Raging Academic Notes on... Business

Kao, Moore, Metcalfe, Gilder - Four Important Laws Demonstrating the Impact of Technology

2010-04-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Following are four important laws that demonstrate the impact of technology through innovation and creativity:

1) Kao's Law - Creativity - Creativity rises exponentially with diversity; hence, the more diverse a population, the more creative it becomes.
2) Moore's Law - Processing Power - The power of computing will continue to double approximately every 18 months, while the price of computing power will halve over the same period.
3) Metcalfe's Law - Networks - The value of a network is the square of its nodes; applies to social networks as well - hence the disproportionate growth in the power of social networks such as Linkedin and Facebook once a certain critical mass is reached. Also consider the immense power each additional member adds after a certain point...
4) Gilder's Law - Bandwidth - Available telecom bandwidth will triple every 12 months. If we can freely stream video to every household now - what will we be able to do in a decade???

Familiar with any other groundbreaking rules worth mentioning?
Post a comment!

Visualizing the Impossible

2010-04-27T09:10:00.001-07:00

"Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible."

Cheri Carter-Scott

How to Pitch your Idea, Business, Yourself!

2010-04-24T04:57:00.000-07:00

Four easy stages to pitch fluently:

1. Take the time to construct a succinct, single sentence explanation of your idea, your business, yourself - whatever it is that you are trying to pitch - this is commonly known as the "elevator pitch"
2. Know your pitch cold, be able to repeat it if wakened from your sleep
3. Show passion when you pitch!
4. Visualize your success!!

What to do with the iPad?!

2010-04-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you who had not had the privilege of coming across George Colony's writings as yet - George is the CEO of Forrester, and he writes a nice little blog "For the Counterintuitive CEO"

Mr. Colony hits the iPad problem right on the head - there is simply nowhere left to put it...position that, eh? :-)

For more Forrester blogs see http://blogs.forrester.com/

Great Blog on Creating Customer Experiences

2010-03-31T15:18:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Weaver has been very consistent in publishing her blog on creating great customer experiences; although the focus is on creating such experiences mainly in museums and other cultural institutions of note - there is a lot here for every marketer and business person to learn from!

Great Examples of Major Product Flops

2010-03-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Great product flops courtesy of Fast Company.

For some more excellent examples from the dot.com era pick up Philip J. Kaplan's F'd Companies.

But never forget, failure begets success.
Those who don't fail - haven't tried.
Those who haven't tried - never succeed.

Search Strategies for the Web and Databases - Part III

2010-03-27T03:37:00.001-07:00

(previously published as "Search Strategies for the Web and Databases - Part IV" on Raging Academic Notes on... Marketing)

A Brief Introduction to Boolean Search Strategies

The following tips should help improve your search capabilities several-fold, and you can use them on almost all Web and database search engines (e.g. databases available through academic and public libraries such as Proquest and ABI/Inform etc. - typically you can gain access to some of these types of resources from your home PC through a simple Internet connection) - the good news, however, is that if an engine doesn't support these options - it'll just ignore them.

1) Use quotes to specify terms - if you want to search for material about online marketing, for example, search for
"online marketing" (with the quotes)
rather than just -
online marketing (note - without the quotes).

The quotes will guarantee that the engine only returns pages where "online marketing" appears as a phrase, rather than returning every page on the Web or in the database where both "online" and "marketing" happen to appear.

2) Use "And" to further focus your search - for example, say you were only interested in "online marketing" of books - your search should look as follows -

"online marketing" and books

This kind of search will only return sites that include the term "online marketing" and also the word "books"

3) Use "Or" if you're trying to limit a search, as above, but would like to try a few different options - for example, perhaps you're searching for material on wine but don't care if it's red or white - try searching on the following combination -

"white wine" or "red wine"

This type of a search will return any page where either "white wine" or "red wine" can be found

4) Use parentheses to organize and combine searches. Let's return to the "online marketing" searches - say you're interested in online marketing of various types of media. Media can include books, CDs, videos and DVDs (among many other formats). You could structure a search as follows -

"online marketing" and (books or CDs or videos or DVDs)

The parentheses help ensure that your search is executed in the order you would like it to be - just like one would use parentheses in a mathematical calculation if you wanted to ensure that addition is completed prior to multiplication etc.

