I’ve heard the following message a couple of times now while waiting for my flight at the Philadelphia airport. It goes something like this: “If you feel that you have been overcharged in any of our shops, please let us know.” That does not instill much confidence in those shops! It almost sounds like a […]
Archives for November 2008
Jack Welch on What Business Leaders Can Learn from Obama's Campaign
Jack Welch has a helpful column in the Nov 17 issue of Businessweek called “Three Reasons Obama Won.” (The link is to the podcast — the column itself does not appear to exist online. In case anyone is wondering, this does indeed mean that I still read some actual physical periodicals!) Here are two of […]
What's Not Best: Small Bowls at Mongolian Barbeques
Just had lunch at a Mongolian barbeque in town. I really like those places. However, one thing has always stood out to me: the bowls they give you are way to small for the purpose. For those who aren’t familiar with Mongolian barbeque, here’s how it works: You go through a buffet to fill up […]
Obama Ran a Capitalist Campaign
The Wall Street Journal had a great editorial by Bret Swanson on Friday about how Obama Ran a Capitalist Campaign. Here are the two best points, in my opinion. First, Obama ran a brilliant campaign. But there is an inconsistency between the policies that Obama is calling for and the way that he ran his […]
What's Not Best: Starbucks Charging for WiFi
I was going to spend the afternoon working at Starbucks today. (I’ve been working remotely from home for the last few months, and sometimes it’s a good change of pace to get out of the house.) Then I remembered how they charge for WiFi, and decided to stay away. There are three reasons Starbuck’s decision […]
Most Change Comes from People, Not Politicians
John Stossel (most known for co-anchoring 20/20) has an interesting column today called Who Will Run America?. He made two especially good points. First, ultimately in America, it’s the people who govern. Referring to a recent interview with economist Walter Williams, he writes: Williams pointed out that the White House doesn’t govern what happens in […]
Five Myths About the Great Depression
Andrew Wilson has an excellent article over at the Wall Street Journal today on Five Myths About the Great Depression. He states: The current financial crisis has revived powerful misconceptions about the Great Depression. Those who misinterpret the past are all too likely to repeat the exact same mistakes that made the Great Depression so […]
Lessons in Marketing from the 2008 Presidential Election
Seth Godin has a great post this morning on Marketing Lessons from the US Election. Well worth the read. Here’s the quick summary: Stories really matter TV is over Permission matters Marketing is tribal Motivating the committed outperforms persuading the uncommitted Attack ads don’t always work We get what we deserve (ex: buy from telemarketers, […]
If You Are Not Economically Free, You Are Not Politically Free
Nearly all recognize the value of freedom in the political sphere. It is wrong for the government to coerce us to speak, believe, or think contrary to our wishes, or to deprive us of our right to life without due process. But it is equally necessary to realize that economic freedom is a necessary component […]
The Purposes of Government
One of the fundamentals of making good decisions is to know the purpose of what you are doing. If you don’t know the goal, you won’t make a good choice in how to get there. In making a good decision about who should lead the country next, it would be smart to remind ourselves of […]