Archive for September 1st, 2010

Germany’s fiscal austerity creating jobs … hmmm

September 1, 2010

I haven’t seen these 2 pieces of information tied together any where else …

In June, German Chancellor Merkel announced a massive austerity program.

President Obama tried to jawbone her out of it and have her follow his lead and spend, spend, spend.

The German government unveiled the largest package of austerity measures in the country’s history, with deep cuts in social welfare programs and the public sector.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced an unprecedented austerity package involving initial spending cuts of 11.2 billion euros . The government hopes to save 80 billion euros by 2014.

Deutsch Welle, German government unveils unprecedented austerity plan, 07.06.2010
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5658604,00.html

Germany’s unemployment rate has been dropping … and is now a full 2 points lower than the U.S.’s

The German unemployment rate was stable in August at 7.6 percent of the workforce,  as the number of people seeking work edged slightly lower to 3.188 million people. Europe’s biggest economy continues to power out of its worst post-war recession.

It was the 14th monthly decline in a row and left the unemployment rate at close to a two-year low point.

“The clear rebound of the German economy continues to translate positively onto the jobs market.”

AFP: German official unemployment rate stable at 7.6%, Aug. 31, 2010

So, what are you going to believe – our government models that say that the Stimulus is working – or Germany’s real life experience with an austerity plan.

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Posted in Employment - Jobs | 6 Comments »

All MBAs are simply clones … so predictable!

September 1, 2010

Just finished reading two books that started with a similar observation – that products and brands are becoming commoditized — then prescribed radically different remedies.

In Outsmart the MBA Clones, Dan Herman argues MBA degree holders are all clones who studied the same materials, learned the same analytical techniques, and oversimplify everything.  He suggests using nuanced research to differentiate your products “at the margin” – adding distinctive features to separate from competition.

That sounded OK to me until I read Different by HBS Prof Youngme Moon.  She argues that  companies are so focused on their competitors and competitive benchmarking that all competitors quickly converge on similarity, becoming “heterogeneously homogenized” – adding superfluous product benefits that are apparent only to category expects.

Her answer: don’t get mired in all of the tradition (and predictable) research methods.  Step back and let your intuition (counter-intuition) drive big idea brands and products.

One of her notions: “reduced brands”. Stripping products of all but their potent and necessary features & benefits … and then adding back in some features or benefits that are unexpected.

Her poster child: IKEA … stripped out in-store service,and delivery, outsourced assembly to customers, and made no claims of quality or durability … but added back in the “personal journey” of finding the right product and the “personal fulfillment” of screwing the stuff together when you get it home.

So, should we be adding bells & whistles at the margin or stripping out the ones that are already there ?

I report, you decide.

Posted in Mktg - Brands, Mktg - Product & Innovation | Leave a Comment »

Which Senators said: “Surge is wrong …”?

September 1, 2010

There were several … most notably Joe “Trifurcate the Country” Biden and Barack Obama.

Since BHO neglected to mention in last nite’s speech, here’s a clip. 

Gotta love Youtube … 

Posted in Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »