Archives: November 2007

Happy Birthday! It's State Farm!

Posted by: Jena McGregor on November 28

Okay, I get the whole idea of authenticity. The experience is what matters. Make your customers feel special. But this was a little over the top. Today, my insurance agent...

How Much Does Sustainability Really Matter to Managers and Employees?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on November 27

Employers have been falling all over themselves to tout their environmental chops, whether it's their corporate sustainability efforts or their offers of hybrid-car charging stations for the Gen Y green...

Brownie's Back!

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on November 27

It has been said that there are no second acts in American life. Oh, but how there are. Especially when it comes to disgraced government officials and buffoonish business...

All in the Family

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 26

Brooke Astor's son is now facing criminal charges for the handling of his late mother's affairs. There's something incredibly sad and yet intriguing about these cases where the child has...

Coming to a desk near you...The God Squad

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on November 23

If you see some rabbis tooling around Wall Street with their Torahs, don't be surprised. For a few years now, an organization called AISH New York has been offering the...

Selling through Snowpeople

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 21

Have you noticed that children's books are proving to be irresistable to marketers and brand-builders worldwide? First came the wave of celebrity authors -- some good (Julie Andrews and John...

Working Remotely--or Remotely Working?

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on November 21

In my attempt to be all webby--this from a woman who, after a year of toting around her PDA, realized she could access the web on it--I'm throwing out...

Cyber Monday, Productivity Killer?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on November 20

It's that time of year again. As happens during March Madness and fantasy baseball season, my inbox is filling up with studies bearing headlines intended to strike fear in the...

Why Wal Mart, Why?

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on November 19

Many a journalist has chronicled the classic, management-101 missteps of Wal Mart's PR apparatus. This post has to do with my own little rendez vous with the company not...

Martha's Mom

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 19

I felt a little twinge of sadness to read of the death of Martha Stewart's 93-year-old mother. I only met Martha Kostyra a few times. The first was when I...

Leadership and Sword Fights?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on November 15

Looking for a new place to get your team out of the humdrum of the office for some team-building or leadership know-how? Now you can take them to the Olympics....

Hey, Guess What? This man is on vacation!

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on November 15

Meet fancy, big-time, argues-before-the-Supreme Court lawyer Robert Greene Sterne. (Happy, Happy Birthday to you, Rob!) Here he is last May in Acapulco at Water Ski Paradise, going in for...

Planning a smooth succession

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 15

Succession is notoriously botched. Now comes Joseph Bower with a new book (The CEO Within) about the importance of nurturing "Inside Outsiders" in succession planning. What kind of creature is...

Even CFOs Don't Want to Be King

Posted by: Jena McGregor on November 14

No wonder so many people say there's not enough good talent for the top job. Even some of the managers most qualified to become CEOs don't want it. A new...

Chinese Toy Drama: Chapter 61

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 13

As the specter of lead in Chinese toys continues to loom (capped off by the outrageous recall of the BONUS toy that RC2 Corp. sent to replace its previously recalled...

EQ=Economic Intelligence?

Posted by: Jena McGregor on November 08

I had an interesting breakfast yesterday morning with Rosalinde Torres, a partner in Boston Consulting Group's organizations practice. Torres, who has studied organizations ranging from governments in Africa to major...

Facebook is Fine ...

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 08

My colleague Michelle's experience on Facebook is food for thought, and I notice others are starting to gripe about the onslaught of social networking. And yet these sites are growing...

Tough Times at AIG

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 07

American International Group just reported a 27% drop in net income for the third quarter, to $3.09 billion from $4.22 billion. A major culprit? Subprime mortgages, of course. CEO Martin...

Facebook Fatigue, Mon Dieu

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on November 07

Ah the fear and loathing. Of the Facebook. The ishiness, the horror. The can't-get-with-it-ness. The I-don't-get-it creep. The escalating social-media status anxiety. The info bankruptcy. Ah, Facebook. You are...

CEO Antics: Special Belated Halloween Edition

Posted by: Jena McGregor on November 06

Ok, so I'm a little late to the punch (yes, I know Halloween was last week) but I couldn't help blogging about this photo. Can you imagine if this...

Think Better

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 05

Are you sick of seeing books with "innovation" in the title? I am. What started as a fresh way of looking at business risks becoming an over-used buzz word. And...