Archive for February, 2016

The GOP can still get a “true” Republican elected … here’s how.

February 29, 2016

Let’s start with some basic assumptions:

(1) Trump hijacks the GOP and wins the nomination … much to the dismay of the GOP “establishment”.

(2) Trump and Hillary fight a tightly contested toss-up race.

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So, how can the establishment get a “true” – or at least “truer” Republican elected.

It wouldn’t be easy, but it’s possible.

Let’s connect a couple of dots.

Dot #1: Politico is reporting that some big GOP donors are researching ballot-access requirements for independent candidates in case Trump wraps up the GOP nomination.

Dot #2: The electoral map and the quirks of the electoral college process.

There’s an out-of-the box way to make a “true” Republican president … really.

 

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Electoral Map

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You won’t hear this any place else, so let me explain …

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Trump, Donald | 4 Comments »

GOP: David vs. Goliath … let the games begin.

February 26, 2016

First, the disclaimers: I’m pro-Marco.

I admire Trump’s success (even if he did get an inheritance boost) …  I think that he’s entertaining, shallow, and totally unpredictable …  I expect him to win the nomination.

That said, if it’s Donald vs. Hillary … he gets my vote … in this case better the devil that I don’t know … at least he offers some prospect of an upside.

But, to be clear, Trump vs. Clinton isn’t what I’m talking about re: David vs. Goliath … that would be Goliath vs. Godzilla.

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I’m talking diminutive Marco vs. gargantuan Donald ….

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Posted in Rubio, Marco, Trump, Donald | 1 Comment »

Putting over-sized CEO pay into context …

February 25, 2016

First, I’m no apologist for CEO’s who rake-off outrageously large paychecks that no reasonable person can classify as “earned from value added”.

And, I understand that politicians like to huff, puff, lie and throw stones at fat cats.

But, when Hillary goes into her hypocritical rants about overpaid CEOs I gotta shake my head.

Prof. Mark Perry posted a great analysis debunking Clinton’s frequent riff about CEO pay being “300 times that of the average worker.”

Cutting to the chase, Perry crunched some BLS data and concludes that the ratio is more like 4-1/2 to 1 … $216,000 to $49,000

 

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Why the difference versus the 300 to 1 campaign rhetoric?

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Posted in Compensation - Executive Pay, Income Inequality | Leave a Comment »

Somebody, please explain Hillary’s firewall to me …

February 24, 2016

OK, Hillary has a firewall against the Bern in South Carolina because of that state’s Black & Hispanic populations.

Her popularity with Blacks is part historical for Democrats, part a residual from Bill Clinton and part from President Obama’s 90% approval rating among Blacks:

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Source: Gallup

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I get that.

And, I hear Hillary & Bernie ranting about income inequality, implying that it’s all the Republican’s fault.

They seem to be forgetting that President Obama has been riding herd on the economy for 7-1/2 years.

Yes, he inherited the “worst recession since the Depression”, but look what has happened since the recession ended.

Median household income for Whites has pretty much leveled out.

But, median household income for Blacks has continued to fall off.

In fact, the median household income gap between Blacks & Whites has widened since the end of the recession under President Obama’s watch.

 

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Source: CNBC

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So tell me, why the sky-high approval rating and Hillary’s firewall?

I must be missing something.

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#HomaFiles

Follow on Twitter @KenHoma            >> Latest Posts

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Posted in Clinton, Hillary, Income Inequality, Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

Cellphones: “Biggest threat to your cybersecurity”

February 23, 2016

We’re not talking Apple building a backdoor to access your encrypted info, we’re talking ordinary old cyber-criminals intercepting messages, seizing account numbers and passwords, and taking remote control of cell phones.

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According to Knowledge @ Wharton …

By 2015, more Americans are expected to access the Internet through a mobile device than a PC.

And,  45% of surveyed users do not see cybersecurity on their mobile devices as a threat in the same way as they see it on their computers.

The 55% couldn’t be more wrong.

Here’s why …

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Posted in Cybersecurity - cybercrime, Mobile devices, Privacy | Leave a Comment »

How many MBA degrees are awarded each year?

February 22, 2016

Answer: Around 200,000

The numbers  skyrocketed from the 1970s to about 2005.

The growth rate slowed a bit until 2010.

Since then, the pace has picked up again.

Since 1970, over 2 million MBAs have been conferred..

 

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Source: ”Digest of Education Statistics”

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Posted in MBA Degree, MBAs | Leave a Comment »

What do universities have in common with record labels?

