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Archives › February 2004
February 27, 2004
Culture
The Donald--Episode 8
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 3:48 PM
NBC lived up to its promise...last night was the best boardroom ever! Erica really blew it during the "Trump Ice" challenge. First of all, her lame sales pitch was ridiculous. "We're trying to create a buzz," she told all the business owners. You don't tell them you're TRYING to do that! But I think she would have dodged the Donald if she hadn't had a meltdown at the end of the day, right in front of Carolyn of all people. I, like dear Carolyn, was appalled by Erica's unprofessional, huffy behavior. She deserved the ax. When Bill tried to shake her hand at the end of the episode, the fact that she left him hanging was further evidence of her childishness. After all, she had just stabbed Bill in the back a week earlier. What did she expect?
Troy really blew my mind last night. I was amazed at how skillfully he handled the water sales...how he modified his behavior to connect with different customers, and how he figured out they could sell truckloads of water at a time, then deliver them in smaller increments that the business owners could store. He was just amazing. Heidi was a level-headed, upbeat leader. Omarosa's "water tasting expert" approach to sales was absurd. She's lucky her team keeps winning, or she would have gotten the boot by now. But Nick "the copier salesman" was the worst salesperson of them all! And I think he lied about getting up early to research the distributor.
On the romance front, things seem to be heating up between Nick and Amy, although Amy may scare Nick away if she keeps talking about kids. Slow down, Amy! But Nick is clearly smitten. Frankly, I think Amy can do better. I also noticed a little spark between Bill and Omarosa last night...did anyone else catch that? As for who'll make to the final episode, my money's on Amy and Troy....
February 26, 2004
Culture
Will We Survive Being Sexless?
Posted by Adam Hanft at 6:44 PM
Have you noticed that the promiscuity of the media farewells to "Sex and the City" exceed the libidinous energy of the show itself? The show's six year run has occasioned an outpouring of cultural commentary, obsessing over the way in which this cataloging of the lives and loves of unattached single women in New York both bottled and italicized a particular era.
But with all the talk about the state of singledom, shoes, and sex, something has been clearly missing from the discussion. And that is the way "Sex and the City" dealt with - or didn't -- the transformative events of September 11th.
True, there was the cornball shot of a falling leaf with a super about the show being dedicated to the victims of the attacks. And the vixens did launch a downtown shopping spree to pump some bucks into the New York economy. And yes, three of them did rise to their patriotic duty and chase a couple of uniformed cuties during Fleet Week.
But aside from those heavy-handed gestures, you could watch pretty much any "Sex and the City" episode pre- and post-9/11, and be at a loss to place it chronologically. That's not the way it was going to be, though. We were supposed to have been psychically and spiritually transformed, blasted forever out of superficiality, irony, self-centeredness. While Graydon Carter got skewered for his famous pronouncement that "irony was dead", he wasn't alone; a chorus of critics proclaimed we would never be the same. Not so for Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte; while the plots changed, their much-publicized struggles with careers, friendships, and relationships didn't. Neither, for that matter, did their stock-character personalities.
There was a time when popular television shows - "All in the Family", the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" - attempted, in their own way, to grapple with larger political and social issues. "Sex and the City" never bothered to, and to be fair, never pretended to be anything other than canny, titillating froth that for some viewers was aspirational, and for others, mind-smackingly familiar. But the contradiction of the show's obsession with New York -- Carrie at one point says it's her "boyfriend" -- and a lack of emotional engagement with the city's pain, over months and months, is telling.
This may sound like a criticism, but it really isn't. We are a move-on culture; it's one of our strengths. We buy German and Japanese cars; we don't sweat the old struggles, like the Turks and the Armenians - other than in sports, of course. (And the Kurds just puzzle the hell out of us). You can call this microwave memory, and our absence of navel-gazing frivolous, but there are advantages to it. A population that can become so attached to four single women has better things to do than stay around and run Afghanistan or Iraq for decades, as the true imperialists do. Those better things -- shopping, clubbing, career-building and relationship-deconstructing -- are a positive braking system on the world's only remaining superpower.
