BLOG OF ADAM HARTUNG
Hostess’ Twinkie Defense Is a Failure
The failure of Hostess Brands was due to management, not the union. Leadership drove the company to irrelevancy.
Why the Top 20 R&D spenders waste their money – lessons from Microsoft & GM
R&D spending does not correlate with high returns and investment success. Innovation does. And innovation does not rely on enormous R&D budgets
Wake Up! Ballmer’s driving Microsoft off a cliff!
Microsoft has launched the IT Edsel – and Windows 8 plus Surface will propel the company over the proverbial cliff. Ballmer should be fired and xBox used to reposition Microsoft.
4 Myths and 1 Truth About Investing
If you worry about crashes and your investment returns, maybe you need to take a new approach!
Beyond the Debate – Common Economic Misconceptions vs. Reality
Which party will be better for U.S. economy? Some historical facts worth reviewing.
Sorry Meg, Your Hockey Stick Forecast for HP Won’t Happen – Sell
Meg Whitman’s new 5 year “turnaround plan” will fail. Completely. Here’s why.
Yes, even you can innovate to grow – learn from Skanska
You don’t have to be a tech company to be innovative and grow. Construction company Skanska has built a wildly successful innovation program on a tight budget using White Space teams connected with colleges and managed from headquarters
Innovation Matters; or Why You Care More About Apple than Kraft
Apple has used innovation to turn around the company, rising from near bankruptcy to America’s most valuable publicly traded company in a decade. Meanwhile, Kraft has eliminated all innovation and stumbled badly, offering investors no return while laying off employees and cutting supplier margins. Innovation is the big difference, and the results are clear.
How Amazon Whupped Facebook Last Week
By focusing on new products and market expansion Amazon keeps growing its value, while Facebook stumbles putting attention on financial machinations.
Neil Armstrong’s Legacy – More Important Now Than Ever
Neil Armstrong was a leader that new how to not only talk about the future, but make it happen. He was a role model for all leaders, and we need that kind of leadership – including NASA – today if we are to re-invigorate the economy.
Are American’s Abusing Social Security Disability?
When the American economy doesn’t create new jobs how to Americans react? A lot more of them file for disability!
Why Groupon Needs a New CEO
Groupon has been an amazing growth company. But recent sales declines are EXTREMELY worrisome and indicate a new CEO is needed immediately.
What Steve Jobs Would Tell Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg’s honeymoon with analysts and investors is long gone. What lessons could the embattled young leader learn from Steve Jobs, history’s most successful tech CEO?
McDonald’s Growth Stall is Deadly
McDonald's is in a Growth Stall. Even though the stock is less than 10% off its recent 52 week high (which is about the same high it's had since the start of 2012,) the odds of McDonald's equity going down are nearly 10x the odds of it achieving new highs. A Growth...
Best Buy Isn’t – Chasing Supervalu to the Bottom
Best Buy is obsolete. And it will fail. The “low cost” strategy is killing companies from Supervalu to JC Penney. Retail has shifted, but few leaders know how to cope.
Why Jamie Dimon Told Us To Not Own JPMorganChase (or any other “money center” bank)
JPMorganChase just admitted it lost $6B from bad hedge bets. What this reveals is less about hedge losses, and more about the inability of JPMC to find a growth strategy. After losing $100B “the old fashioned way” in mortgages and credit cards, and lacking a growth strategy, investors should stay away from JPMC
Why Tesla is Right, and GM and Ford are Not
Tesla is a great example of a disruptive innovator that is doing the right things to change an existing market. As competitors ignore it, Tesla demonstrates a superior car is possible with electric technology, avoiding the trade-offs traditional auto companies embed in their products
Why Cost Cutting Never Works – Ignore Hillshire Brands (Sara Lee)
Sara Lee’s CEO Brenda Barnes destroyed the company with cost cutting programs. Now much smaller, the new Hillshire Brands CEO plans to follow the same playbook. This NEVER works, and investors need to better understand requirements for growth!!
Microsoft Win8 Tablet Is Not a Game Changer
Windows 8 was designed to defend the Windows user installed base by extending them into tablets. Only the product is so late, and lacking any breakthrough features to solve new needs or solve existing needs much better, that it is “me too” way too late and with far too few benefits to ever succeed.
Buy Facebook Now – Catch a lucky break!
Facebook shares are down 25% from the IPO. That’s a great break for small investors, and you should load up while you have the chance. Facebook is on all the trends to be a tremendous wealth creator
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