February 19, 2016

Interesting article on Quartz.com tracking how “the internet’s power to unbundle content sparked a rapid transformation of the music industry” and arguing that “it’s doing the same thing to higher education today.”

Let’s start with the recorded music industry.

It’s no surprise that

The unbundling of albums in favor of individual songs was one of the biggest causes of the music industry’s decline.

It cannibalized the revenue of record labels as 99-cent songs gained popularity over $20 albums.

What did surprise me is that recording industry revenues have dropped by half from the $14 billion in 2000.

QZ Chart 1

The eroding revenues and and internet dynamics have “changed the way music labels had to operate in order to maintain profitability.”

“The traditional services of labels: identifying artists; investing in them; recording, publishing, and distributing their work; and marketing them—are now increasingly offered a la carte.”

And, talk about the top 1%  and distribution of riches …

Being a recording artist these days is a hard gig …

Pressure from labels then had downstream effects on content creators, specifically artists.

The top one 1% of artists now take home 77% of revenue, and the rest is spread across an increasing number of artists.

The pain of the record labels is forced on artists through smaller royalty payments.

Ouch.

Now, what’s the parallel to higher education?

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Posted in Digital Media, Disruptive Innovation, Education - Academics, Music | 1 Comment »

How much does IQ influence business success?

February 18, 2016

According to the latest research, IQ accounts for what portion of career success?

a. 50 to 60 percent

b. 35 to 45 percent

c. 23 to 29 percent

d. 15 to 20 percent

 

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The answer …

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Posted in EQ - Emotional Quotient, IQ - IQ Scores, Left brain - right brain, Whole brain | Leave a Comment »

Tainted donkey meat … say, what?

February 17, 2016

Believe it or not, this topic came up in a chat with students … so, I decided to reprise it. 

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Business Week ran an article titled “Keeping the Mystery Out of China’s Meat”

Can’t explain why I decided to read it.

 

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But, I did … and here’s what caught my eye.

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Posted in Food & Drink, Laughs, Walmart | 2 Comments »

Nums: What percentage of Americans prepare their own taxes? How many of them like it?

February 16, 2016

According to Pew Research …

Overall, 33% of Americans say they do their own taxes while 56% say someone else prepares their taxes.

  • Note 1: 11% don’t know who does their taxes or were befuddled by the question
  • Note 2: The folks in the 11% get to vote in Presidential elections (ouch!)

A majority of Americans (56%) have a negative reaction to doing their income taxes 1 in 4  say they hate doing them.

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Among those who dislike or hate doing their taxes, most cite the hassles of the process or the amount of time it takes:

About a third (34%) say they either like (29%) or love (5%) doing their taxes.

Here are some details re: the “likers” and lovers … 

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Posted in Polls & Surveys, Taxes | Leave a Comment »

About those late night emails …

February 12, 2016

A couple of weeks ago, there was a local bruhaha.

One lady sent a snitty email late at night to a club mailing list.

One of the recipients – who had been sipping wine all night – took offense, and shot back a nuclear-rated reply… to the whole list, of course.

A major cat-fight broke out … wasn’t pretty.

.Got me thinking more generally about about late night emails …

 

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And, by coincidence, the Harvard Business Review just published an article on the topic.

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Posted in Digital behavior, Email, Workplace | Leave a Comment »

A couple of post-New Hampshire snapshots…

February 11, 2016

Cruz, Bush & Rubio were only separated by about 1 percentage point and each of the 3 walked away with the same number of delegates.

Kamikaze Christie trailed Rubio by more than 3 percentage points and headed back to NJ with no delegates …

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Bernie Sanders shot some hoops before his victory speech.

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Whatever Bernie eats, I want some.

That dude has stamina ….

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And, a couple of pics that sum up the final election ….

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Posted in 2016 Campaign, Clinton, Hillary, Trump, Donald | 1 Comment »

Hillary gets shlonged (again) …

February 10, 2016

Talk about about a smackdown …

Clinton camp was hoping to keep the margin within single-digits … didn’t happen.

New Hampshire voters were feelin’ the Bern, for sure.

Ranting more credibly against Wall Street’s 1-percenters and offering even more stuff for free than Hillary, Sanders coasted.

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Here are a couple of voting details that caught my eye …

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Posted in Clinton, Bill, Clinton, Hillary | Leave a Comment »

Strategy: What’s your market? Who are your competitors?

February 9, 2016

We’re covering market definition in class this week, so it’s time to pull from the archives …

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Sounds like an easy question with an obvious answer, right?

Not really.

Sometimes, properly defining the market is a stumbling block for strategists.