In the end, like so much else in America, "Sex and the City" was nothing more than an extended commercial for a lifestyle. And while it's a commercial that has run its six year course, what should make it comforting is that we aren't really saying goodbye to the girls of "Sex and the City." As long as we follow in their sandaled footsteps - in our own blissfully self-involved ways, it's safe to say, as Flaubert did, that Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte -- c'est nous.
Expanded Rankings of the Top Cities Lists
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:08 AM
The magazine showcased the top 25 cities in three categories in its March 2004 issue. Here, Inc.com shares even more data including searchable rankings of more than 250 large, medium and small U.S. cities, as well as a separate ranking of the best cities by eight major industries.
February 25, 2004
The Top 25 Cities for Doing Business
Posted by Carole Matthews at 4:12 PM
Inc. contributing editor Joel Kotkin will be appear on NPR's most popular show, "Morning Edition," tomorrow, Thursday, February 26, between 8 and 10a.m. Eastern to discuss the March 2004 feature, "Top 25 Cities for Doing Business in America."
In recent weeks, cities across America have been latching onto the good -- and bad news -- from the lists. The good news, obviously, is that the a city made the list. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area proudly announced its ranking in a recent press release from the Tampa Bay Partnership. The Greenville/Spartanburg area shared some bad news and challenged its ranking as one of the worst cities to do business in in a recent story on Greenvilleonline.com.
February 24, 2004
Wooing Virgin Atlantic
Posted by Carole Matthews at 5:08 PM
Drag queens, live lobsters, and Judy Garland impersonators. The lengths to which some U.S. cities are going to woo Virgin Atlantic Airways is a bit comical. But for Richard Branson, someone who's been called the P.T. Barnum of British business, the theatrics aren't too far-fetched, as he's engaged in his share of publicity stunts. Which got me thinking -- do publicity stunts really work? They're certainly entertaining, but do they win business? Time will tell whether Boston's live lobsters or San Fran's Judy Garland will win over Branson, but something tells me that at the end of the day, it will be more about the best business proposition than the entertainment.
February 23, 2004
Don't Bungle Bad News
Posted by Carole Matthews at 4:22 PM
No company wants to share bad news with the public, but when you are forced to share it, remember the Adecco story from the January 20, 2004, issue of The Wall Street Journal by Carol Hymowitz.
Adecco SA made some grave mistakes when announcing bad news recently. The Swiss-based staffing firm announced it wouldn't be releasing year-end results on time and warned of "material weaknesses with internal controls" in its North American businesses in mid-January, without elaboration or even confirming the identity of legal counsel further investigating the situation. Not surprisingly, investors got spooked, dumped the stock, and, as a result, Adecco lost 35% of its market cap within hours of the announcement.
What should they have done? Here are a few suggestions from Hymowitz that any business getting ready to share bad news can use:
* The company should have been more forthcoming with information. In the current "scandal-tinged business climate," refusing to share information could smell like an admission of guilt.
* One leader should have been appointed to handle the crisis. Instead, Adecco shifted responsibility mid-crisis making communications confusing.
* Lastly, the company should have communicated more, not less, with investors, customers and employees.
Sharing bad news is never fun, but done the right way, it can make your company look a bit more conscientious even though it's made a mistake.
February 20, 2004
Culture
The Donald: Episode 7
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 12:47 PM
I must admit I'm kind of sad that Tammy's gone. Her inappropriate comments were so entertaining. But I don't blame the Donald for firing her. Tammy's behavior last night wasn't so bad, but she had the ax coming after her bizarre negotiation tactics with the celebs last week (I still can't believe she expected Regis Philbin and his wife to go on vacation with two couples they don't know!). Get a clue, Tammy!
