BLOG OF ADAM HARTUNG
The big shift – GM, Chrysler, Ford
GM will file bankruptcy next week ("GM reaches swap deal, but bankruptcy still lies ahead" Marketwatch). It's likely historians will look back on this event as a major turning point in the change away from an industrial world (away from making...
Too big to fail? Overcoming size disadvantages – JPMorgan Chase
"The Need for Failure" is a recent Forbes article on why it is bad - really bad - to prop up failing institutions. The author is an esteemed economics professor at NYU. He says "too big to fail is dangerous. It suggests there is an insurance...
Hoisted on my own pitard – Radio
Today I was hit by a market shift that left me baffled as to what I should do next. Everybody, every work team, every company has Lock-ins. Lock-ins help you operate quickly and efficiently. And they blind you to potential market shifts. I...
Market Shifts and Lifecycles – Playboy, Oprah and Skype
One of the hardest things for leaders to do is recognize market shifts. The tendency to remain focused on Defending & Extending what was always does is so great that market shifts which demand change are overlooked in the urge to improve what was always...
Avoid succumbing to conventional wisdom – Target & Pershing Square
"Target heads toward the Crossroads" is the Marketwatch headline today. Like almost all large retailers, Target has had a tough year. Profits dropped, and Target hit a growth stall. If not careful, the company could fall away into...
Executive Pay – For Performance? – XTO Energy
Have you ever heard of a company paying an employee to die? Hard to figure out how that's "pay for performance." Yet, many companies have executive compensation agreements with "golden coffin" provisions which agree to pay the...
History of the Book
Twelve years in the making. As professional business consultant with almost 30 years experience, Adam Hartung is all too familiar with a common malady among today’s businesses. Regardless of how much the leaders and organizations are struggling to grow revenues and...
Book Reviews
What Thought Leaders are saying about Create Marketplace Disruption “Companies that cannot change die. Companies that respond eventually survive but see their profits squeezed, their growth flattened. Long-term winners create their own disruptions and thrive on...
Frozen in the headlights Part 2 – Gannett, New York Times, McClatchy
"Newspapers face pressure in selling online advertising" is today's headline about newspapers. Seems even when the papers realize they must sell more online ads they can't do it. Instead of selling what people want, the way they want...
Frozen in the headlights – Gannett and other newspapers
"Gannett to shut down print version of Tucson newspaper" is the latest headline. Yet another newspaper either cutting staff, cutting content, cutting print days, or stopping printing altogether. That this would happen isn't really...
“Cash Cows” are like unicorns, a myth – GM, Chrysler
"Chrysler delivers the bad news to 789 dealers" was yesterday's headline. Today the headline read "GM notifies dealers of shutdowns" as the company sent 1,100 dealers the notice they would no longer be allowed to stay in business. ...
You really wouldn’t consider buying that, would you? Ford new stock offering
"Invest in America - but Savings Bonds." I grew up seeing those signs. Of course, I'm over 50. They came from the World War era, when America asked people to buy "war bonds" to pay for involvement. At the time,...
Use White Space to create Social Media Value – Pizza Hut, Sony, Dell, Sears
Where the people go, advertisers will follow. Why pay for an ad at the end of a never traveled dead-end street? The purpose of advertising is to reach people with your message. And now "Forrester: Interactive Marketing to grow 11% to $25.6...
What’s wrong with bailouts – B of A, Citibank, Wells Fargo,
Good public policy and good management don't always align. And the banking crisis is a good example. We now hear "Banks must raise $75billion" if they are to be prepared for ongoing write-downs in a struggling economy. ...
Using Innovation to shift – Kindle and newspapers (Boston Globe, New York Times)
Today Yahoo.com picked up on Mr. Buffett's recent comments, with the home page lead saying "Buffett's Gloomy Advice." The article quotes Buffett as saying newspapers are one business he wouldn't buy at any...
Warren Buffet held the annual meeting for Berkshire Hathaway this weekend, and upwards of 40,000 people came to hear his opinions. For hours he waxed eloquently, offering opinions on a wide range of topics sure to cover websites, blogs and tweets for a few...
The vicious growth stall spiral – Motorola
My book talks about Growth Stalls. Whenever a company sees two consecutive quarters of flat or declining sales or profits, or 2 consecutive quarters where year over year sales or profits were flat or declining, it is in a growth stall. Unfortunately,...
You have to change to grow – including Starbucks
Today the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that the worst of America's economic downturn may be over, according to "Fed stands pat, and says worst may be over" at Marketwatch.com. Fed officials seem to think that the rate of decline has...
Why GM won’t survive very long
"Chrysler Avoids Bankruptcy as GM steps toward it" is the Marketwatch.com headline. According to the article, Chrysler has a deal to manage its debt while Ford has never been as close to the edge as its two brethren. But GM is trying to...
Business Lifeblood – Innovation – Amazon Kindle and Management’s role
I recently listened to a great presentation on innovation by Bill Burnett, partner at Launchpad Partners. I recommend you download the slides to his presentation, "The CEO's Role in Innovation," in order to understand just how...
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