In the middle of 2010, Tom Sesti decided he needed to do something about the cost pressures that had been plaguing his business, Bandals. Based in Rochester, Mich., the company had introduced a product, women’s sandals with interchangeable decorative tops, soon after the economic crisis hit in 2008. Almost immediately, the five-employee company was hit with cost increases of 15 to 30 percent for manufacturing and raw materials. (The New York Times)
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Think an overseas work assignment gives you a lock on a senior role? Think again – and start packing your bags. As the process of bringing products to market involves an increasingly global web of commerce, managers gunning for the C-suite should be ready to complete multiple stints abroad. (Wall Street Journal)
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Understand the unique brain and personality types of your employees to keep them invested in work. You'll see amazing results. (Inc.)
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It was a simple plan. McDonald’s would pay to appear at the top of the trends list on Twitter’s home page, using the social-media site to drive people to its new commercials highlighting some of the real-life farmers and ranchers who supply McDonald’s with its ingredients. Executives at the fast-food company loved the commercials; the word in-house was "authenticity." (The New York Times)
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Forget two weeks on a tropical island: Try to just shut off this one program on your computer, for a remarkable change of heart rate and stress hormones. (Inc.)
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Recently, I’ve had the chance to see a number of alumni, many of whom wanted to share their job and job search successes with me. The common thread that comes through in these conversations is the importance of networking. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
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The new leaders in France and Greece should reassure the markets that they're willing to work within the existing framework of agreements and that they're committed to the Euro. (Fortune)
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Spain took over Bankia, the country's fourth biggest lender, on Wednesday, trying to dispel concerns over the government's ability to clean up the financial sector four years after the banks were hit by a property market crash. (Reuters)
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Free labor? Great. Free labor from top M.B.A. students? Even better. For decades, companies have relied on business-school students to be unpaid consultants, assessing takeover or expansion opportunities. It is low risk and high reward for firms, with almost no financial outlay and a number of fresh new ideas from eager up-and-comers. (Wall Street Journal)
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Private schools are getting flooded with financial aid applications, and a growing number of the parents seeking help are earning $150,000 or more a year. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
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Registration will open in the coming weeks, so start making your plans now to join us in Indianapolis Sept. 25-29. Registering early gives you access to discounted rates, the best hotel options and first pick of key educational sessions. Stay tuned for more information!
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In 2010 Oracle accused Google of pilfering its intellectual property (IP) for use in the Android mobile platform. It has since presented oodles of forensic evidence, including e-mails among Google executives and bits of allegedly copied program code. On May 7th a federal jury in San Francisco found in its favor. Sort of. (The Economist)
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For the CEOs of companies such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard, talk of cyberweapons and cyberwar could have been abstract. But at a classified security briefing in spring 2010, it suddenly became quite real. (NPR)
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Here's a quick quiz for you. Is it easier to get A: 1% of a huge, established market?
or B: 100% of a completely new one? If you work for Apple, you might have picked B. But too often when companies embark on innovation projects, they pick A: that is, they start by believing that nothing could be easier than to capture a small chunk of a very big, existing market. (Harvard Business Review)
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If you’re like most people, you're looking for a way to build a secure future of steady and strong wealth. If you fund your business with a self-directed 401(k), building that security and wealth may be easier than you think. (Portfolio)
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Retailers are trying to make smartphones work for them instead of against them. Take Maurices. The women's clothing chain last month started sending promotions to the phones of people who come within a few hundred yards of its stores. Consumers who opt in to the service are sent messages about in-store sales. There is little evidence that sort of marketing actually works, but Maurices wants to give it a shot, in hopes of drawing people to the chain's bricks and mortar locations. (Wall Street Journal)
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In Britain, if you want to sell your home, an estate agent will list the property, find a buyer, help you negotiate a deal and guide you through the transaction, all for a commission of 2-3% of the sale price. In America, realtors provide the same services for roughly double the fee. (The Economist)
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Prepaid cards are wildly popular. But if you're in the market for one, it's important to know what you're signing up for. Here are some factors to consider. (CNN/Money)
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Customers seeking the best deals may have to pester their friends.Some of the latest coupons from retailers and other businesses can only be activated by sharing them with Facebook friends or Twitter followers. And the deals grow even more valuable when customers convince members of their network to buy in, too. (SmartMoney)
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The Walt Disney Co. CEO is the steward for some of the most valuable names on the planet, and we're not just talking about Mickey and Minnie but also ESPN, ABC, Marvel, and Pixar. An inside look at how he runs the entertainment factory. (CNN/Money)
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Two years to the day after it announced its merger with Continental Airlines, United is lagging its competitors among the legacy carriers by most any financial measure or service metric. The airline's fractured employee groups are unhappy, and C-suite executives are bolting. Many of its best and most profitable customers are in open revolt, and average travelers are filling United's Facebook page with tales of woe. The airline's management seems alternately clueless and arrogant and unwilling or unable to fix what's gone awry. (Portfolio)
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In a court ruling with significant implications for the music industry, a California judge has dismissed a suit by two song publishing companies aimed at preventing Victor Willis, former lead singer of the 1970s disco group the Village People, from exercising his right to reclaim ownership of "YMCA" and other hit songs he wrote. (The New York Times)
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The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service sought Wednesday to tamp down concern over wide-scale cuts, revealing it will seek to keep thousands of rural post offices open with shorter hours. (NPR)
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Internship programs have gotten a lot of flack of late. They are not free labor. They shouldn't be treated as such, and quite frankly, they aren't anyway. Management is time, which equals money. "Returns" (people seeking second careers) and interns can be an amazing, long-term asset to your company. They can save you thousands or even millions of dollars. (Fast Company)
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Emerging markets are shifting the balance of economic power, and for multinationals, a "business as usual" approach will no longer suffice. (Strategy + Business)
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NestPix, one of the latest startups to emerge from Baltimore's vibrant tech scene, helps homeowners track renovations--and protect the value of their homes. (Fast Company)
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