Ah, but I can't be too upset considering things are really heating up between Omarosa and Heidi, and, for that matter, Omarosa and everyone else. Her three day headache was pure drama, and I almost died when she started playing with those kids outside the apartment as everyone else slaved away painting and scrubbing toilets. What a princess! She'd be the worst kind of boss: all about delegating and having meetings, instead of doing actual work.
Speaking of delegating, Katrina seemed to be making a huge mistake by letting Bill negotiate the apartment price. BUT, in fact, I think it was quite a wily move. If she had handled the renovation AND lease negotiation and failed, she would have looked even worse in the boardroom. That said, the fact that she let Bill handle that crucial negotiation tells me she's insecure about her own skills and ability to get the job done. Plus, she got overly defensive and emotional when Troy pulled that note trick on her. It reminded me of the time she started screaming at Omarosa about what a "good person" she is. Get over it! The Donald obviously wasn't buying the whole "unethical" argument. I predict Katrina will be fired in the next couple of weeks. She's definitely not Trump material.
I was pretty disappointed in Bill last night. I had such high hopes for him after his great performance in the Times Square restaurant. So charming, so poised! But last night he flopped. Why the heck would he allow the prospective tenant set the price? Big mistake there. It seemed so half-hearted. Why didn't you try harder, Bill? At least poor Bill did SOMETHING. Kwame didn't contribute much, as far as I could tell. He's yet to impress me. I was really proud of Heidi, though. She handled her mom's diagnosis with a lot of class, especially compared to Omarosa's babyishness over the plaster that fell on her head. I'd love to see a close up of that moment! Right now, my money's on Amy. She's sharp, determined, decisive, and the kind of person that everyone likes. But, as Bill's performance last night proved, one mistake could change everything.
So, NBC is touting next week's episode as having the BEST BOARDROOM EVER. Will Omarosa finally get her just desserts? Will Katrina have a break down? Will Bill redeem himself? Will romance blossom between Nick and Amy? Will the Donald get a haircut? I can't wait to find out!!!!!!!!
February 19, 2004
Words That Can Kill a Sale
Posted by Carole Matthews at 2:41 PM
Positive words promote positive feelings. Negative words promote, well, negative feelings. Simple concepts, but when trying to close a sale many salespeople use seemingly innocuous words in their pitches that frequently kill the possibility of a sale.
Award-winning sales, management and customer service speaker and trainer Laura Laaman shares six poisonous words in her column Your words--are they positive or poison? and offers a few positive replacements including:
Contract -- Salespeople like this word, but customers see it as something binding. Try "agreement."
Sign -- "Sign on the dotted line" -- who likes that? Try getting a customer's "approval" instead.
Buy -- It's the most painful part of shopping -- shelling out the money. Try promoting the benefits of "owning" the product instead.
No -- Laaman says this word puts a "speed bump" into the sales process. She offers a few alternatives for using "no" in her column.
Using positive words is certainly a kinder, gentler way of making a sale, but as the Oct. 2003 Inc. story "Getting to No" illustrates, having a few rough edges in your dealings with customers can sometimes pay off. Y2 Marketing has a decidedly aggressive approach to sales calls, often telling customers they're just plain wrong, which puts to the test that age-old adage "the customer is always right." And it seems to work. The company has made the Inc. 500 two years in a row now.
Dell to Sell Services to Small Biz
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:27 AM
Already a player in selling managed services to large enterprises, Dell recently announced its plans to sell services to mid- and small-size businesses, as reported by Kevin Ferguson in an article on TechWeb today. The services will include system design, deployment, technical support, and asset management, and will soon be available to companies with 500 to 1,000 seats and then fewer soon thereafter.
February 18, 2004
Leadership
American Business' Dirty Little Secret
Posted by Adam Hanft at 3:25 PM
As part of the investigation into the security sclerosis that led to the intelligence breakdowns and failures on Iraq, it was reported in the New York Times on February 13th (registration required) that the "highly classified digest that provides President Bush with his daily intelligence updates is being scrutinized within the government and Congress."
