 PM | 11 Comments

Almost Friday Fun

This morning, I received a news release from Stooples announcing its Expense Account Lie Detector.

When simple expense reports read like a cross between Alice In Wonderland and a Bernie Ebbers' deposition, get to the truth quickly with our foolproof Expense Account Lie Detector. Electronic circuitry measures metabolic rate, heartbeat, and nose twitching; genital hookup gets to the bottom of things in a hurry. Approved by the Central American Chamber of Commerce.

The phony retail site is worth a quick snicker. In addition to the detector, current offerings include Sales Staph and a Great Depression Wall Mural. The office culture parody site will morph into a book later this year.

Posted by Heath Row at 11:56 AM | 2 Comments

Rotten at Its Core?

I am surprised to find that no one blogged about Apple banning John Wiley books from their stores. It seems Steve Jobs is on the offensive, issuing lawsuits against Apple fanatics and pulling positive biographies off of store shelves.

What if Virgin Megastores stopped carrying Random House books because a bio on Branson examined his strategies? What if other retailers stopped carrying a publisher's entire catalog because of one release? You might have to go to certain stores to get certain releases. Maybe Borders won't carry Penguin. Or Barnes and Noble wouldn't have HarperCollins books.

This ridiculous notion can affect other mediums: stores not carrying a distributor's DVDs because of one documentary, or a boycott of software due to a founder's political bent. Any retailer who does such a thing is putting their beliefs ahead of the bottom line. I would usually applaud such an action, but if the belief is that the CEO can do whatever he wants, then something is amiss. Maybe the public should boycott a store that commits such an act of censorship. What do you all think about this?

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 11:23 AM | 10 Comments

April 27, 2005

Fast Company... on the Air!

If you live in the New York area, tune in to the CBS 2 morning show tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. to see Fast Company Associate editor Jena McGregor. She'll be offering career advice as part of the show's week-long jobs series.

Posted by Heath Row at 5:50 PM | Add Comment

Best Business Blogs

Speaking of blogs, what are your favorite gadget blogs? The best blogs that highlight what's new in tech gadgets?

Tell us.

Posted by Heath Row at 2:05 PM | 7 Comments

Secretary Lariat

Oops! How could I have forgotten that this week is Administrative Professionals Week? Much less that today of all days is Administrative Professionals Day? Monster offers some useful tools for -- and about -- these oft-unsung heroes of the workplace. Be sure to express your appreciation today!

Posted by Heath Row at 1:43 PM | 1 Comment

Microsoft's Flip Flop

I've been intrigued by the conflagration raging in Washington state over Microsoft's recent decision not to back a gay rights bill in the state's senate. Today's paper said Bill Gates was back-peddling on the stand, following a firestorm of criticism from gay rights activists both inside and outside the company. At issue is not just the company's position on the bill -- which prohibits discrimination against gays in employment, housing, and other areas -- but the company's hiring of Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, as a consultant (to the tune of $20,000 a month). Critics see a link between the two, especially as a local evangelical minister had threatened a boycott of Microsoft products if the company endorsed the bill.

Is this what it's come to? Microsoft has had no problem ignoring pressure from the Justice Department, the EU, and various consumer groups, but caves to the Christian right over gay rights? That's a far cry from the late '90s when I worked for one of the company's Web sites. In the years leading up to the Justice Department's anti-trust suit, I was always shocked at how parochial the company was, seemingly oblivious to how it was being perceived outside the Pacific Northwest.

What has changed? Is Microsoft now really so exquisitely sensitive to public opinion that it fears arousing the wrath of the religious right even more than it's concerned about alienating its own employees? Or is it worried about the bigger issue: political retribution in that other Washington?

Posted by Linda Tischler at 1:21 PM | 3 Comments

Smells Like Teen Marketing

Phoenix, Kilo, Tsunami, Orion, Apollo and Voodoo may sound like characters from Wrestlemania, writes Robin Givhan in today's Washington Post, but they're actually scents of Axe brand deodorant. This is the impossible-to-ignore fragrance by Unilever that's wafting through high-school locker rooms across the country.

Although it has been on store shelves in Europe since the 1980s, it didn't assault nostrils and sensibilities on this side of the pond until three years ago. Since then, Axe has shaken up deodorant's old guard -- Right Guard and Old Spice -- by targeting young men with a $100-million marketing campaign that has all the subtley of a laddie magazine. This is no mere deodorant, the suggestive ads imply. This is spray-on mojo. Why stop at the underarm? Axe takes men's deodorant where it's never been before: your entire body. And since boys will be boys, they're buying it. Axe has become the No. 2 seller, and inspired a shower gel and equally pungent imitators.