5) Use a negative sign "-" to exclude sites that include specific words or phrases - suppose for the above search you notice that most of the results in the first few pages are coming from McGraw Hill's site, but you want to get to results from other sites - run the search again, as follows -

"online marketing" and (books or CDs or videos or DVDs) -www.mcgrawhill.com

...and - voila - you should only receive search results that exclude pages from McGraw Hill's site.

In summary...

Search strategies can get a lot more intricate and complicated than the little that we've covered here. But - you've got to start somewhere. Typically successful searches will require some degree of iteration. Stay tuned to this space for more elaborate advice about successful search in the near future - and please don't hesitate to ask for clarifications, and to offer your own hints and tips, by responding to this post.

Steiner's Law of Competitive Survival

2010-03-25T03:02:00.000-07:00

Steiner's Law of Competitive Survival: "The more information there will be out there, the more you will have to differentiate yourself to be able to compete effectively." (C)(big time...)

Google is now listing hotel prices on Google Maps...

Can you begin to fathom what this means for the hotel industry???

Let's get analytic...the competitive effort required to maintain the same position increases with the reach and scope of the network. That means that the effort required to continue to grow increases logarithmically??

Rainmaking...Changemaking...Some Key Tips for Effecting Change and Driving Innovation

2010-03-25T02:38:00.000-07:00

Here are six great pointers on driving change, adapted from HBR's Management Tip of the Day (March 25 2010):

+ Connect people who have common interests but don't know each other.
...use Linkedin, Facebook
...make a successful connection and you strengthen your own!
+ Create innovative new business models by bringing together people and resources in new ways.
...almost everything ever created was derived from something that existed before
...try to look at things in new ways!
+ Keep driving forward with your ideas (granted that you believe in them!) until you find success.
...don't necessarily stick to the same idea
...be flexible
...remember that failure begets success!
+ In the networked age, ideas frequently are more powerful than credentials
...don't give up on someone just because he didn't go to the right school...
+ Recruit supporters early on in the change and/or innovation process
...it's tough to go it all alone!
+ Delegate, delegate, delegate!
...empower others to effect change
...provide a safety net

Search Strategies for the Web and Databases - Part II

2010-03-24T04:06:00.001-07:00

Keeping on top of new developments in the search space

Basically, one Web site, and one newsletter, started by Danny Sullivan, the guru of search, more than ten years ago - should suffice to keep you on top of the search space. The newsletter link will lead you to a page where you can sign up for Search Engine Watch's paid service - or just for the free service. The value-add vs. the free version is not incredibly substantial for those of you not following the space profesionally; analysts etc. will definitely want to for-fee newsletter. There is also a Search Engine Watch blog, of course...

Danny himself has gone on to start Search Engine Land - destined to be a terrific search resource as well, I'm sure. I've been following Danny since back when I was Director of Marketing for Data Research Associates (DRA, acquired by SIRSI spring 2001 - now SirsiDynix), so I should know :-)

Google has its own blog where you can check out what the search behemoth is up to. If you look down the rightside column of GoogleBlog you will see a long list of other Google blogs, as well as a list of blogs and newsletters the Google team finds to be useful.

Google Labs is another wonderful source for new and exciting developments - check it out to see what may become actual product a few months or years hence.

Not to be outdone, Yahoo! has developed its own labs site.

If you would like to recommend any other great search sites, write me! (by posting a comment to this note)
Ragingacademic

Henry Mintzberg on Management

2010-03-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Henry Mintzberg is one of the top authorities on management worldwide. His personal Web site is quite a resource and offers a lot of material in support of his books, papers and articles.

