BLOG OF ADAM HARTUNG
No Silver Lining
There is no silver lining to hurricane Katrina. The storm has laid waste to a huge area, killed thousands and left many thousands more with no homes or income. The nation's infrastructure has been greatly harmed. There's nothing good to be said about...
White Collar Blues
There's a new book out that's well worth reading. Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich. There's a great review (in case you don't have time to read the whole book right now) In the Chicago Tribune by a University of Chicago Professor of history - Eric...
Insight on Page 3
How do you read the trends in a business from the outside? Look at the articles on page 3. We all read the headlines. But headlines are dictated by what's relatively interesting TODAY. This short-term phenomenon is not a good way to interpret...
Tides vs. Tsunamis
Last Christmas we were horrified by videos of people who went out to pick up shells on the beach in Thailand only to be overwhelmed by the tsunami which rushed in and created total devastation. Some people (most) thought the situation was a mere outgoing tide...
Oops! for the Oracle
Warren Buffet is often called the Oracle of Omaha. His track record at making money for investors in his company - Berkshire Hathaway - was remarkable for several years. Many have heard the story about how a mere $1,000 invested inthe late 1970's is worth...
What outsiders can see
Today's Chicago Tribune had a front-page article on declining innovation in the midwest (Illinois Could Use a Few Good Edisons). Rightly so that this should make the front page and not just the business section. Declining innovation is often a harbinger of...
They never see it coming
Some of you may remember the old war movies in which the soldiers say "it's the bullet you don't hear that gets you." There have been a lot of movies in which the people who are killed make the point that it's not what you see that gets you, it's what...
Lock-in is painful
This story hurts almost too much to tell. This last spring a friend of mine for 25 years called asking for help with his small 2-year old business. He was competing in a fiercely competitive wireless data marketplace, where the rewards were potentially huge but...
Flexible Entrepreneurship
Since you're reading this on-line, odds are very high you're reading it via Internet Explorer from Microsoft - your web browser. Do you remember who invented the first web browser and took it to market? Spyglass - a Chicago company. They were rapidly...
A Tale of Two Turnarounds
Motorola announced a great profit leap this week. Sales keep going up in all markets, and most notably sales of Motorola handsets have been gaining share. It was just 2 years ago that most analysts had given up on Motorola. They tagged the company as...
Apple’s Risk of Success
Apple Computer has done something rather amazing. Fewer than 10% of companies that hit a growth stall ever regain growth. But Apple has done it spectacularly. Just a few years ago Apple was described as one company caught in the grips of the...
Dieing for Results
Today Bernie Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison. For some it is seen as a signal to all CEOs they had better not commit fraud. For others it's revenge for the ruination of a large corporation. For others it's yet another sign of America's...
If pigs could fly…
Can you recognize a leadership team (and business) in the Whirlpool? Today's Chicago Tribune quoted UAL as saying their losses were the result of "brutal" fuel costs. If it just wasn't for those darn high fuel prices, why they could...
Vegas Big Mac Attack
McDonald's is spending $20M this week to feel better about itself. Unfortunately, it won't help shareholders. McDonald's hit a growth stall 4 years ago, and ever since has been trying to use Defend & Extend management to regain growth. That's...
Transitions are Tough
Readers of my BLOGs might think I am always opposed to layoffs. It is true that the majority of layoffs are efforts to Defend & Extend outdated Success Formulas with short-term cost reductins that do not effectively address Challenges. Those layoffs...
Acquiring Right
It's easy to beat up on old businesses. But lately, a very old business is making some very smart moves. The venerable New York Stock Exchange came under some severe attacks last year. It Chairman was accused of improper compensation and the Exchange Board...
The 5 mph bullet
GM is cutting another quarter of its workforce. That's really not too surprising an announcement, given what's been made public about the company this year. What is amazing is how so few people saw it coming. There are lots of pundits screaming about...
Too big to learn?
WalMart is an amazing company. From a small rural store a behomoth of retailing emerged in just a few years. No one seems able to compete with WalMart in discounting. Despite its success, WalMart is now struggling to grow. Poor revenue growth has...
What goes up will come down
HP's stock is destined to jump in the next few weeks. What will benefit short-term investors is bound to cost long-term employees, suppliers and investors. HP's new leader is indicating HP will benefit from deep layoffs and cost restructuring. The CFO is...
Shoot at the big target
Poor GM. When you're a big target, lots of people find it easy to take their shots at you. No doubt GM is in trouble. But there are few pundits offering solutions for GM's woes. And no one knows what Mr. Kerkorian is likely to do. The most...
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