The risk, of course, is over-promising. If the much-touted Axe Effect is that girls hold their noses instead of handing over their digits, boys may decide that Axe is the pits.

Posted by Chuck Salter at 12:42 PM | Add Comment

Of Blogs and Men

Mr. Hammond's entry on blogs got me thinking. The blog phenomenon has grown large enough, and perhaps mainstream enough, to support different types of blog-readers. Some may prefer reading the personal lives of others, or the hobbies and thoughts of people that would otherwise be marginalized.

I read the blogs of several writers. Maybe they are not big movie stars or media darlings, but I disagree with Mr. Hammond's point of view that such a celebrity site would be uninteresting. I frequent the pages of Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, and William Gibson, to name a few. I enjoy the glimpses into their creative minds and their daily lives. And I wouldn't mind checking out the opinions of David Mamet and Larry David.

There are other journals I read for people's suggestions on films or books; Mr. Blileck fits into that category. My own blog is to document my writing career. What kinds of blogs do you read? Why do you read them? And what kind of blog would you like to see?

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 12:32 PM | 2 Comments

Reflections from Shanghai

I just returned from a fascinating experience in Shanghai. During this visit I had the opportunity to work with 20 MBA grads who are part of a 20 year documentary project called "China 2024".

My guess is that most Americans don't have a clue as to what is going on in Asia.

Both candidates in the last election had the same stupid quote, "Given a level playing field - the American worker will always win".

I have met 28 year olds in India, China and Eastern Europe with IQs of 150, MBA degrees (as good as ours), an 80 hour per week work schedule and a salary of $20,000 per year. In the US for $20,000 you can get a bag boy with an attitude problem.

"Given a level playing field" I am not betting on the bag boy.

In America we need to wake up to the reality of global competition, invest heavily in education and innovation and quit electing politicians who just lie to us to make us feel good.

Posted by Marshall Goldsmith at 11:40 AM | 12 Comments

HR Horror

So, a couple of weeks back, I attended the Strategic HR Leadership Summit, a confab of human resources managers in Las Vegas. One of the off-the-agenda highlights came at an after-hours cocktail party, where a circle of HR execs started telling employee horror stories.

Like the story about the employee who, HR discovered on his demise, had forgotten to change the beneficiary of his pension and life insurance when he remarried; HR had to tell the second wife that the first wife was getting the bucks. Or the man who threatened to sue his wife's employer for "enabling" her affair with a co-worker. Or the fast-food worker who sought to sue her employer for demanding that she tame her 14-inch-high hair. Or the one about the factory workers and the hooker--well, no, let's not go there.

Anyway, some hilarious stuff. HR people have senses of humor, it turns out. Except, of course, when they don't.

Which leads me to ask: What are your favorite HR horror stories? How has HR failed you, or your company, or both? When has HR been spectacularly inefficient, or spectacularly ineffective--or ineffective in the name of efficiency?

Alternatively, what are some examples of HR greatness? How do we know when human resources is doing its job really well?

Posted by Keith Hammonds at 10:19 AM | Add Comment

Top of the Market?

No offense to Arianna Huffington, who as far as I can tell is a very smart, decent and, needless to say, connected person. But the news of her new celebrity blog, The Huffington Post, strikes me as a sign that the blog phenomenon may have maxed out.

The new blog, set to debut May 9, will feature entries from 250 A-list-ish names including (but not limited to, I guess), Walter Cronkite, Larry David, Nora Ephron, David Mamet, Tina Brown, Mort Zuckerman, Norman Mailer, and Diane Keaton. It will combine "breaking news and media commentary with an innovative group blog featuring fresh takes from some of our culture's most original thinkers, weighing in on a wide range of subjects--from the political to the personal," promises the Tribune Media Services, which will offer newspapers and their web sites material from the new blog.

Continue reading "Top of the Market?"

Posted by Keith Hammonds at 9:27 AM | 1 Comment

Invention, or Innovation?

In their forthcoming book, "The Design of Things to Come: How Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Products," Craig Vogel, Jonathan Cagan, and Peter Boatwright draw a distinction between invention and "pragmatic innovation." An invention is a technological leap from one state to another. True innovations, on the other hand, may or may not represent leaps--but they do offer true value. That is, they are marketable and profitable.

