business

A laser printer sits by my desk. Not far away, an ink jet printer. In grade school had someone described such devices, it would have been the stuff of science fiction. Even in the early 1990’s, an office of over 200 people shared one Apple laser printer whose price had just dropped to $5000. The other laser was in the President’s office and off limits to the rest of us. Can you imagine the pandemonium to get things printed right before an important presentation to our Company President?...

Robert Townsend headed American Express and later Avis Rent-a-car and told the world that at Avis, “We Try Harder.” In the late 1980’s, Townsend was interviewed - conversation style - by Tom Peters who is best known for co-authoring the best selling book on business, “In Search of Excellence.” Townsend told the story of a study of similar-sized firms, competing with similar products, in similar industries. In successful firms, the managers (at equivalent levels of responsibility) had five times the signing authority that those in unsuccessful firms had....

Executive Summary Companies are losing money and customers through poorly conceived internet marketing efforts. Today firms are using the internet to market existing products to existing customers in the existing way. The results are lukewarm, at best. To succeed, firms might be wise to look at new ways to get new customers with new products. ___________________ The Power of the Web Clayton Christensen’s book The Innovator’s Dilemma rocked conventional business thinking when it came out in 1997....