Search Strategies for the Web and Databases - Part I

2010-03-19T02:25:00.000-07:00

Search Strategies for the Web and Databases - Part I
(previously published in 2006 on Raging Academic Notes on... Marketing)

In the next few days I'll be posting, in parts, an edited version of a guide I had been providing my students with since 2002. In this first part I'll try and give you a taste for the type and logic of search resources available to you through the Web. The second part will provide lists of what I perceive to be the best search engines and directories available. The third installment will include tips on how to keep abreast of new developments in the search and research space. The fourth and last installment will include a short tutorial on Boolean searching.

So - What kind of search resources are available on the Web?

Asked to name a search engine, most people would likely come up with either Yahoo! or Google. But Yahoo! and Google are as different from each other as night and day... Yahoo! is a directory - typically, directories work by cataloging entries that Web site owners and other interested parties submit. Therefore, if you don't submit your Web site to a given directory, you don't exist in that directory. But in the case of Yahoo!, even if you do submit your site, you may not appear in their directory... Why? A number of reasons. Yahoo! has cut back significantly on manpower in its directory department, and has built up a several months-long backlog (if not longer...), so they may just about be getting around to approving and cataloging sites submitted mid-year (if that). Some sites, Yahoo! librarians won't approve - or they won't approve them for the classifications for which they were submitted. And, Yahoo! has gotten into the nasty habit of trying to charge everyone for everything that they once happily provided for free (because they used to earn umpteen-hundred million dollars a quarter from Web-vertising! For an interesting perspective on Yahoo's new attitude, see for example Fast Company - http://www.fastcompany.com/online/60/jellis.html).

Google, on the other hand, is a true search engine. To appear in a search engine's results, you don't have to submit your site - in fact, in many instances, you can't. Rather, you need to structure your site in a way that will make it easy for search engine "spiders" and "crawlers" to find you. Spiders and crawlers are softbots (for software robots...) which "live" on the Web and constantly search and traverse Web sites, continuously feeding their "owners" (the search engine companies, typically...) with data. In order to ensure that such softbots find your site, you can employ many different strategies, beginning with well-defined and well-targeted "meta tags" in your html source code. An entire industry has sprung up around the very idea of developing strategies that will improve the chances such engines will find you - and that when individuals go to search for something relevant to you, your site will appear among the very top hits.

Search engines use various algorithms to index the Web - Google uses an algorithm called PageRank (after one of the company's co-founders, Larry Page) - but most engines index only a fraction of it; by some estimates, more than 70% of the Web is never returned in a search, meaning that effectively, unless you know of a specific site or page and go there directly - you'll probably never come across it. Google indexes more of the Web than any other search engine, and indexes it in a more efficient manner, which is why you are guaranteed to get results back lightnin' fast.

To summarize this section, then - there are basically two types of search resources on the Web - search engines and directories. Engines are better when you have less of an idea of what it is you are looking for, and vice versa. For example, if I am trying to locate the Web site for American Airlines, my best bet is probably to head over to Yahoo and search for "American Airlines" - Yahoo pulls the "American Airlines" category directly from its directory; click on it and you will be whisked off to a page that includes several links to "American Airlines" sites. But if I am looking for information about, say, "tropical birds" - I'm much better off heading over to Google - I'll get a much richer and more up-to-date result set. In other words, engines are good for a subject or concept search, while directories work better for "object" searches (company, person, product and so forth).

On writing emails that get read...

2010-03-19T02:13:00.000-07:00

I write A LOT of emails...and I'm always wondering what % of them get read, what % get proper follow-up, etc. There are some simple things you can do to increase the likelihood your emails get read - for example, ALWAYS use the SUBJECT LINE (it's truly unbelievable how often I receive emails from people who are supposed to be Net-savvy - yet they fire off email after email without a subject line!)

Here are some more useful tips...