So, here's a pretty cool idea: Roominder, a service brought to the world six months ago by two young guys, Luke and Dave. Basically you register for free on the site, and then enter reminders to be sent at specific times on specific dates to yourself or others. At the appointed hour(s), the message is sent to your cell phone or email.

Continue reading "Invention, or Innovation?"

Posted by Keith Hammonds at 8:59 AM | 26 Comments

April 26, 2005

Simon Says

OK, so I admit it. I'm an American Idol junkie (though not as much as I was two weeks ago, before my two favorites, Nadia and Anwar, got the boot). But when I rehash the show with the two or three other people in my age group who fess up to watching it, I'm always amazed by everyone's negative reaction to mean man Simon Cowell.

OK, so in a management sense the guy is definitely lacking in emotional intelligence. He doesn't say that at least Constantine looked good before comparing him to a Spanish nightclub singer. I think "hideous" was his one-word comment for another performer. But let's face it: the guy speaks the truth. It's a truth that's hard to take, but it's also a truth we all need to hear every so often. whether our goal is to become the nation's next pop star or simply finish up that project on time.

Continue reading "Simon Says"

Posted by Jennifer Reingold at 4:30 PM | 12 Comments

Pushing Perfection Past the Limit

Tuesday's train accident in Japan which killed 78 and injured about 440, reminded me of April's Next lead essay, "The Performance Paradox." It seems that the accident may have been caused by the train's driver speeding to make up time in order to keep Japan's rail system running like clockwork. As Jena McGregor pointed out in her essay, "inevitably, the exceptional becomes the expected." In rushing to maintain the status quo, is this what happens when you're running late in a system that demands punctuality? How can you build in tolerance for less-then-perfect results?

Posted by Michael Prospero at 3:30 PM | 2 Comments

Canuckian Business, Et Tu?

An FC Now entry posted last month in search of progressive and proactive businesses in Canada -- inspired by some recent remarks made by Henry Mintzberg -- drew some not-so-friendly fire from our neighbors to the north.

So it was interesting to see a blog entry written by a Company of Friends member in Vancouver exploring the intercontinental divide. What can Canadian leaders learn from Silicon Valley? What can British Columbia learn from, well, Britain? (And I'd like our initial question to remain standing: What can others learn from Canada? Trumpet the productive and proactive leaders and teams here, please.)

In his blog, Brendon Wilson addresses the pace of change, market size, the role of professional organizations, and the value of density.

Posted by Heath Row at 3:07 PM | 3 Comments

Funny, Money?

I just received an announcement of the 2nd annual Humour in the Workplace Awards. Organized by Rock.Paper.Scissors in Vancouver, British Columbia, the program aims to recognize people and teams "making the most out of humour to create business success, overcome challenges, create new opportunities and/or compete better in the market."

This afternoon, following a working lunch, a colleague remarked that I was a "funny, funny man." Is that a compliment? A criticism? Is anyone you work with particularly funny? How do they use humor as a competitive tool?

Posted by Heath Row at 2:53 PM | 1 Comment

April 25, 2005

You Deserve a Break Today

In the May issue of MacWorld, I read an item about a nifty little application called MacBreakZ. The program is a stretching utility that prompts you to take regular rest breaks, perform simple exercises, and otherwise make sure you don't just sit at your desk all day long. Has anyone ever used one of these kinds of programs? Useful? Useless? Share your stories here.

Posted by Heath Row at 3:49 PM | 1 Comment

Leading Ideas: Grow the People Around You

"Before you become a leader success is all about growing yourself. Once you become a leader success is all about growing others." -- Jack Welch (1935- ) Former Chairman & CEO, General Electric

Something to consider:

Great leadership is characterized by the desire and ability to grow the people around you. A great leader shifts his/her focus from delivering great results to developing others who can deliver great results. This is the only way that success is scalable and sustainable.

In his new book on leadership entitled Winning, Jack Welch hammers this point home. He believes that the vast majority of a leader's time should be devoted to 3 activities - evaluating, coaching, & building self-confidence in the those around him/her. "Too often, managers think that people development occurs once a year in performance reviews," he writes, "That's not even close. It should be a daily event integrated into your everyday goings-on."

Continue reading "Leading Ideas: Grow the People Around You"

Posted by Doug Sundheim at 2:32 PM | 6 Comments

Tenacious Me

My brother Barry works with his friend Kevin Jordan, an indy film director. After months of sending submissions out, his film 'Lobster Farm' will be screened tomorrow at the Tribeca Film Festival (look for the giant balloon). Their tenacity finally paid off. The film deals with the troubles of a family business and may be of interest to many readers.

