Creatures of Retail

Tim Manners — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:19:21 +0000

The emotional charge of retail is so often underestimated, its potential to connect with people so underrated. In today's New York Times (5/16/08), in the "Escapes" section, there's a story about how people like to stop at the same restaurant, store or even fast-food joint every time they make a routine getaway to their weekender homes.

The Leading Edge - Feeling Anxious?

Mark Goulston — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:01:46 +0000

In anxious times, keep a leash on your fearful aggression
and embolden your fearful avoidance.
If you don't get a handle on your anxiety,
it will manhandle you.

Fearful
aggression is what every show dog trainer needs to train out of their
dog if they want to win "Best in Show." It occurs when fear causes dogs
to growl and bark. On the other hand fearful avoidance causes dogs to
cower which is not going to win them any ribbons either.

The Harlem Shuffle

Tim Manners — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:29:32 +0000

My daily online missive may be called "Cool News" but sometimes the stories I write about are anything but cool. In fact, every once in a while the news is the opposite of cool.

That was certainly true of a news item I picked up from the May 5th edition of the New York Times. The story was about how the number of supermarkets in New York City is declining even though the need for supermarkets there is growing, specifically in low-income neighborhoods.

Ideal Client Mix

Nick Rice — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:48:57 +0000

The more I learn about small businesses, the more I’m surprised about the shaky foundation on which they build their businesses. Owners risk so much for their yet they often put themselves at greater risk because they choose not to market consistently.

Is Narrowness Killing Innovation?

Richard Watson — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:25:14 +0000

In recent years, education (and work) have tended to narrow. What do I mean by this? Simply that students are expected to develop particular specializations very early on and that this knowledge-narrowness (fuelled by curricula that are increasingly based on the vocational needs of employers) is carried through to the work environment. Once these ‘job-ready’ students are inside organizations they often narrow their thinking even further until they end up as intelligent idiots – people that know an awful lot about very little.

Haute Chipotle

Tim Manners — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:13:46 +0000

It came toward the end of about an hour of conversation, but it was possibly the best quote I've ever gotten in an interview. We had exhausted a wide range of subjects, and to wrap things up, I said, "So, ultimately, what do you hope to accomplish?"

After a couple of platitudes about serving great food at low prices, Jim Adams, executive marketing director of Chipotle Mexican Grill, replied: "You know, there's no excuse to serve crap. There just isn't any. And too many places serve crap."

Franchise-ification

Shawn Graham — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:50:45 +0000

Invitation to a Party

Marcia Conner — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:43:17 +0000

Many of my colleagues recently attended the Web2.0Expo in San Francisco. From over 2K miles away I followed those twittering the fine details, longing for a way to easily get to the West Coast. This expo captivated my attention because the world live web, by its very nature, invites each of us to learn.

Work/Life: TurboTax - crunching words as important as crunching numbers

Lynette Chiang — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:01:18 +0000

Last post I detailed my 24-hour worryfest over a TurboTax glitch.

It turned out no more sinister than a doh! from deep in the bowels Intuit HQ.

The TurboTax damage control unit are all over me now.

Someone saw my mayday on FastCompany and hit DEFCON 10.

Looking for my older blogs and article?

Marcia Conner — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:19:17 +0000

Are you looking for my older Learning Resources columns or Learning at All Levels expert blog posts? While the Fast Company site is being upgraded, much of my content is on a server that's temporarily unaccessable.

Until the content is all moved to the primary site, you can read my older expert blogs on another server and my articles on my personal website blog.

I appreciate your patience and persistence during this change.

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