Passionate Leadership

2010-03-18T07:51:00.001-07:00

Great comments from Cameron (director) and Jobs (no need...) on passionate leadership - and a passionate discussion to boot.

Average American Worker Wasting >25% of each Workday!

2009-03-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

Average American Worker Wasting More than 25% of each Workday!

The average American worker wastes over 2 hours each day.
The internet is the biggest time suck with 44.7% of Americans ranking it as their primary time-wasting activity.
Socializing with co-workers also ranks high with 23.4%.
Why all this time wasting?
33.2% of respondents say they don't have enough work to do and 23.4% say they feel underpaid.

Definitely some things to think about...

Ten Simple and Succinct Tips for Better Presentations

2008-03-21T20:57:00.001-07:00

Jon Greer shares ten great tips for better presentations.

http://blogs.bnet.com/pr/?p=184
http://blogs.bnet.com/pr/?p=185&loomia_si=t0:a3:g2:r1:c0.5382&tag=loomia

83-year-old Billionaire Serial Entrepreneur Dishes Out Business Advice

2008-01-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

Mann Power
Los Angeles, California
Smart Business
November 2005

Al Mann, the billionaire founder of Advanced Bionics (cochlear implants), dishes out management wisdom in this profile by Laura Taxel. Mann founded several companies among them Spectrolab (electrooptical systems, 1956 - today a subsidiary of Boeing), Heliotek (semiconductors, spacecraft solar cells), Pacesetter Systems (pacemakers, sold to St. Jude Medical), MiniMed (insulin pumps, sold to Medtronics), Mannkind Corporation, Second Sight, Bioness, Quallion, and Stellar Microelectronics.

Referring to the major elements required to create a successful business enterprise, Mann says, "Capital is most important, I can’t emphasize that enough...The failure of most promising businesses is usually due to inadequate funds for the start-up and early growth phase of the enterprise."

Communicating Vision

2007-12-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

A common vision is the key to a productive, efficient and highly motivated team. But communicating a vision to the team is often challenging. The following story, quoted from Annette Simmons' excellent The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of Storytelling, helps explain the succinctness of a vision:

A man came upon a construction site where three people were working.

He asked the first, "What are you doing?" and the man answered, "I am laying bricks."

He asked the second, "What are you doing?" and the man answered, "I am building a wall."

He walked up to the third man, who was humming a tune as he worked [not sure why this is relevant, lol...] and asked, "What are you doing?" and the man stood up and said, "I am building a cathedral." (p. 16-17)

The vision brings all of the elements of a project - or of one's work in general - together, providing employees with the roots of their effort. Without vision an employee or team member is much like a tree without roots. I have found the bricks-to-wall-to-cathedral metaphor to be particularly powerful.