I've been submitting short stories to magazines for months, and have not gotten a single bite. Last year, I made the rounds with my first novel. I can show you the stack of rejection letters. While I haven't gotten my success yet, I will continue my mailings. Writing an article for this website, I have pursued several phone interviews. Those people I haven't spoken to yet shall receive phone calls every few hours until I do.

Continue reading "Tenacious Me"

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 10:46 AM | Add Comment

Alternative Motivational Posters

If your no-humor office isn't the type that would see the brilliance in Despair.com's sarcastic takes on motivational posters, maybe you could at least get them to substitute those cheesy wall hangings with these nicely designed takes on the motivational affiche. While I promise I'm not singlehandedly trying to push the May issue--I happened across both my posts this morning coincidentally, honest!--read more about Despair.com's new book in this great story by Jamie Malanowski.

Posted by Jena McGregor at 10:00 AM | 2 Comments

This is Your Brain on Creativity

I was reading the great blog Noise Between Stations this morning and came across a link to what looks like an interesting article in Scientific American Mind. After reading Alan Deutschman's May cover story, "Change or Die," I'm intrigued more and more by how our brains affect our ability to change--or create. The article features research by neurologist Bruce Miller, who studied how dementia patients who suffered damage to left brain functions often saw a surge of creativity. The left brain's convergent thinking constrains the right brain's divergent thinking. While the article requires a fee to read, Noise Between Stations has provided us with a few tips from the Scientific American story for staying more creative:

• Wonderment: Try to retain a spirit of discovery, a childlike curiousity about the world. And question understandings that others consider obvious
• Motivation: As soon as a spark of interest arises in something, follow it
• Intellectual courage: Strive to think outside accepted principles and habitual perspectives such as "We've always done it that way."
• Relaxation: Take the time to day dream and ponder, because that is often when the best ideas arise. Look for ways to relax and consciously put the ideas into practice.

Posted by Jena McGregor at 9:43 AM | 1 Comment

April 22, 2005

Ciao, Jury Duty

As you may recall, I was recently tagged to serve on jury duty. Well, after six-plus days out of the office -- not entirely, as I came in several evenings and once during a lunch break -- it's over. What a fascinating experience. If you've never served before, when your name comes up, take the opportunity -- you'll emerge from the experience with some ideas and insights you can take back to work.

Today I'm mostly in freak-out, catch-up, clean-desk mode, but several things struck me throughout the last six-plus days:

Continue reading "Ciao, Jury Duty"

Posted by Heath Row at 3:42 PM | 4 Comments

How Digital Music Ruined the Recording Industry (Plus Friday Apprentice Detritus)

I had an interesting conversation the other day with this guy--a hard-core audiophile--about a theory, widely held among his hi-fi purist peers apparently, of why CDs and digital music have ruined the music industry. The argument, unproven to say the least, basically boils down to this: The difference between analog recordings (vinyl) and digital (CDs, MP3s) is similar to that of incandescent light bulbs and florescent ones. The former emits something natural and organic that resonates deeply with our inner psyche, the latter, while offering a technically superior performance, retains a thin veneer of the artificial that fails to fully penetrate our senses, therefore making us unable to form as strong an emotional bond. That explains why, in this guy's opinion, the music industry thrived so heartily up until the early 1980s or so and then began a steady decline as CDs and MP3s ultimately replaced vinyl. Not that I have any studies to prove it, but I think there is something to this notion of connecting to primitive parts of the human brain in order to form a strong emotional connection. Malcolm Gladwell, for example, explored this idea in a fascinating New Yorker article last year about why, despite evidence to the contrary, people think big old honking sport utility vehicles are safer than a handy little compact. Thoughts?

Also, it being Friday, I had to offer up a couple of Apprentice tidbits (I know, I know, the addiction to this show is worse than a bad crack habit).

Continue reading "How Digital Music Ruined the Recording Industry (Plus Friday Apprentice Detritus)"

Posted by Ryan Underwood at 12:53 PM | 7 Comments

Golden Anniversary

Today's Philadelphia Inquirer has a story about Bill Brown, 68, who is retiring after working for 50 years at Unisys. His longevity at the Blue Bell, Pennsylvania corporation is a testament to his ability to adapt to changing management and technology, and beating out dozens of layoffs. (Full disclosure: About half of my relatives, including my parents, worked at Unisys--then called Univac--about 35 years ago.)

