In 2008, we almost lost our opportunity to enjoy Starbucks coffee and the ambience of its stores. The stock had plunged by 65 percent, and same-store sales had dropped dramatically. Wall Street analysts were predicting its demise because major fast food chains such as McDonald’s were introducing premium coffee in thousands of stores. McDonald’s concluded…
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Take time to think by yourself Please look at the graph that accompanies this column. This isthe rate of technological change in our economy today. This is enough to make a normal leader turn paranoid. Steve Jobs said, “The only way we can deal with this mess is to innovate our way out of it.” So how do you…
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The enterprise that does not innovate, ages and declines “Necessity Is the Mother of Taking Chances,” — Mark Twain We are all watching a very dramatic “Kodak moment.” Eastman Kodak recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its stock now lists at less than a dollar and was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange….
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When was the last time you read a book with an introduction that read this way: “It all started with the Royal typewriter on a TV tray in the basement.” Meet Roy Reiman, an Iowa farm boy who came to Wisconsin, and started a publishing empire that grew to 12 magazines with 16 million subscribers…
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Steve Jobs’ resignation from Apple gave us an immediate understanding of how much the market values creativity and innovation in a company. Apple stock took an immediate hit. He headed up the most valuable technology company in the world. His contribution is actually priced into the stock. It’s known as the “innovation premium.” Currently it…
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Are you a creative and innovative leader? To answer this question, consider what Milwaukee-born and now New York resident David Einhorn, CEO of the successful hedge fund Green Light Capital, had to say about Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. Einhorn called for Ballmer’s resignation and blasted the board for not dismissing him. Why? A Fortune…
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Hats off to the leadership of BizTimes Milwaukee, Dan Meyer and Steve Jagler, for inviting Josh Linkner as the leadoff speaker for the recent Biz-Tech Conference & Expo. Linkner’s focus was on growth through creativity and innovation. Linkner has been a successful entrepreneur, having founded ePrize. He is also a venture capitalist and knows how…
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Most of us have heard of Salesforce.com. Salesforce rents software for managing customer relationships and delivers their product exclusively over the Internet through what is now known as cloud computing. The Associated Press documented that Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com, saw the opportunity of saving customers significant amounts of money. Prior to his starting…
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Mark Zuckerberg Is Time Magazine’s Man of the Year. Why? One simple word explains it, Innovation. No question anyone who can garner 500 million new customers in less than five years is doing something remarkably new. He represents the face of innovation in America. Has introduced what has been called “disruptive technology”. This means that…
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As our economy continues to struggle to recover from the recession, there is a general sense that things will not return to business as usual. Many business leaders are being forced to look in new directions for growth. Here are some interesting examples of leaders who passed new opportunities: In 1876, Western Union decided that…
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