Perspectives on the Death of Capitalism - Part I

2007-07-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

Following are some notes on the death of capitalism -

+ Marx was first to call for the death of capitalism – The Communist Manifesto (1847), Das Kapital (1867)
+ Herbert Stein, a former chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and an American Enterprise Institute fellow, claims that capitalism died with the advent of federal taxes (Stein, 1992). Using this rationale, one could date the death of capitalism to 1862, when the first federal income tax was imposed (during the American Civil War). However, this first tax was later repealed.
+ In 1913, Congress passed the 16th amendment to the constitution, authorizing the federal government to impose income taxes (Stein, 1992). Stein fervently believes that this was the beginning of the end of capitalism. Note that the first income tax was a paltry 2% and was applied only to the wealthiest Americans – a far cry from today! According to Stein, capitalism in the US died with Bush’s tax increase in 1990, a tax increase that was equivalent to 0.5% of GNP and led the country into recession. Stein equates federal taxation with totalitarian communism, and says that (today) ”It is taxes that make the world go round – or keep it from going round.”
+ In 1996, Lester Thurow, a widely respected economist and a Professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Business, published “The Future of Capitalism” (Thurow, 1996). Thurow does not so much call for the death of capitalism as much as for the end of capitalism as we know it.
- According to Thurow, there are five fundamental macroeconomic forces that will shape world markets in the 21st century –
* The end of communism – and the need to digest about one-third of humanity into a mostly capitalist system
* Shift to the information economy – and the geographical freedom “Man-made brainpower industries” allow for
* A new demography, characterized by two major trends:
> Massive migration from poor to rich countries, exactly when non-skilled labor is no longer needed
> New, very large class of elderly retired people in capitalist economies who depend on government payments for most of their income
* A global economy – “anything can be made anywhere on the face of the earth and sold anywhere on the face of the earth” – national economies less important, global conglomerates more important
* No dominant global power – “unipopular economic world dominated by the United States is over” (not sure I agree with this one, though)
* The two – conflicting – trends Thurow feels will bring about a massive change in capitalism as we know it are technological and ideological in nature –
* As far as technology is concerned, skills and knowledge have become the only sources of sustainable strategic advantage
* But ideologically, people are increasingly seeking to satisfy a need for short-term individual consumption maximization
* The development of skills and knowledge requires massive investments in infrastructure and education that are long-term in nature

(more to come)

Myths and Facts About...Venture Capitalists

2007-07-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

For some more myths and facts about venture capitalists see:

Article in the Israeli business daily

See also my own...

Interesting Facts About Venture Capitalists

ragingacademic

The Speed of Progress in Mobile Technology

2007-07-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

The mobile phones of the not-so-distant future are expected to have as much functionality as an advanced laptop has today (Upton and Steel, 2006). In early 2001, one could not hold an operational 3G phone in the palm of their hands for more than 10 seconds without receiving severe burns; technology has advanced so much since that 3G phones are now as common as pagers used to be just a decade or so ago. A 2003 handset exceeded 20mm in thickness and could accommodate dual bands, a single radio and one antenna, and was capable of transferring data at speeds of 70 to 80 Kbit per second with no capacity for memory storage. In contrast, 2008 handsets will be less than 15mm thick, and within the confines of this smaller footprint will be able to accommodate up to four bands plus a variety of wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and wifi as well as three or more simultaneously operating radios, five or more antennas, transmitting at between 100 and 480 Mbit per second with several gigabytes of storage to boot… (Upton and Steel, 2006, p. 23). Following in the footsteps of Moore’s Law, Kryder’s Law, Hendy’s Law, and other guidelines that predict the speed of development of technology, advances in information technology and communications are expected to continue at an accelerated pace for the foreseeable future.

101 Dumbest Moments in Business

2007-02-23T11:37:00.000-08:00

Business 2.0's 7th Annual 101 Dumbest Moments in Business - Hindsight's 20/20, isn't it? :-)

ragingacademic

Some Comments on the "Entrepreneurial Type"

2007-02-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

According to Kaplan (2003), entrepreneurial types share a number of characteristics; they actively seek out opportunities, always on the look-out for the chance to revolutionize a business model in order to more effectively profit from a given market segment; they are disciplined in their pursuit of opportunities; they have an aptitude for pursuing the best opportunities; they execute rather than leading to “paralysis by analysis”; and, they develop and draw on a network of contacts in order to achieve their goals (p. 13). Stevenson and Gumpert (1991) delineate the character of the entrepreneur along two dimensions ; on the one hand, entrepreneurs have “self-perceived power and [the] ability to realize goals,” while on the other hand they are determined to reach a “desired future state characterized by growth or change” (p. 11).

In an extremely interesting paper, two scholars with completely unpronounceable names…Beugelsdijk and Noorderhaven…set out to show, empirically, that there is a significant difference in the psychological profile of the entrepreneur vs. that of a typical member of the population at large (2005). They find that “…entrepreneurs can be characterized by an incentive structure based on individual responsibility and effort, and a strong work ethic” (p. 160).

