Monday, 14 March, 2005

Letting Clients Take A newly appointed vice president of marketing for a consumer-electronics company -- we'll call him Ben -- recently hired me to help update the company's brand positioning. I had no sacred cows to avoid -- all forms of the company's communication were being revitalized, including its logo, sales-and-marketing materials and Web site. For a marketer like me, this was a dream come true. All I can say is - AMEN, consulting is about making the client the star or hero, if you are widely known inside - you driven be your ego and not client needs 10:03:06 PM    comment []

Growing fears credit boom may implode Bankruptcy advisers are hiring extra staff amid fears that an end to the global credit boom could spark a surge in business failures in the US and Europe.// Unusually loose lending conditions have encouraged record borrowing by speculative-grade companies, with leveraged buy-outs and debt refinancing on both sides of the Atlantic generating more than $100bn of deals in the past eight months. This could be today's ugliest story 9:47:02 PM    comment []

As corporate taxes shrink, who pays? Outside in the parking lot, demonstrators held signs saying the federal income tax is unconstitutional. Inside, in a former furniture store turned software firm, President Bush's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform was holding a public hearing, this one on corporate taxes. It is refreshing to see people with stones - too bad only the weird understand the constitution 9:44:46 PM    comment []

Fed's Yellen Says Interest Rates Must Rise to `Neutral' to Stem Inflation March 14 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve needs to keep raising its benchmark interest rate target to a ``neutral'' level that keeps inflation in check while allowing sustainable economic growth, said Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Fed. ``I don't think we've hit neutral yet, but I don't know where it is,'' said Yellen in comments to reporters after a speech to the Western Independent Bankers Association Annual Conference in Kauai, Hawaii. ``A continuation of tightening to my mind, given what I see going on in the economy, remains appropriate.'' Greenspan's fear of inflation never abates - wonder if the republicans will stop spending like democrats and keep the Fed from going over board 9:41:00 PM    comment []

TimeWarner geniuses muscle yet another low margin business. AmericaOnLine (AOL) has announced that it will launch its own VoIP service within the next month according to CNET. The service (telephony via PC) will compete with other providers like Vonage, but it will have additional features. AOL’s VoIP service will be integrated with instant messaging, voice chat, and e-mail. AOL has seen a decline in business as its customers move from dial-up services to faster broadband services. AOL has not yet announced its pricing, but unlimited VoIP calling is as cheap as $16 a month with competitors. No comment - the byline is sufficient 9:36:08 PM    comment []

The meaning of license is also open to interpretation Jason Matusow admits to some trouble with the word "open." We can play the same game with "license." Like open, license has many meanings. In software, these involve permission to do or own something, or a document proving permission. In open source, rights and obligations are defined by licenses, descended from the Medieval Latin word licentia, meaning authorization. Another curious article - our Applied Knowledge Laboratories was inspired by Linux and their open source iniative. Our anticpation of  the internets impact on intellectual property was the elimination of copyright and therefore destroy the very foundation of training and consulting companies. Our model is based on the fact people will steal - so how can we turn that into a positive economic proposition? 8:25:34 PM    comment []

Scientists, MBAs Get Down to Business in New Program Science means business in a new program at the University of California, Davis. Nine doctoral students and post-doctoral scholars are working with Master of Business Administration students to develop the skills to commercialize research through a new certificate program in business development. Curious article - defines one of the services we have provided over the years. We view ourselves like an oil refinery taking crude (information) and converting it into a more valuable product (knowledge or wisdom). 8:18:41 PM    comment []

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