“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”

T.S. Eliot

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“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man  made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”

G.K. Chesterton

Blockbuster’s REAL Legacy

The closing of the last Blockbuster stores in 2013 has been pointed to as a cautionary tale to every successful business which thinks it has an invulnerable business model and decides to tie the steering wheel in place. In fairness, however, it should be remembered that the fallen giant did introduce one innovation which has survived its demise. Blockbuster was the first company to successfully introduce the concept of the gift card. With so much of Christmas commerce migrating online, it’s ironic that the Blockbuster innovated one of e-commerce’s most successful aspects. Learn more in this article from the Smithsonian.

 Should CEOs Wear Hoodies?

If Mark Zuckerberg’s success is any example, the answer is “Yes”. More important, though, is why he dresses this way. Check out this two page article on the “The Hoodie Wearing CEO”  which explores why Zuckerberg and others in power can successfully, often intentionally, depart from dress and grooming norms that would result in lesser mortals being ostracized. Moreover, their ability and willingness to do so may  be further enhancing their power and prestige. Can you get away with this?

Are These the 10 Best Business Decisions of 2013?

Great decisions look easy in hindsight. It’s year-end so a little looking back …and a little looking ahead… is in order. Slate.com has offered what it considers to be the 10 Best Business Decisions of 2013.  Only time will tell if these were the right calls.

Econ Recon: A New Coin of the Realm?…Enjoy Now Pay Later?

A New Coin of the Realm?: Technology has spawned innovations that have touched most of us in significant ways.   We have phones that are much more than phones and the Ipad is challenging the need for books that require shelves.   Can technology create a substitute for  something as fundamental as money? In his latest Wesbury 101 offering , economist Brian Wesbury looks at “Bitcoin” .  This company is challenging our current monetary system with a newly created  private currency; can it supplant the greenback?  Some notable companies are accepting it as payment.  Should you?  Spend 8 minutes with Dr. Wesbury and find out as he explores “The Problem with Bitcoin.”  

Enjoy Now…Pay Later:    Earlier this year Detroit declared bankruptcy to cope with its onerous pension obligations.   Other cities will no doubt follow Detroit’s example and entire states, which can’t file bankruptcy, will have to make similar hard calls. The dynamics of pension funding don’t make for riveting reading.  Consequently, many who should have a sense of what’s happening in this area, even if not  entitled to a state or local  pension, do not.   This two page article will get you up to speed on how we got in this mess and what might be done about it.

Information vs. Knowledge

The amount of information we are exposed to has been growing exponentially for decades. But information is not the same thing as knowledge. The difference can be hard to describe, but, a picture being worth a thousand words, the following graphic someone posted on LinkedIn does a nice job of driving home the difference!

 Now all we need is a simple graphic to help us visualize the difference between knowledge and WISDOM.

MAKE it a great 2014!!