Kaplan provides a useful framework within which the degree to which the characteristics of the entrepreneur influence managerial action can be assessed (p. 13). An entrepreneurial manager’s strategic orientation is driven by the perception of opportunity; his commitment to such opportunities is revolutionary rather than evolutionary, and can frequently be of short duration; his commitment of resources utilizes a multi-stage approach which provides for minimal exposure at each stage of the process; resources required for the completion of tasks are more typically rented or leased than owned to allow for flexibility in future action; and such a manager will maintain a flat managerial structure, intertwined with multiple informal networks which extend beyond the manager’s immediate organization.

References

Beugelsdijk, S., and Noorderhaven, N. (2005). Personality Characteristics of Self-Employed; an Empirical Study. Small Business Economics, 24, pp. 159-167.

Kaplan, J. M. (2003). Patterns of entrepreneurship. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Stevenson, H. H., and Gumpert, D. E. (1991). The Heart of Entrepreneurship, in The Entrepreneurial Venture, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publications.

Venture Capital and the Structure of the Venture Capital Environment

2007-02-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

Venture capitalists are professional investors who manage private equity, investing in young companies at an early phase of their corporate existence and nurturing such companies over the long term with the goal of gaining abnormal returns on their investment. Such investors organize in firms (henceforth VC firms). A VC firm (e.g. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers) is a partnership between individual venture capitalists (the "general partners") that organize for the purpose of managing one or more venture capital funds (e.g. KPCB Java Fund).

A venture capital fund manages assets invested by the general and the limited partners. Typically, the general partners contribute about one percent of the total fund's assets and manage the fund's day-to-day operations. The limited partners, who invest the balance of assets, are passive participants (In order to retain limited liability, the law restricts limited partners from taking an active role in the day-to-day management of the fund.). As compensation, the general partners receive an annual management fee that ranges from one percent to two-an-a-half percent of the fund. In addition, they receive, on average, about 20% of any distribution. The limited partners receive the balance of the distributions.

A 1988 Venture Capital Journal Study found that the majority of limited partners are institutional investors. Of the $2.95 billion raised in 1988, 46% came from pension funds, with an additional 12% from endowments and foundations and 9% from insurance companies. Corporate venture capital subsidiaries accounted for 11% of investments, individuals and families for 8%, and foreign contributions totaled 14%.

The venture capital fund is set up as a limited partnership with a predefined lifetime, usually ten years with an option to extend the fund for up to three additional years. For a VC firm to remain active, a new fund is raised every three to six years - therefore, VCs are repeat players in the investment arena. New funds make most major investments (The companies in which a VC invests are called portfolio companies) within the first four to five years so that investments can be exited and gains distributed within the appropriate timeframe (Gompers 1996). At any given time a VC firm will have a number of funds under management ongoing concurrently.

ragingacademic

Reference

Gompers, Paul A.(1996). Grandstanding in the venture capital industry. Journal of Financial Economics, 42, 133-156.

Interesting Facts About Venture Capitalists

2007-02-12T11:19:00.000-08:00

Some interesting things to know about venture capitalists...

+ Venture capital is not about seeking risk, it is about reducing risk - this is very counter intuitive since from the outside it seems as if VCs are risk seekers, when in practice they will do everything in their power to invest in the safest entity they can identify
+ For every startup a venture capital firm invests in, it receives 1,000 business plans, follows up on 100, invites 10 to present, follows up with 2-3 and then invests in one.
+ VC compensation structure has evolved so that the VC no longer has to be successful in order to strike it rich themselves; this is a big part of the problem with VCs today - and just like prices are said to be "sticky" (they easily increase but are slow, i.e. sticky, to decrease), the same goes for compensation packages - it's difficult to knock them back down...

