Asian philosophy

Create A Playbook of Successful Strategies

Kaihan Krippendorff — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:04:51 -0500

Tomorrow at 11 a.m. EST (9 a.m. PST) I will be holding an executive briefing on ePrize, the world’s largest interactive promotions company. Sign up now for this FREE webinar by clicking here.

Unconscious Conditioning Can Make or Break Your Business

Kaihan Krippendorff — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:31:12 -0500

As I finish my review of Vistaprint, I wanted to provide a link to the Vistaprint executive briefing webinar I held a couple of weeks ago.

Smile at Your Competitors to Gain Market Share

Kaihan Krippendorff — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:57:16 -0500

We like to view the world in black and white, good and bad, friend and foe. But as industry lines blur, such clear distinctions become even more difficult to see within our complex reality. This creates an opportunity for those willing to seize it. You can befriend enemies.

Vistaprint Disrupts a Six-Century-Old Industry

Kaihan Krippendorff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:59:17 -0500

To understand how Vistaprint has become the world’s leading provider of printing services to small businesses, you need a brief overview of the printing industry.

Panama: The Future Hong Kong of Latin America?

Kaihan Krippendorff — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:20:07 -0500

I just came back from conducting my program in Panama, and while I have been through the Panama City airport several times, I had never stepped outside its walls. This is a fascinating country. We had 150 attend the seminar including government leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs.

Vistaprint: Completely Changing the Printing Industry

Kaihan Krippendorff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:39:58 -0500

Robert Keane had one year to plot out his business.

Rage Feeds Rage: So Take A Bite Of Some Happy Pie

Kaihan Krippendorff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:35:23 -0500

A while back I wrote about how angry America seems to be and how as business people, we need to make sure our products don’t wind up on the forefront of consumer rage. The piece got me thinking about another question – why are we so angry?

Iraq’s Official New History Provides Insight On Crafting Company Narratives

Kaihan Krippendorff — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:25:18 -0400

Last week the Iraqi government launched a new version of its official history.

Rosetta Stone: Uniting The World Through Language Learning

Kaihan Krippendorff — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:01:24 -0400

We see over and over that companies that are thriving are pursuing something good. While many traditional companies try to paint themselves “good,” under a thin veneer they maintain near exclusive commitment to growing short-term shareholder value. While many “good” organizations try to make a profit, they remain rooted in a traditional non-profit mentality.

Fix It--Even If It Ain't Broke

Kaihan Krippendorff — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:30:49 -0400

When something works, people grow fixated on it. They stop looking for alternative options. And this fixation creates an opportunity for those willing to reconsider the accepted approach. The company I introduced last week, Rosetta Stone (RST), hasn’t been satisfied with the fact that its products work. Instead, it continues to challenge the norm.

Don’t Be A Chicken Little: Rosetta Stone Knows The Sky Isn’t Falling

Kaihan Krippendorff — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:20:17 -0400

The market has fallen two weeks in a row and the analysts are already running around like Chicken Little. While it is so tempting to get caught up in these daily dramas, it is also short-sighted.

Don't Let Your Product Get Booed

Kaihan Krippendorff — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:40:39 -0400

Every night from June to August, we watched as town hall meetings erupted into screaming matches. On September 9, South Carolina Republican Rep.

By Serving Many Ethonomics Happens Naturally

Kaihan Krippendorff — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:05:39 -0400

One of greatest Union generals in the U.S. Civil war, William Tecumseh Sherman, described the goal of effective military strategy as maneuvering so that the opposing general finds himself “on the horns of dilemma.”

That means you should force your competitor to choose to defend target A by sacrificing target B or vice-versa.

Make Them Need You – Become Indispensable To Your Clients

Kaihan Krippendorff — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:29:41 -0400

Last week I introduced Ajit Prabhu, the co-founder and chief executive officer of QuEST Global. My interview with him was fascinating, and during our discussion, I learned that the basic idea behind QuEST was born while Ajit was working at General Electric.

Find Inspiration And Create Aspiration

Kaihan Krippendorff — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:50:11 -0400

Most successful people are somehow inspired to do things differently. For some it is an innovative idea, and for others it is identifying a need and filling it. For Ajit Prabhu, the co-founder and chief executive officer of QuEST Global, it was a car.

Barack Obama Is Tapping Into Your Brain

Kaihan Krippendorff — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:15:40 -0400

The best communicators are the ones who can create and share a strong narrative story. The best novels are the ones with the most interesting plot and the best speeches are the ones that arouse an emotional response from a crowd.

Born To Be Good - Mirror Neurons Help Us Empathize

Kaihan Krippendorff — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:53:07 -0400

Several months ago, I was browsing through a bookstore in Seattle looking for something to read on my flight back across the country. After having spent eight hours on stage working to keep a mental step ahead of 250 smart executives, I was really looking for something mindless. Perhaps a murder mystery or maybe even something from the vampire genre, which seems to be expanding beyond all logical propositions these days.

Power Comes From Coordination

Kaihan Krippendorff — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:01:58 -0400

I’ve interviewed hundreds of business outthinkers, and one of the most common patterns of success is “coordinate the uncoordinated.”

Go Dumpster Diving For New Strategies

Kaihan Krippendorff — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:20:25 -0400

A Chinese phrase advises that you “borrow a corpse for the soul’s return.” This metaphor points to the fact that we tend not to dig through garbage. Once we’ve thrown something away we mentally label it “trash” and so we stop wondering if it is still useful.

Good Cause, Good Ideas, Good Money

Kaihan Krippendorff — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:37:50 -0400

When I pull up to the village in which my mother grew up in Bangladesh, I feel like I'm on the set of a cowboy movie. Two long streets cross in the center, each bordered by a well-planned lineup of storefronts.

From this intersection, you might think this is a city, with concrete walls, paved roads, and running water. But peer beyond the intersection of storefronts and there is nothing more than a patchwork of small farm plots, separated by dirt pathways and grass-roofed huts.

Borrow A Map To Your Own Road

Kaihan Krippendorff — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:40:02 -0400

An ancient Chinese saying advises that you “borrow a road” to reach your objective. If someone else has access to your customer, then borrow his road to share this access.

Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

Kaihan Krippendorff — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:14:20 -0400

Last week I introduced an interesting hotel investment firm, Thayer Lodging. The owners, Lee Pillsbury and Fred Malek, were not new to the hotel game. They were part of a team that had driven jaw-dropping growth for Marriott Hotels. Fred was Marriott’s president, and Lee was his head of strategy. In just six years, from 1982 to 1988, they had driven a four-fold increase in sales and five-fold increase in profit. They grew from about 100 hotels to 750 over the same period.

Everyone Loves the “Lotto” Especially If They Know The Odds

Kaihan Krippendorff — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:29:20 -0400

Every Friday vendors came around to play “lucky lotto.” These vendors supplied food, chinaware, and table clothes to Lee Pillsbury and Fred Malek, the owners of Thayer Lodging, a privately held hotel investment company that was formed in 1991. Unfortunately, the 1992 Gulf War hit the hotel business hard.

Breaking The Google Habit – Will You Bing For Your Next Decision?

Kaihan Krippendorff — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:09:49 -0400

In my book The Way of Innovation, I talk a lot about how consumer habits can become a powerful underpinning of a company’s grand strategy.