Rent v. Buy: Ask a Dinosaur

When I am in the right mood (no not that mood pervert!), I find the dinosaur comics make me laugh. I like to read them with a childish dinosaur (think husky) voice. This one goes back and forth about rent vs. buy, so I could not resist linking to it.

Enjoy..

Book Review: The E-Myth Enterprise: How to Turn A Great Idea Into a Thriving Business; Michael Gerber

The E-Myth Enterprise: How to Turn A Great Idea Into a Thriving Business

I borrowed this from the libary because it was recommended by the author of another book I read. Actually, it recommended a different "E-Myth" book and I mistakenly checked this one out of the library.

It was an easy read but not very prescriptive. This was the first book in the "E-Myth" series that I have read.

My takeaways:

• Business is a creative action
• Successful business solve customer problems (Duh!)
• The best companies are process driven not people driven. That was counter-intutive when I first read it, but I have seen this in a number of the places I have worked and I really agree with it. Some employers (managers) blame the person and wrongly believe if only they had a different person, the outcome would be different. Process driven companies believe that they can perfect the process, even with imperfect people employing it. Now, I am not saying that people should not be dismissed, but I do believe that we should all aspire to delivering a process that ensures success and constantly refine and reinvent that process.
• There is a great anecdote about a guy who started a business in Arizona called "Three Day Kitchens". The description was really fun and I think it is something everyone who has owned a home and contracted out work can sympathize with.

I recommend you check it out if you would like a quick read with some fun business anecdotes. It is relevant to entrepeneurs and employees and I hope to check out another one of the E-myth books soon.

Wealth Transfer: Savers -> Spenders

A friend made a comment over the weekend that high inflation would be yet another wealth transfer from savers to spenders. There is a good opinion piece in the Washington post today that enumerates the other ways the government transfers wealth from the prudent to the risk takers

Difference Between Goals and Objectives

Business cases often require a statement of goals and objectives. I did not know until after I left business school that they are actually different. One of my senior colleagues gave me a business template to fill out that had a short answer for both and I had to ask "What is the difference?" I soon learned that goals are what you are trying to acheive and objectives are the milestones that you will complete to reach those goals. For me, goals are strategic and objectives are tactical. If liberty is the goal, increased democracy could be an objective.

This is helpful when it comes to personal organization, market research, business plans, and just about any planning activity.

Wild Thing Spike Jonze

There is a great article in the Times about Spike Jonze and the making of Where the Wild Things Are. Check it out. It is worth the time.

Ketchup Economists and Pricing

Krugman has a lengthy piece in the Times this weekend about how economists got is so "wrong." Krugman is referring to the current recession. He has a good notion in there, about Ketchup economics. It goes like this: if a one quart bottle of ketchup costs X than a two quart bottle of ketchup should cost 2X. For me, the notion is one of pricing. Krugman talks about this in relationship to how people justified the housing bubble. He attributes this to Larry Summers. I think it is very illustrative of pricing. Competitive pricing is only one piece of value a good or service.

A lot times people make arguments about what price something should be. On the job, as a marketer, pricing is a key responsibility to address. In business school, I took away three ways that pricing actions should be taken:

1. Competitive - This is very simple, "how much are your competitors charging?" But it can also get very complex. In most pricing exercises, especially business to business ones, there is no perfect competitors. Often times there are substitutes that overlap with some of your offer's capabilities.

2. Economic Value - This is pricing an object by the economic value it yields to the recipient. For example, flying from Washington DC to Boston saves 2 hours over driving, nominally. This would mean that the price of that flight should be the price of driving plus the value of your time multiplied by the hours on the plane because of the savings.

3. Cost-based - This is based on the cost it requires the produce, plus some margin. This is typically used in commodities and manufacturing products.

The ketchup economists are using the competitive or market based pricing and not really taking into consideration the economic and intrinsic value of the good. The less those other two legs are taken into account, the more ripe the market is for a pricing correction by a new entrant or in the housing standpoint, a bubble bursting.

Buffett's for Bartlett's

I like Warren Buffett's homespun thoughts on business and life. Makes me think I should start keeping track of the ones that I really like. Here are a couple that really stick in my craw, in a good way:

But it was a wise man who said, “All I want to know is where I’m going to die so I’ll never go there.”

-Warren Buffett, NYTimes.com, 2009-08-18

After all, you only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

-Warren Buffett, Chairmens Letter 2002-02-28