October 8, 2012

“You can never cross an ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Christopher Columbus

(Monday, October 8 is the 520^th Anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the New World)

 The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time

Peter Drucker once remarked that “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”   Have a quick look at an overview of a new book by Verne Harnish, author of the “The Rockefeller Habits” which explores “The Greatest Business Decisions Of All Time”… including Henry Ford’s decision to double his employee’s wages, Apple’s invitation to Steve Jobs to return to Apple and Boeing’s bet on the 707 in 1952 with no orders in hand.  You won’t find any hard and fast rules, but perhaps some valuable lessons.

The Curse of the Incremental

Some of the “greatest business decisions” of all time referenced above came about because someone invested the time and effort needed to make a product what it should be instead of just good enough.   Check out a few cautionary paragraphs on “The Curse of the Incremental.”

Econ Recon

It  Ain’t about Who’s President:    The first presidential debate this past week was a remarkable performance by both candidates (remarkable in what way I’ll leave it to you).    However, we can all agree that we’ll hear about little else than the presidential election for the next month.   Vistage Staff economist and Institute for Trend Research principal Alan Beaulieu reminds us of a basic fact from ninth grade civics  in his most recent blog posting  that may help put the election and the problems it is supposed to resolve in proper perspective, regardless of whom you’re voting for.

Did the Baby Boomers Destroy The Future?

Baby Boomers are being indicted by Gen X, Gen Y and Millenials for the economic legacy the former is bequething the latter. Jim Tankersley of the Atlantic Magazine shares a conversation with his 62 year old attorney father in which he asks “Who Destroyed the Economy?   The elder Tankersley defends his generation by pointing out that the Boomers have left much that was positive as well and that any generational inheritance must include liabilities as well as assets.  If you have young people in your life, this article will serve you well in future debates!