Somali pirates: the business model
Want to figure out how pirates think? Well, apparently the UN has gone some way to figuring it out by deciphering their business model.
Hat tip: The Browser
When are two heads better than one?
Last week, Jason Hirschhorn and Mike Jones, the new co-chief executives of MySpace, gave their first interview since taking over from Owen Van Natta. They are the second duo to gain some prominence in recent weeks. Last month, SAP, the technology company, announced its own double-headed form by appointing co-chief executives to replace a single one.
Schumpeter, the management columnist at The Economist, made the point that last week that such a model works much better in technology companies where there is a definable split between the innovation and technology functions and the sales and marketing role.
Today’s Judgment Call, the SAP heads, an academic and a PR guru all weigh in on how it can be made to work – and how it can easily go awry.
Hockey at the office – only in Canada
If Canada’s gold medal in ice hockey wasn’t enough to convince you of the country’s love of the sport, an Ontario company has taken it to another level. IT Weapons has installed a hockey rink in their office as a way both to satiate the bosses’ love of the game but also as a way to attract and retain talent.
According to Jason MacBean, the company’s chief architect: “One of our biggest challenges is retaining young, smart people, and young, smart people need a blend between their personal lives and work. The people we want to attract are people who will appreciate this,”
Meg Whitman’s unhappy relationship with the press
Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay who is now running for the Republican nomination for governor of California, is having problems with the press. It still amazes me that senior figures in business and, now politics, can’t figure out how to deal with the media. But then, I suppose I would say that, wouldn’t I.
John Lewis creates value in the community
John Lewis, the UK department store that also owns supermarket chain Waitrose, has reported annual pre-tax profits of £306.6m. I wouldn’t normally write about profit margins on this blog but John Lewis is unusual in that it is a high street brand that has done relatively well in the downturn despite being a relatively pricey option.
John Lewis is notable because its employees own the company, and partly because of that, the customer service is miles better than many of its competitors. These employees will share £151m bonus. More than that, as my colleague Michael Skapinker wrote earlier this year, it has made this ownership model work where others such as United Airlines have failed.
Can Justin Timberlake sell a car?
Celebrity endorsements are a curious thing. I get the idea – a company pays a famous person a lot of money to associate with its brand both to generate some buzz and, presumably, to make your product seem as cool, hip and trendy as the celebrity.
Still, I can’t help but wonder what value Justin Timberlake has added by unveiling the Audi A1, the carmaker’s attempt to take on the Mini, at the Geneva Motor Show. It’s a car. He’s a cool young singer. Does seeing him on stage alongside Audi CEO CEO Rupert Stadler make consumers more likely to buy the car? I’m not sure. Does it make the reporters covering the event more excited about the product being pitched? Absolutely – and maybe that, and some pics in newspapers and on blogs of the celebrity and the car, are all they are after.
As Jeremy Cato, a journalist covering the event, put it: “Many of the middle-aged male journos – especially the ones without daughters – had never heard of Timberlake, but he nicely represents the affluent, 20-something age demographic Audi is targeting with the A1.”
What’s Twitter?
An interesting set of videos over on trendwatching.com, a pretty interesting Amsterdam-based company that does what their name suggests.
The video below, “The next big thing” is particularly interesting in revealing just how quickly technology has changed the way we think, communicate and, ultimately, do business. Just over half a minute in, check out the responses to the question: “How often do you Twitter?”
Some interesting insights on branding too. Maybe it’s not as powerful as we think it is?
Lehman sisters – the untold story
Fascinating portrait of the wives of Lehman Brothers executives. They were part of a moral code that apparently flowed through the company and were a key part of the way the place worked.
The Grateful Dead, inc
Ever read a piece that makes you go hmmm? How about this: the Grateful Dead’s greatest legacy could be the business lessons it offers management academics. If I hadn’t read it in The Atlantic, I’m not sure I would have believed it.
No, really, I promise, I didn’t inhale….
Hat tip: The Browser
My favourite Super Bowl ad
The Super Bowl is the big event in advertising and this year was no exception. Google, McDonald’s and Doritos are just some of the brands that have spent a lot of money – and hired a lot of creative talent – to get their messages out there.
The one ad that stuck out for me was the ad above, for Dave Letterman’s late night talk show, which featured Letterman with Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno. For anyone who has been following the battles between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno on late night TV in the US in the past few weeks, it was kind of amazing to see Leno and Letterman on the same couch.
Thanks to the internet, you can watch all of the very impressive ads from the event if you missed the game.
PS -In a Super Bowl first, there is even a pro-life ad – see if you can spot it.
Stefan Stern writes a column on Tuesdays on management. He is winner of the 2010 Towers Watson award for excellence in HR journalism, and has previously won awards from the Work Foundation and the Management Consultancies Association.
Ravi Mattu is the editor of Business Life, the FT's management features
section, and a former editor of the Mastering Management series. He joined the FT in 2000 from Prospect magazine
Lucy Kellaway writes a column on Mondays on work , poking fun at management fads and jargon and celebrating the ups and downs of office life. She is also the FT's Agony Aunt.
Luke Johnson writes an FT column on Wednesdays on entrepreneurship. He runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and is chairman of the Royal Society of Arts.
Lucy Kellaway, FT columnist and associate editor, offers her solution to your workplace problems in a column in the Financial Times. In the online edition of her Dear Lucy 'agony aunt' column, readers are invited to have a say too.
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