Of course, as Unisys downsized by nearly 90,000 workers over the past 20 years, Brown admits in the article that "the last 15 years, you had to work at protecting yourself," which, by itself, doesn't sound fun. But he goes on: "The major part of it is just having a good attitude and recognizing that change is the only thing that we can really count on. Be there with the change. Don't resent it. Go forward with it. So I always had a contribution to make."

The article also goes on to note that, even in the 80s, less than a quarter of all men between 60 and 64 had been with the same company for at least 25 years. Nowadays, the average retiree has been with their company for about 10 years.
After a certain point, Brown's desire to stay at Unisys seemed as much about obstinacy as legacy. If you were offered a $100,000 severance package four months shy of your 50th anniversary at the company, would you take it, or gut it out? How long have you been at your current job? What was the longest you've ever been at one company?

Posted by Michael Prospero at 12:19 PM | Add Comment

Search Me

Yesterday's post from FC intern Kevin Ohannessian about Googling former classmates got me thinking. If you and your co-workers are at a loose end this afternoon, why not challenge them to a game of competitive name-surfing? Look around your office -- whose name would come highest in a web search?

Whoa, whoa, whoa -- step away from the Google button. That $370m-making monster is all very well if I'm happy to aggregate all the Ian Wylies in the world. But Google search results are too crude and random for this game. If I want to be really vain and find out who 'the most important' Ian Wylie is, Zoominfo does a better job.

Continue reading "Search Me"

Posted by Ian Wylie at 9:53 AM | Add Comment

April 21, 2005

Golden Geese

Earlier this week, I was in Chicago for the first-ever M2W national conference on Marketing to Women, and I'm here to tell you, the secret's out -- marketers now know Freud (and Mel Gibson) were on to something: figure out what women want, and the world is your oyster. Best Buy has begun to figure it out, with their new female-friendly stores in California (and have seen their efforts repaid with a 9% revenue spike in Q4). Home Depot's on the case. Financial services companies, health care companies, and even automotive manufacturers are finally coming around to the realization that women wield the lioness's share of purchasing power in every household.

They're even the prime purchasers in traditionally male categories: they make 53% of investment decisions, and buy 55% on consumer electronics, 60% of home improvement choices, 60% of new cars, and 66% of computers.

Want to know more about this market? EPM Communications is a great source of data, and the company's publisher, Ira Mayer, who presented at the conference, is happy to send you a free copy of his newsletter to whet your appetite for more.

As Ali G says, all the little ladies want is a little respect.

Posted by Linda Tischler at 1:09 PM | Add Comment

War is Hell

As I stated previously, the next generation of DVDs are coming. The industry was gearing up for a format war, though. Sony had Blu-Ray and Toshiba had HD-DVD. Both featured high definition films. Blu-Ray has larger capacity, which means a better picture or more material per disc, while HD-DVD was cheaper and required less investment to convert existing fabrication plants.

But, Sony has recently said they want to explore a unified format. And now Toshiba has replied with a reaching out for a single format. Let's hope they don't screw this up.

Continue reading "War is Hell"

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 11:58 AM | 1 Comment

April 20, 2005

Molten Bolton

You've really got to be a bad seed to not make it through a Republican-dominated leadership process when you're a loyal Republican. But it looks like John Bolton, President Bush's handpicked choice to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is in real trouble. And it's not because he has publicly ridiculed the United Nations itself, which some think might be a good disqualifier on its own.

Rather, it's because John Bolton seems to have a little problem in the area of leadership. Several intelligence analysts from the United States State Department and the CIA have testified that Bolton was abusive towards them and tried to stall the careers of analysts that didn't agree with him on such subjects as the Iraqi weapons buildup.

In reading the reports, I was struck by the fact that autocratic, top-down leadership no longer gets an automatic pass--not even in the world of the Washington bureaucracy. If this guy goes down. it's a victory for the little guy, whether he works on Wall Street, Main Street, or in the corridors of political power. For those of us who write about the workplace, it's welcome news.

Posted by Jennifer Reingold at 3:29 PM | 2 Comments

Oklahoma City's Other Monument

Reading about yesterday's 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, I was reminded of the design challenge that Chicago architect Carol Ross Barney faced a few years ago. Her job was creating a new federal building to replace the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that Timothy McVeigh destroyed with a truck bomb. The new structure had to be blast-resistant, yet avoid the imposing look of a fortress. It's a public building after all. "People have made this a symbol in their lives," she told FC. "I want it to look brave. I want it to look open and clean. I want it to have clarity. If you move forward from a terrible event, you need to have a path with some clarity."

