Getting Stronger With The Competition

I’ve been following Starbucks expansion in the US and am quite impressed with their expansion now into Russia. What impressed me more is a statement from Martin Coles, President of Starbucks International saying: “We do not spend a great deal of time focusing on our competition. The growth of other coffee chains can actually help Starbucks by increasing the overall coffee market. We are at our best when we have some competition.”

Continue Reading >> Share to FaceBook Tweet It Share to Google+ Share to LinkedIn

Which Teacher Would You Want Teaching Your Kids?

Alright, alright now. Before you go and dismiss surveys as a needed interpretation tool (because I told you so in my previous post) check this out as also reported in the wsj: A study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research and prepared by Duke University professors found that teachers with master degrees had no impact on students performance regarding their math and reading year-end standardized exams. The factors that had impact were: experience in classroom, attending competitive undergraduate...

Continue Reading >> Share to FaceBook Tweet It Share to Google+ Share to LinkedIn

How Conclusive Are These Surveys?

The WSJ reported a study which was conducted at UCLA and concluded that women are “chattier” than men by 3% (I know my wife would debate that.) It also suggested that muscular men are twice as likely to have more than three sex partners than their less muscular buddies. So I ask the following: What segment of the population was tested? What was their age group? How many were tested? What was their ethnic background? What part of the country...

Continue Reading >> Share to FaceBook Tweet It Share to Google+ Share to LinkedIn

When and How Is The Time to Grow Your Company?

An interview in the Wall Street Journal with John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, caught my attention. Below are the top five points: Focus on markets transition and try to catch them at the right time. Enter new markets with a sustainable differentiation. Listen and take direction from your customers. Develop a strong leadership team. Innovate, innovate, innovate. So how do you know it’s the right time to enter or exit a market and how do you know you have the...

Continue Reading >> Share to FaceBook Tweet It Share to Google+ Share to LinkedIn