BLOG OF ADAM HARTUNG
Creative Destruction or corporate Darwinism – Innovate to grow
2008 was quite a year. Many businesses came out far worse than they dreamed possible when the year started. The Wilshire 5000 (one of the broadest measures of U.S. equity values) declined 40% - losing some $7trillion dollars of value. More than...
Time of year many Forecast – but Scenario Planning is what’s needed
It's that time of year when people take to making forecasts. From Marketwatch.com (see how you can enter as a forecaster at Barron's here) to networking groups, organizations are asking for forecasts. Many executives will turn to...
Watch out for Growth Stalls — Walgreen
Walgreens (see chart here) has been one heck of a company. It's growth has been unparalleled for such a large retailer the last 2 decades. But quarterly earnings just came out, and management announced they were down 10% versus a year ago (read...
Why you MUST have scenarios – Crude oil below $40/barrel
I was talking to a restaurant waiter this week. He was bemoaning his fate. He had a large van, complete with overstuffed chairs, movie player - the works - for his family to drive in comfort and his children to enjoy. But when gasoline hit $4.00 a...
The source of dysfunctional Lock-in — GM
In 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam wrote a book about the 1950s - called appropriately "The Fifties". He takes time in this book to talk about GM - a company today that has seen its leadership embarrassed, and its value for...
The Success Formula of Rod Blagojevich
Illinois' Governor Rod Blagojevich has burst onto the national scene. Not in a good way, obviously. What's surprising, though, is how people are reacting to the fact that today he returned to work and has shown no inclination to resign. ...
Get out of the foxhole and Win – Tractor Supply and Papa John’s
We keep hearing about all the bad news in this recession (Tribune Company, GM, Circuit City for example). You could easily believe there is no good news. But if we look a little harder we can see that there are businesses which are looking forward and...
$15 billion for leftovers? Force a fix at GM, Ford and Chrysler
So we now hear that Congress will loan $15billion to GM, Ford and Chrysler intended to keep them going concerns until at least March. We've been told that there are requirements on the loans that will better the industry. But honestly, there's...
What will you cost us Sam Zell – Tribune bankruptcy
A year ago Sam Zell was telling Chicago that he knew how to make money in newspapers. He was certain, absolutely certain, that Tribune Company newspapers - including The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times - would soon be returned to higher readership,...
I’ll take that job, GM/Ford and Congress
Well the heads of GM, Ford and Chrysler are back in Washington asking Congress for cash. According to Senator Dodd it's a sure thing they'll get it (read article here). And accordinto the the Government Accountability Office even if Congress...
Forget about “Focus”
For years business books have preached "focus". Getting the business to understand its "core", and then focusing on that "core" has been the theme of books from "Competing for the Future" to "Good to...
Looking for an enemy – inside News Corp.
You don't have to agree with Rupert Murdoch's politics to recognize his business savvy (in fact, ignore them if you want to understand his business acumen). A new book is coming out today on his life, and according to reviews and interviews with the...
Thanksgiving Travel- Airlines Struggle to Profit
Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so the crush of people flying through O'Hare airport has started. It's natural to think about the largest airline in Chicago - United. United was on the brink of failure last summer as jet fuel prices skyrocketed. In response, United...
Invest in the future, not the past
Are you encouraged by the Federal Reserve's actions to purchase $100B debt from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae? Government leaders say this is necessary to "get the markets moving again" (read article here). Unfortunately, this...
Winning at news
As consumers, it's easy to forget that news is a business. After all, we don't directly pay for news. It comes free to us via television, radio, print or the web. Thus, it's easy to forget that the providers rely on advertisers to foot...
Where’s the next Lee Iacocca when you need him?
The auto execs have not made their case in Washington D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is saying Congress has not yet seen a plan in which they can invest taxpayer money. Almost half of Americans don't think a bailout should be undertaken (read article...
Of course you change leaders at Yahoo!
It was only about 6 months ago that Microsoft was offering over $30/share for Yahoo! That deal didn't happen. And Yahoo! (see chart here) fell to under $ 11/share . Now Microsoft is saying "no thanks" despite the...
Yes, it would be nice to see Steve Jobs run GM (or Ford or Chrysler)
On Tuesday, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman (author of The World is Flat) chided the auto companies for their lack of innovation and desire for government assistance (read article here). Setting off a firestorm of comments across the web, he not only...
Be Careful about listening to your customers – GM, Ford, Merrill Lynch, Harley, etc.
For years we've heard how important it is to listen to you customers. Many books have been written on the importance of listening to customers and giving them what they want. Unfortunately, and this ay sound like heresy, listening to customers...
What to do with GM and Ford?
What to do with GM and Ford? It sort of sounds like "what do we do about our miscreant son ______?" The reality is that both companies are on the brink of failure - and no one believes they can survive without some sort of government...
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