The new federal building, ranked by one architecture magazine as the fourth safest building in the world, is designed with shatterproof glass and extra-thick stone walls in the lobby to contain an explosion and limit damage to the rest of the structure. The landscaping and concrete bollards prevent vehicles from getting anywhere as close as McVeigh's deadly rental truck did. The site where the Murrah building once stood has been transformed into the moving Oklahoma City National Memorial. Barney's robust yet elegant building is a block away, an everyday workplace and a monument of a different kind, to renewal and resilience.

Posted by Chuck Salter at 12:57 PM | Add Comment

Comparable Comparisons

Yesterday, on a whim, I googled the name of a high school classmate. At her website I learned about her position as a news editor at a neighborhood newspaper. This made me, a lowly intern, feel lacking. During several quiet moments that day my mind turned to 'what could've been' and 'what have I done wrong.'

What I've realized is that success is a very subjective thing. Sure, she's an editor. But, reading her Bio, she had a difficult college career. And because it wasn't mentioned, I assume she isn't married, as I am. And she focused on journalism, while I pursued fiction writing and have only recently began delving into nonfiction. Besides, Fast Company is a national magazine, and not a local paper. My success is different than hers, worse in some ways and better in others.

Continue reading "Comparable Comparisons"

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 10:58 AM | Add Comment

April 19, 2005

Leading Ideas: Embrace the Lunatic Inside You

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." -- Robin Williams (1952- ) U.S. Actor and Comedian

Something to consider:

Your best ideas are born from madness. You've got to let yourself think crazy thoughts and dream crazy dreams to find them. Never lose that ability. If you do you'll find yourself hopelessly sane - which will drive you nuts. The next time someone tells you you're crazy; thank them for the compliment. Breathe easier knowing that you haven't lost your originality.

A great example of something created from a spark of madness is, Cirque de Soleil. It's one of the firms covered in Blue Ocean Strategy - a new book about creating unknown opportunities in known places. The circus business was in a downward spiral when Cirque de Soleil opened its doors. No one was making good money and it was getting worse every year. For them to think they could get adults to pay big bucks for the circus was preposterous. But they changed the game and people did. And they created a multibillion dollar business in the process.

Continue reading "Leading Ideas: Embrace the Lunatic Inside You"

Posted by Doug Sundheim at 12:20 PM | 7 Comments

April 18, 2005

Fox Helps You Help It...

To save its award-winning Arrested Development TV series, as reported in The New York Times. It's a strange turning of the tables--normally it's in our hands to try and save our favorite TV shows from getting the ax by petitioning to the networks. So I'm pleased that Fox has put this together, and it sends out a message that they're open to what the public wants, if enough of them respond to the call.

Continue reading "Fox Helps You Help It..."

Posted by Jennifer Vilaga at 12:39 PM | 4 Comments

Fast to the Future

A deal between Sony and Ascent has been announced, using HP technology. This is the first major film company to work towards a digital makeover. This may the first step toward flexibility and customizability in the movie industry. With new processors coming from Intel and AMD, with new games systems on the way from Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, with new cell phones with video capabilities being released, we are at the cusp of something transformative.

Continue reading "Fast to the Future"

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 12:20 PM | Add Comment

Blogging at Work

The debate over employee blogs has reached new heights ever since a blogger who works for a blog company has been reprimanded for blogging about employees blogging. (Try saying that three times quickly.) The New York Times today tells the story of Niall Kennedy, an employee at Technorati, which tracks the blogosphere, who posted a satiric blog about the increasing fears in corporations over employee blogging. He wasn't asked to leave, as employees at Google and Delta Air Lines have been, but Technorati did ask him to reconsider after they had some complaints, and he took down the poast.

While I'm not sure I'd advocate over-stringent rules on blogging, it seems like every company needs to have, at a minimum, clear discussions with employees about blogging, if not some written guidelines. Confusion remians--after Kennedy's ordeal, he even stated that "My interpretation of Technorati's current blogging policy is an attempt to make sure employees are aware of the weight their words carry in this new medium and new industry. It is a really difficult thing to communicate and I am still not sure how to communicate this message effectively to new employees."This set of guidelines from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, released last week, seems like a helpful start for employees.

What do you think? Are blogging policies necessary? Should companies stay completely hands-off? Does anyone work for a company that's given them clear guidelines?