Harvard guru Clayton Christensen tries to cut to the crux with a simple principle:

People “hire” products to do “jobs”

The jobs are situation-specific problems that customers have to resolve.

Christensen says that the best way to define (and segment) is based on “jobs to be done”.

He calls the approach “milkshake marketing”  …. the 5-minute video explains why.

 

Here’s a more rigorous definition of the “Jobs to be DOne” Framework …

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Posted in Christensen, Clayton, Strategy | Leave a Comment »

Marco: Here’s what you should have said …

February 8, 2016

Disclaimer: I’m a Rubio fan since he has brains & stage presence (usually) … which should translate to electability.

So, I was stunned that he was under-prepped for Saturday’s debate … and got steam-rolled by Christie.

Christie’s points re: accomplishments, accountability and leadership are legitimate … and certainly should have been expected.

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Obviously, Marco could have handled the onslaught more effectively.

Here’s how …

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Christie, Gov. Chris, Debates, Rubio, Marco | Leave a Comment »

All the news that fits, we print.

February 5, 2016

Making the email rounds: the state mainstream print media …

1.  The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2.  The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

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3.  The New York Times …

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Posted in Mainstream Media - MSM, Newspapera | 1 Comment »

Math Trix: So, exactly how lucky is Hillary?

February 4, 2016

I know that this doesn’t matter from a political perspective… Bernie stands zero chance of winning the nomination.

But I think that the math is interesting … made me dust off my recollections of combinatorial probabilities.

Just in case you’ve been asleep for the past couple of days (or get all of your news from the NY Times), Hillary squeaked by Bernie in Iowa … I mean, really squeaked.

The ending tally was that Hillary got credit for 701 delegates and Bernie got credit for 697.

How those final totals were concocted is very interesting.

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Here’s the scoop … and the stats.

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Posted in 2016 Campaign, Statistics - Probabilities | Leave a Comment »

“Going to hell in a handbasket” … say, what?

February 3, 2016

This week, a poll finally asked a question that really cuts to the chase:

Which better describes how you feel about the way things are going in the world these days?

  • a) Things are going to hell in a handbasket
  • b) Everything will be alright
  • c) Don’t know

 

 

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Started me wondering:

What’s up with a goofy idiom like “going to hell in a handbasket”?

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Posted in Idioms, Language - Slang, Polls & Surveys | 2 Comments »

Trump: “I got shlonged, eh?”

February 2, 2016

Ok, he didn;t say it (but he should have).

And, Hillary didn’t say it (but she could have).

And the NY tabloids didn’t say  it (a missed opportunity).

The NY Daily News did demonstrate some good old NY values in their headline today:

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And, in my opinion, the NY Post hit the nail on the head:

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Couple of quick takes:

Conventional wisdom was that Cruz blew it with his “New York values” remark … especially when Trump cleverly tied it to 9-11.

It wasn’t about 9-11, it was about pushy arrogance …  you know, bullying … the “we’re smart, rest of America is dumb” bravado.

Geez, the mainstream media missed that one …. but the dumb folks in Iowa picked up on it.

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Then there’s the sophomoric “born in Canada” rift.

Trump probably figured that slight would work … after all, he killed Bush by simply characterizing him as” low energy’ … being born in Canada has got to be worse than that, right?

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Speaking of Bush … here’s a grand irony.

Trump buried any hopes Jeb had to become President.

So, what does Jeb do?

He spends 10s of millions of dollars trying to scorch Rubio.

What’s the outcome?

Well, the attack ads were probably just enough to keep Marco from beating Trump out for the #2 finish.

If Trump had finished 3rd, it might have been fatal to his “I’m a winner” campaign pitch.

But, as 1st runner-up, he lives to campaign another day.

So, it may turn out that Jeb was a king-maker … with the crown going to his nemesis.

Ironic, right?

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#HomaFiles

Follow on Twitter @KenHoma            >> Latest Posts

 

Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Trump, Donald | Leave a Comment »

Reprise: How Beef-Loving Voters Can Get Tofu (aka Trump) for President

February 1, 2016

This is from the HomaFiles archives – one of my favs.

The original WSJ article was inspired by Clinton’s win over elder Bush (the Perot factor), younger Bush’s win over Gore (the Nader factor), and Jesse Ventura’s gov win in Minnesota.

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The analysis has relevancy these days, given the way that the not-Trump vote is being carved thin among many GOP presidential contenders.

Let’s see how Iowa turns out tonight …

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Posted in Election - 2012, Elections - General, Politics - General | Leave a Comment »