It's certainly no surprise that the President gets the equivalent of a Cliff Notes briefing each morning. You didn't think that George was spending valuable time on the Internet, reading what Mickey Kaus and Andrew Sullivan had to say, did you? Nor is it a stunning revelation that those who shape the briefing shape his reaction, and thus have significant policy influence. As Douglas Jehl notes, "As much as any information the president receives from top aides, the daily briefing informs his view of the world, ranging across issues of terrorism, arms control, military events and more." You hire the people you want, and then you inhabit – and eventually are forced to defend – their info-world. A world where what is presented is less important than what is withheld, and where a narrowing of inputs, is the rule.
I see this as a large federal metaphor for what goes on every day in American business. CEOs are at the mercy of their inner circle (and sanctum) in precisely the same way as POTUS, which means that corporate intelligence failures are driven by similar realities. When you see a CEO make a bad decision, it's usually not because he or she is dumb or clueless. It's because the options are presented with so much internal spin and skew that it's difficult and time-consuming to sort through the layers of dis-information. Far too little attention is paid to the way that CEOs are manipulated and covertly re-directed by those close to them.
This level of insulation and protection around CEOs of large (and even middle-sized companies) is a dirty little secret of American business. Massive chunks of time are spent trying to figure out how to present a decision--or an unpleasant circumstance--to the fearless leader. While business doesn't generally think it has much to learn from Washington--feeling so superior in its free-market nimbleness and muscularity--I think that any number of large companies, from Disney to American Airlines to Boeing, would benefit from the same level of inquiry into their intelligence practices that the White House is about to undergo.
Brand Busting
Posted by Carole Matthews at 12:34 PM
The recent news that Cingular is making a serious bid to purchase AT&T Wireless is no surprise. It was only a matter of time before more consolidation in the wireless arena occurred. This latest news, as reported in today's Wall Street Journal (registration required), however, could make the connection consumers have with Ma Bell fainter. If the deal does go through, Cingular plans to phase out the name AT&T.
It was a surprising statement to many wireless marketing experts, since Cingular would be hanging its hat on a name that's less than four years old and walking away from the 118 years of brand recognition that American Telephone & Telegraph Co. (AT&T) has established. On the other hand, some marketers feel AT&T is a bit "frozen," and that Cingular's own orange "Jack" is a more modern brand.
Which brand is bigger? Would phasing out the AT&T name be a smart move for Cingular? Or should the company try to leverage the tried-and-true AT&T in some way?
February 17, 2004
Can Too Much Choice Hurt Brand Performance?
Posted by Carole Matthews at 3:15 PM
Recent research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business suggests that consumers don't necessarily favor brands with longer product lines. As a matter of fact, larger companies with too many choices generally find that adding variety isn't worth the extra cost of manufacturing. Those companies that do benefit from longer product lines: regional and store brands, which generally find that adding more helps boost their credibility in a crowded marketplace.
February 13, 2004
The Apprentice
The Donald: Episode 5
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 3:54 PM
Where do I begin? From Jessie's slow-talking to Omarosa's nastiness in the boardroom, last night's episode of the Apprentice was chock full of business drama. I'm glad Jessie got the ax. Ever since she stabbed Kristi in the back last week, I haven't seen her in the same light. That whole innocent routine finally backfired when she wimped out in the boardroom. You tell her, Trump! I thought the Donald was spot on when he said Jessie's wimpiness was worse than Omarosa's rudeness. But I'd like to see O. get canned next week. Heidi had a great point when she said she would never work for someone as nasty and condescending as Omarosa. Unhappy employees aren't good for the bottom line. Plus, the fact that she mispronounced Isaac Mizrahi's name twice...and to his face once...was ridiculous. Maybe it was an honest mistake, but maybe it was her twisted way of showing she was better than Isaac. Hmmm.