ragingacademic

The Rhetoric of Mission Statements

2007-02-11T12:31:00.001-08:00

Theoretically and in a historical context the mission statement was at the core of a firm’s strategic directive. A mission statement should define the purpose of the organization, and function as a core component of the company’s vision, ethics and values. However, more recently, mission statements have become an object of play, to be reflected upon, revised and rewritten as frequently as organizations are reengineered, reorganized and downsized. This has served to degrade the value of the mission statement in the eyes of the average employee, and to allow for the build-up of a great deal of sarcasm and cynicism (many first-hand experiences...); further, recent debacles at a large number of venerable and respected American companies such as Enron, MCI WorldCom, Tyco and others – and the inexcusable behavior exhibited by the leaders of these organizations – has provided clear evidence that senior management does not pay more than lip service to said statements.

Mission statements present a conundrum of sorts. Ron Graham, of the College of New Jersey, explained why in a wonderful little essay:

There are two problems with using mission statements in this way:
1. If the staff is already focused on what it's supposed to be doing, it doesn't need the mission statement;
2. If the staff is not focused on what it's supposed to be doing, then there is a problem more fundamental than the need for a mission statement.(Graham, n.d.)

Jaffe (2007) provides an excellent three-part guideline for creating mission statements that should not simply become rhetoric… “First, it's no more than a single sentence long; second, it can be easily understood by a 12-year-old; and third, it can be recited from memory at gunpoint.”

A mission statement can provide an important foundation for a company if crafted right; it can be a point of ridicule and employee criticism when not. It should not be arrived at through consensus – employees’ ideas should most definitely be solicited, but at the end of the day the mission statement should reflect managements’ vision.

A couple of examples:

Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) created the following corporate mission statement for Logitech:

"The New Ventures Mission is to scout profitable growth opportunities in relationships, both internally and externally, in emerging, mission inclusive markets, and explore new paradigms and then filter and communicate and evangelize the findings." (Graham, n.d.)

In order to consult for Logitech Adams fooled senior management and represented himself as a “credible consultant” - with the (well paid...) result being the mission statement above!

Obviously, this is an example of a terrible mission statement…

In contrast, State Farm’s mission statement closely follows the guidelines laid down by Mr. Graham: "To help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams."

And perhaps the best mission statement ever put together is the mission statement for the human race - as can be found in the book of Genesis: “Be fruitful, and multiply…”

Indeed.

Want to explore some mission statements?
Try Man on a Mission, a blog dedicated to making mission statements public.

Reference

Graham, R. (n.d.) Mission Statements.

Jaffe, A. (2007). How Business Partners can Create a Joint Vision. The Wall Street Journal Center for Entrepreneurs StartUp Journal.

On the Evolution of Management Thought

2007-02-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Kohelet ben-David, King of Jerusalem, says in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” If management theories indeed do evolve, they must evolve from something. It is quite evident that modern management thought builds on the foundations laid by pioneers such as Taylor (Scientific Management), Fayol (Administrative Management), and Mayo (Behavioral Management). But to what extent is management thought shaped by current business events?

Daniel Wren, in his seminal book, The Evolution of Management Thought (1994), does not approach this question with haste, posing a very similar question himself early on in his quest to synthesize and analyze the history of managerial thought; Wren asks, “How have our concepts of managing organizations evolved throughout history?” (2005, p. 5) – yet in doing so Wren has already assumed the conclusion so aptly captured by the title of his treatise. Nevertheless management theories have not evolved solely as derivatives of historical foundational thought; nor are they unique outgrowths of the contemporaneous environment – rather, they are a combination of the above. New theories evolve from the historical foundations of managerial thought but are shaped by the current business environment and the challenges the current environment poses. As Wren writes, “Our ideas about people, management and organizations have evolved within the context of various cultural values and institutions throughout history” (p. 12). Neither one nor the other then – but rather a combination of both approaches, evolutionary and current as well.

References

Kohelet (n.d.). Ecclesiastes 1:9

Wren, D.A. (1994). The evolution of management thought (4th Ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Wren, D.A. (2005). The history of management thought (5th Ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.