Two Kinds of Freedom

There are two kinds of Freedom:
Freedom of choice
Freedom from choice


If it ain't broke... still fix it.
Keep improving. Keep optimizing.
That little bit more makes all the difference.


To manage is to make decisions under uncertainty.
The higher the manager, the more important the decision.

Degrees of Freedom

Statistics of life...
Degrees of Freedom: the number of values in the final calculation of a statistic that are free to vary, free to be whatever they want to be. How many degrees of freedom are in each of us?


Power is the ability to get people to do things they don't want to do. And to make them happy they did them.


Marketing is telling a story that sticks, that spreads and that changes the way people act.
The marketing has to come before the product, not after... Just about every successful product or service is the result of smart marketing thinking first, followed by a great product that makes the marketing story come true. -Seth Godin

New Normal

When the world gets back to normal, what will be the
New normal?


Customerocracy idea of the day...
To be close to your customer, you have to have enormous curiosity. Absorb, listen, feel, look around, ask. And micromanage the hell out of everything your customer sees. -Mickey Drexler, J. Crew


This year/last year doesn't matter.
It's this year/next year.
-Stephen Sadove, Saks Fifth Avenue

Billion Dollar Flower

Customerocracy idea of the day....
"There is only one boss: the customer.
And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." -Sam Walton


"Being creative means immediately going to the place the last person left off." -Seth Godin


Googleism...
"Let a thousand flowers bloom."
You never know which will be the billion dollar flower.

The Efficient Frontier

We all want to live on the...
Efficient Frontier
For portfolios of different combinations of assets, those along the Efficient Frontier offer the lowest amount of risk for a given level of return.


Customerocracy idea of the day...
10-Foot Rule: "I promise that whenever I come within 10 feet of a customer, I will look him in the eye, greet him, and ask if I can help him."

Brought to you by Wal-Mart

The real world is complicated. The goal of theory is to discover what kinds of information we should attempt to get ahold of in the real world so we can come closer to formalizing our real world decisions.

Boiling the Ocean

To create value...
If you're different, you'll be missed.


Don't try to boil the ocean.
Out of the vast amounts of information and data available in the world, figure out what's important and focus on it.


Rockstar Business Ideas (RBI) of the day...
10-Minute Rule: Open 10 minutes early and close 10 minutes late.
Kill the Stupid Rule: Employees who suggest an alternative to a stupid rule are rewarded with $50.

Brought to you by Commerce Bank.

Schmuck Insurance

To get a deal done...
Simplicity sells. Complexity kills.


Best-named business concept of the day...
Schmuck Insurance:
When buying a company, you agree to pay the seller more money if you turn around and flip the company for a higher price, which would then make the seller look like a schmuck for selling at the original price.

In an efficient market, every asset is owned by the company that can operate it most profitably.
Everything has its rightful owner: the company that can make the most of it. If that's not you, sell it. You'll make more by selling it than by owning it.