I don't know why Omarosa didn't pull Kwame into the boardroom instead of Heidi. Yes, Heidi is a tad rough around the edges, but she was really great during last night's negotiations. Maybe I'm missing something, but Kwame hasn't made any huge contributions during any of the challenges. I guess Omarosa just had an ax to grind with Heidi.
But the most clueless person on the show last night was, by far, Tammi. I couldn't believe her. Sure, she might have tried to shoot for the stars once, but she should have learned her lesson after seeing the celebrity's reactions to her out of control suggestions! Why would Regis Philbin and his wife want to go on vacation with two other couples they don't know? Ridiculous! She said she was just being all business, but when you're negotiating, you have to keep the other people's thoughts and feelings in mind. Speaking of feelings, I felt so bad for Regis when he only brought in $4,000. He looked so sad at the auction. Poor Reege.
Anyway, things are really heating up. And I'm glad the whole sex thing has calmed down since the teams merged. That was really grating on my nerves. Can't wait for next week. By the way: Is it me, or was Donald's hair particularly crazy last night?
February 12, 2004
Sales and Marketing
Naming Your Business
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:36 AM
If you want to make a good first impression, then you have to have a good business name, suggests columnist Jeff Wuorio in a bCentral column today, 'Oedipus Wrecks' and other business names to avoid. Put simply, new business owners should resist the temptation to be cute and catchy. Instead, owners should be direct in their purpose, choosing names that can attract customers and easily explain their products or services.
A few pointers from the article on naming your business:
* Don't make up a name. Huge corporations can do this; small companies looking to gain marketshare can't.
* Avoid forced alliteration. And watch out for puns.
* Don't name your business just to get good standing in the Yellow Pages. Think AAA.
* Keep it short.
February 11, 2004
Tech IPO Revival in Europe
Posted by Carole Matthews at 3:51 PM
The tide may be turning for tech IPOs as new interest in Europe shows some promising signs for tech companies wanting to go public. An article on Businessweek.com suggests that the market for tech IPOs is warming up, but not to the red hot level we saw in the late 1990s. One reason we won't see a repeat of the 90s: the companies being heralded into the public markets are mainly well-established, profitable tech companies -- not at all the whiz-bang kids of the dot-com era.
FTC Shortens Do-Not-Call Waiting Period
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:42 AM
The FTC announced a plan yesterday to shorten the length of time it takes to be removed from telemarketers' lists, an Associated Press story (registration required) reports today. Under current rules, telemarketers are required to obtain updated do-not-call lists every three months. The new plan requires them to obtain them every 30 days.
February 9, 2004
Customers ARE in the Driver's Seat
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:09 AM
Remote controls, TiVo, the Internet -- all of these technologies have helped consumers gain better control -- actually, total control -- over what information they receive. Don't want to sit through a commercial? Click! Want to jump to a different part of the program? Click! Need to find the best price for a product? Click, click, and click some more through the Web. These technologies that have offered consumers so much in the way of convenience are actually posing quite a challenge for marketers, as Paul Soltoff notes in today's ClickZ column "Just Who's in Control Here?" To drive his point home, Soltoff cites some stats from Forrester Research:
* 60 million households have signed up for the national Do-Not-Call Registry
* 54 million have spam blockers
* 20% have advertising blockers
* PVR households (think TiVo) skip 59% of commercials
Yikes! How is a company to get its message across if no one wants to listen?
Soltoff says, "There's no better way to stay ahead of the curve than to go where consumers are going." Give consumers more anonymity and control and they'll reward you with business. For e-mail marketers, make it very clear that consumers can opt out of receiving your messages and, on Websites, set up preference centers that help personalize your customers' visits. Have any ideas you'd like to share?
