From the Washington Times …
Congress overturns incandescent light bulb ban
Congressional negotiators struck a deal Thursday that overturns the new rules that were to have banned sales of traditional incandescent light bulbs beginning next year.
That agreement is tucked inside the massive 1,200-page spending bill that funds the government through the rest of this fiscal year,.
Now, back to dishwashers and clothes washers that wash?
Call me a dreamer …
I’ve gotten a couple of requests from alums to post some of the material that I’m now pitching to current classes.
So today, I’m posting the first HOT – Homa Online Tutorial – something right out of the classroom to you via the HomaFiles.
Some stuff will be classic, some will be edgy; some will be original, some will be “borrowed” from other sources (with proper attribution of course).
Here’s the first HOT topic …
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Great Strategy
In my Advanced Marketing Strategy introduction, I tell students that the course goal is to get them to “internalize a mindset geared to creating great marketing strategies.”
That raises a logical question: what’s a “great” strategy … as opposed to a “good” strategy.
I try to put “great” in the context of the 4 stages strategic thinking.
click for the online tutorial “The 4 Stages of Strategic Thinking” (4:30 min)
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Synopsis: The 4 Stages of Strategic Thinking
Companies can be at one of 4 levels of strategic thinking.
Level 1 is “reactionary” … responding to market and forces as they happen … hoping to make it through this day and see the sun come up tomorrow … and rejoicing when it does (think, my dog Captain)
Level 2 is “remedial” … proactively stop doing dumb stuff … and try doing mostly the same things, just a bit better … often by benchmarking companies with best practices and trying to emulate them. Consultants make mucho $$$ on these folks … taking the #3 company in an industry and telling them to be like #1 … in hopes of overtaking #2.
Level 3 is “resourceful” … think typical MBA training … analyze SWOTs, assess competitive advantages, find “white spaces” or “blue oceans” … basically fit the existing world and play by the rules.
Level 4 is “revolutionary” … try to change the way the game is played … alter the rules of the business to your company’s unique advantage … think, FedEx, early Netflix or Apple iPad … don’t just report the weather, create it.
You can relax … it was in India, not on M Street.
Reported in USA Today: Bootleg liquor kills 102 people in India :
Day laborers and other poor workers began falling ill late Tuesday after drinking the brew that was laced with the toxic methanol around the village of Sangrampur,India.
The tragedy began when groups of poor laborers finished work and bought some cheap homemade booze for about 10 rupees (20 cents) a half liter, less than one-third the price of legal alcohol.
The men were drinking along the roadside near the railway station, when they began vomiting, suffering piercing headaches and frothing at the mouth, Nigam said.
The death toll skyrocketed to 102, and dozens more remained hospitalized.
Police arrested four people in connection with making and distributing the methanol-spiked booze.
Highly toxic methanol can be used as a fuel, solvent and anti-freeze. (Ouch !)
Two-thirds of the alcohol consumed in the country is illegal hooch made in remote villages or undocumented liquor smuggled in.
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Despite religious and cultural taboos against drinking among Indians, 5 percent — roughly 60 million people, the population of France — are alcoholics.
Teaching point: “This Bud’s for you” … ok to go goofy, but stay safe
TakeAway: Starbucks is betting on their multiple locations and recent acquisition of a juice making company to become player in the CPG industry.
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Excerpt from WSJ: “Latest Starbucks Concoction: Juice”
Starbucks Corp. is buying a small, upscale juice maker Evolution Fresh — a deal that shows how serious the company is about transforming itself into a consumer products player.
Many packaged-food and beverage manufacturers have struggled to boost profit margins amid high marketing and commodities costs, and some brands have been pushed off store shelves entirely.
Starbucks’s business model will help it succeed where others have failed, because it can test new products in its stores before introducing them to supermarkets.
Starbucks also may not have to spend as much money on traditional marketing and customer acquisition as other food manufacturers, since it can use its stores as advertisements.
Getting a product in front of the 60 million customers who frequent Starbucks stores around the world each week is equivalent to airing a commercial on the top three television shows weekly.
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The Homa Files 