If you’re among those who watched the Academy Awards, or at least the news clip featured on the awards telecast,  I wonder – what would you consider its most arresting moment? Most viewers, I believe, would say the sequence in which Sasha Baron Cohen pours what he says are the ashes of the dead North

Lately I have been contemplating business models – what makes them unique, and what attributes are apt to produce really big wins. A few of these, such as Bubba Gump Shrimp and Crocs, I have discussed in past blogs, but today I want to talk about what I call the “crazy” factor. I am coming

This week, I was privileged to take part in a exercise the object of which was to help determine what brands can do to turn consumers into loyal followers and enthusiasts.  Now, this particular meeting was conducted in accordance with the “Chatham House Rule,” which specifies that participants are free to use any information they

In the course of our careers, there are certain key events that change our outlook or approach to what we’re doing, or, in some cases, enhance our social or professional status. For me at least, such episodes typically have never been planned or scheduled, but have rather presented themselves as pure impromptu opportunities. The best

A couple days ago, I had a phone conversation with a senior executive who spent decades in the auto business in Detroit and now has his own business. He never mentioned it, but it soon became apparent to me that things weren’t going all that well in his business, and he needed to have a

When Bloomberg recently invited me into the discussion of a pro or con blog on whether sustainability is a trend or a fad, my first thought was; how can anything we do not be sustainable? If the definition is basically that whatever we take must be given back so we can live in relative bliss

Entrepreneurs need a key group of people that get things done in a difficult or tumultuous environment. I personally have been blessed for over 10 years now to be working with the same group of key people that just have a way of getting things done no matter how many potholes or hazards are in

When we think about saving energy, what most often comes to mind are the constant reminders we’re given to turn lights off, shut down computers at night or unplug cell phone chargers because of the “phantom drain” of electricity they produce.  But energy efficiency is a far more complex topic, as well as a  most

On the first day of the new year, I was idly channel surfing across a broad spectrum of cable options  when I  stumbled on one called the “Speed Channel,” which was showing highlights of the Le Mans Cup and some unbelievable exhibitions of precision driving. Then I flipped to CBS, where the Chargers and Oakland