10 June 2010 0 Comments

Galarraga Takes the Lead

Even if you don’t follow baseball, you probably heard the story. Last week, after three hours on the mound and seconds away from becoming the 21st player in baseball history to pitch a perfect game, Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga lost that title because of an error – the umpire’s!
A “No-Hitter” is every pitcher’s dream. [...]

7 January 2010 0 Comments

Some Like It Hot

For many years, Campbell Soup Company exercised a disciplined and intentional strategy to keep its brand fresh.  You see, Campbell built its reputation identifying with good old home cooking. Yet, if the soup label never changed, consumers might begin to think they were buying old food.
The solution?  Update the the soup label incrementally. 
For much of its 110 year [...]

28 November 2009 1 Comment

1 – 1 = 1

No, it’s not some kind of new math, but it is a challenge to those who think life is a zero sum game.  When following our natural tendency, I think they are right.  But I also believe there is a better way to act that almost always produces more.
A great illustration of this principle is [...]

14 November 2009 4 Comments

Buttoned Up

Do your best; look your best. Pretty basic stuff, right? So you can imagine my chagrin to look in the mid-morning mirror and see my button-down collar unbuttoned!
Then I started to recount the day: Up at 5:30, catch the 6:15 into downtown, then the skyway, the coffee shop, the guard’s desk, the elevator, three meetings, [...]