February 6, 2004
Culture
The Donald: Episode 4 PLUS: My Encounter With the Donald
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 5:49 PM
Wow. Kristi really froze last night. But I think her real undoing was taking Jessie's advice about keeping mum unless the Donald addressed her. The real reason she got fired was that she didn't defend herself in the meeting when Heidi and Omarosa were ripping her to shreds. Then, Jessie stabbed Kristi right in the back in the boardroom. She seems innocent, but I think she may be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Does anyone else feel that way, or do you think she really thought she was giving good advice to Kristi?
It was nice to see a woman voted off for once, though. The dynamic of the mixed gender teams is much better. But I didn't think either team had a great strategy. Divide and conquer was a bad idea. What was the point of that? And not having large shirts at the other booth could have been a disaster. The shirts were cute, though. I'm glad Omarosa wasn't voted off because of the missing money. It must have been Kristi's fault! Good call by the Donald there. I felt bad for Kristi, but I think she's a follower, not a leader.
Speaking of The Donald, I was in the studio audience of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Tuesday night and guess who the guest was? None other than the Donald himself! I was very excited. Surprisingly, Trump seemed pretty shy when he was on the set. Not haughty at all. Of course, he was defending Sam and saying that he's sure Sam will be a success one day. Am I missing something? The Donald said he has wound up spending a lot more time on the show than he was expecting, but that he's excited that they're shooting another season. My main concern was keeping an eye on his hair. But I have bad news: I still couldn't figure out what's going on there. It's an enigma!
February 5, 2004
Love at the Office
Posted by Bobbie Gossage at 12:38 PM
Mixing business and romance can lead to one dangerous brew warns this cautionary tale (registration required) in today's New York Times. But not all office romances are necessarily disastrous. As we reported in our February issue in a story called "Fishing Off the Company Pier", at one company where Cupid reigns, everyone seems to be living happily ever after.
VCs Ignoring Seed-Stage Investments
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:59 AM
There once was a time, say in the mid to late 90s, when VCs were eager to invest seed capital in promising start-ups. Today, VCs are all but ignoring this financially needy population, as George Lipper notes in a recent article, Seed Funding But a Small Fragment of Venture Capital on the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds website.
Lipper cites a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association/Thomson Economics Money Tree survey, which documents the precipitous decline in seed-capital investing. Over the last decade, the amount of seed capital invested has dropped dramatically, from $1,313,868,400 invested in 1995 to just $354,343,100 in 2003. This downward trend is likely to continue, and as Lipper mentions, could be the reason why many regional angel groups have sprouted up to support seed-stage companies.
Inc. recently wrote about the increase in angel groups in a January 2004 article by Suzanne McGee. In it, she writes that nearly 170 groups have launched over the past several years. Inc.com has also kept up with the growth in its Angel Network Directory, where you can find up-to-date information on regional networks and links to their websites.
February 4, 2004
Books
Jack's Back
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:10 AM
Jack Welch that is. The former CEO of General Electric is gearing up to write a how-to business manual for HarperCollins entitled Winning, reports the New York Times today. (Note: You need to be an online subscriber to gain access to the article) The book will be written with the help of his fiancée and former Harvard Business Review editor Suzy Wetlaufer and will cover such topics as "working within an organization, dealing with competitors, and handling matters of life and career," according to Welch.
February 2, 2004
Are You Doing Drug Tests?
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:45 AM
A recent Fresh Inc. post Screening Employees for Drug Use prompted discussion among a few weblog readers. One company owner and Fresh Inc. reader wishes to discover more about what owners are actually doing about drug testing.
Over the past month, he has offered jobs to seven people, from senior employees to production workers, and only one of the seven passed the pre-employment drug test. The others came back postive for cocaine use and varying levels of marijuana use. To him, it's been a demoralizing experience, as he, his HR people and managers are spending precious time weeding through resumes for the best candidates and offering them positions only to have them take a drug test and fail it. He's wondering why he even bothers with the drug test.
How do you deal with drug testing in your company? Are you seeing the same results or have you stopped testing all together?
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