BLOG OF ADAM HARTUNG
Hiring for Growth
A week ago Motorola missed analyst's expectations for third quarter revenues and profits, and the stock fell (see story here). Given that the stock price has had a great run the last year, investors might well be tempted to sell the stock, fearing a stumble in...
When Giants start clubbing
Wal-Mart has started selling prescriptions priced at $4 for a month's supply (see article here.) Why? To get more people into the stores, silly. As I've blogged before, the world's biggest retailer has the world's biggest Lock-in, and they will do anything...
Like Lemmings
I hear frequently about the conflict between management and investors. The argument typically goes along the lines that management could do many exciting and strategic things if it wasn't for those pesky investors who want a consistent return on their...
More, Better, Faster problems
If you don't live in Chicago or Los Angeles you might have missed a recent set of stories about problems in the newspaper industry. The Tribune company (owner of Chicago Tribune and 9 other papers) also owns the LATimes. Like the New York Times company,...
Anyone can do it
Two very unlikely companies demonstrated this week that anyone can Disrupt and create White Space to develop a new Success Formula. IBM and General Motors both showed signs of what any company can do. Last spring the leaders of IBM Disrupted their product...
Getting outside “the box”
As I talk with various groups many tell me that they simply can't see any White Space opportunities in their area. I tell them the opportunity is always there, you just have to see it. Their problem is too many people try to "think outside the...
Picking a Winner – Motorola v McDonald’s
On my web site I have a case study comparing Motorola and McDonald's (download paper here.) As a reader of this BLOG, it won't surprise you to guess that I think Motorola is a company for the future, and one into which you should consider investing, while...
Motorola does it again!
I recently blogged about the way Honda managed to be in so many markets, from lawn mowers to airplanes. Maybe not focused, just consistently growing revenues and profits. A very good thing for employees, suppliers, investors and customers. In that vein, I...
Personal White Space
I am not terribly mechanically inclined. Yes, I do work on lots of things I own, but I do not consider myself a skilled professional. I was surprised recently when my 18 year old son told me he was going to buy an old Jeep. "But you already have an...
Incredible Offer
Now is the time to Supersize a stock that might be in your portfolio. McDonald's has announced that it will allow every shareholder of McDonald's to swap that stock for Chipotle's - and in fact investors can received $1.11 of Chipotle's stock for every $1.00 of...
Google Growth
When I was young the word Google meant a very large number in math class. Today, Google means "to search" - or even more importantly Google represents the latest meteoric growth company. The interesting question, is Google just lucky (right...
Dell Disaster
I need to thank one of my readers for bringing to my attention a recent BusinessWeek article on Dell (see article here.) As he pointed out, this article comes almost exactly 3 months after I talked about how Dell's Lock-in was disastrous. There are some...
Consistency vs Success
Almost two years ago I published a case study comparing McDonald's and Motorola (download paper here). As a reader of this blog you know the former I don't care for, while the latter is doing all the right things. This week, the #2 fellow at McDonald's abruptly...
You win or You lose
Here in Chicago we have a convenience chain called White Hen. The stores have been a fixture in Chicago for 4 decades. But they are about to all disappear. That is, the remaining ones. Although the chain is being bought by the much larger 7-11...
Did you see it coming?
Today WalMart announced that for the first time in a decade it's quarterly earnings actually declined. The stock is down again, remaining a very poorly performing equity investment since the company peaked back around 2000. Since then, investors have not...
Follow the White Space
Once again we have the opportunity to view the tale of two companies. Both troubled, yet capable of success if they do the right things. Motorola was struggling a few years ago. Then, a new leader came on board and started Disrupting the old Success...
They’re doing what?
When I was young (40 years ago) GM and Ford made cars and trucks. Harley Davidson made big, loud motorcycles. Boeing and Cessna made airplanes. Briggs and Straton made the engines for lawn mowers and other yard equipment. Today, you pretty much can...
Creating the Evergreen Company
Everyone wants an evergreen company - one that is constantly growing and self-renewing, generating more revenues and profits year over year. One such company is Illinois Tool Works. Have you heard of it? Do you know what they do? One of the most...
Will changing leaders matter?
There has been much written lately about Carlos Ghosn. Some are thinking that with Kirk Kerkorian's urging, this fellow is likely to be the next head of GM. Of course, there's a lot required for this to happen, but would it make any difference? Mr. Ghosn...
When they do what you can’t
On July 12, McDonald's announced it was cancelling its Hot 'n Spicy McChicken sandwich. "It's not that it didn't do well. It just didn't do well enough," according to McDonald's spokesperson Bill Whitman (see Chicago Tribune article). After...
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