Doing Both Blog Archive

What's the greenest town in American? Hollywood, where recycling has literally become an art form. The joke has more than a ring of truth given the film industry's dependence on sequels. In 2011, movie goers are likely to have plenty of déjà-vu moments when the latest installments of ...

Been to a Borders bookstore lately? If not, you better hurry. As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing this week, the book and magazine retailer announced that it will close more than 200 superstores nationwide by mid-April.

Question: What do Spiderman director Julie Taymor, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and entrepreneur Kenneth Cole have in common? Answer: Each is being tested by a crisis of his or her own making. Taymor is battling technical glitches and artistic miscues of a supernatural scale on Broadway. ...

You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she dresses for a football game. The cheesehead? There's a guy who likes to have fun. The face painter? That's an independent spirit who goes his or her own way. My favorite fan is the one holding the cardboard "D" and a ...

Tired of shoveling where you work? Maybe Punxsutawney Phil will lift your mood. On Feb. 2, the famed ground hog did not see his shadow when pulled from his lair, meaning winter's end is just around the corner. But what if frustrations linger after spring comes? Then it may be time to reassess ...

Confused what to think about China? So are a lot of world and business leaders. Consider Chinese President Hu Jintao’s recent state visit to Washington. In a speech before American business executives, President Hu said China was a military threat to no nation. But his words came just one ...

Economic growth or deficit reduction? In the United States, there seems to be only one choice-though competing interests argue over which is correct. In the UK, however, the coalition government thinks otherwise. Rather than endlessly debate which priority is greater, David Cameron’s ...

Imagine telling an eight-year old boy that his idea for celebrating patriotism was “inappropriate.” Outrageous, right? Not to school administrators at Tiogue School in Coventry, R.I. When they saw David Morales’ hand-decorated hat last June, they sent the second-grade boy home with strict ...

Turbulence is sometimes impossible to avoid in the air, but on the ground? You have to wonder after the recent dust up between American Airlines and several of its travel partners. One can only wonder if a more satisfaction-oriented company could have avoided this bumpy patch-Southwest Airlines, ...

Here's a sobering thought for the new year: most business strategies are woefully incomplete. So reveals a new survey from McKinsey Quarterly. The publication polled 2,135 executives about their business strategies to determine how many could pass a stress test of 10 questions. The survey asked ...

Before 2010 fades to memory, I wanted to look back at some of the best examples of “doing both” that occurred during the year. The people and organizations featured below all deserve recognition for their ability to pursue two seemingly divergent ideas at once. In no particular order, ...

First it took phosphates out of detergents, now Proctor & Gamble is taking money out of soap operas. What’s the Cincinnati-based consumer products giant up to? It’s simply keeping up with the times. This includes moving more of its strategic marketing dollars to social media from ...

Here’s a headline you don’t see everyday: “More U.S. Billionaires Pledge to Give Away Wealth.” While it may sound like another “Miracle on 34th Street,” the story is real. Nearly 60 wealthy individuals and their families have joined Microsoft co-founder Bill ...

There’s a movement under way in India that has led to some dancing in the streets. No, I am not talking about some up-and-coming political revolution, but a simple change in consumer behavior instead. It all has to do with a new razor unveiled in October by Gillette. The single-blade razor ...

If you were one of the 2.3 million men in the United States who suffers from prostate cancer, you’d want the most advanced treatment that money could buy, right? Given a choice, you’d probably go for the latest in cancer-blasting radiation technology, the proton beam accelerator. So ...

Everyone knows that education reform in America hinges on paying teachers higher salaries, right? Maybe not. At the Avalon School in St. Paul, Minn., educators earn less than their peers at other schools. Lacking a union, they also go without the job security that others take for granted. Despite ...

Food giant Heinz first put ketchup in a container in 1876 and soon thereafter unveiled the forerunner to the ubiquitous glass bottle that became a staple in American households for more than 100 years. Then in 2002 Heinz turned the ketchup world on end when it introduced its plastic, Easy Squeeze ...

“Nobody goes there any more; it’s too crowded.” The beloved quip from baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra sums up perfectly what I think about today, Black Friday. Billed as the “busiest shopping day of the year” and the moment when retailers finally cross-over into the ...

GM has done it. Pilgrim’s Pride and Delta Air Lines, too. Each of these companies entered bankruptcy wobbling, and emerged stronger afterwards. Now it’s Blockbuster’s turn. Does the struggling video-rental giant have a second act after filing for Chapter 11 in September? A lot ...

A growing number of companies are working to make your life easier by integrating their online and on-site shopping experiences. It's an example of where excellence meets relevance.

Four years after revolutionizing the electronic gaming industry with its "motion-sensitive" Wii entertainment console, Nintendo finds itself at a cross roads. Make that crosshairs...

"Ka." "Kooza." "Ovo." And "Nouba." Are these names familiar to you? If so, then you're likely one of the nearly 100 million people who have seen a performance by Canada's famed circus troupe, Cirque du Soleil.

On TV, he's Dwight Schrute, the over-achieving, over-bearing salesman from NBC's Thursday-night hit, The Office. In real life, there's someone just like him on a million payrolls -- a man or woman who is competent but insufferable. At one time or another, most of us have worked ...

Imagine you’re a farmer working under the hot sun in Bakersfield, Calif., where daytime temperatures in September average nearly 90 degrees. You grow carrots, which take 12 weeks to reach full maturity. After watering, fertilizing and then harvesting your crop, you load your carrots onto ...

When you think Walgreens, you probably think of Omega vitamins or Crest Whitestrips sold in convenient retail settings--many open 24 hours a day. But on-premise healthcare facilities providing medical services to Fortune 500 companies? Hardly the first thing that comes to mind.

"Misfits and castoffs." That's what some are calling San Francisco's surprise World Series contenders, the Giants. After defeating the Philadelphia Phillies three games to two for the National League Championship, the team takes on the Texas Rangers this week in the 104th edition of Major League ...

No time to shop for tonight's dinner? It's not a problem if you live in the Mid-Atlantic or Southeastern part...

Under normal circumstances, having the hottest spot on the Las Vegas Strip is something to boast about. Not...

On TV, he's Dwight Schrute, the over-achieving, over-bearing salesman from NBC's Thursday-night hit,...

"Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le. Los mineros de Chile!" If these words don't make your heart sing or your eyes water, what...

By increasing its involvement in the emerging world, Clorox is better positioning itself in the established one. Doing both is making the already potent company stronger than before.

I get a lot of questions about doing both, which challenges those who boil every decision down to this or that. While...

If you're one of the 11 million Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, the last person...

Are dirty dishes dampening consumer enthusiasm for environmental responsibility? That's what The New York...

Are dirty dishes dampening consumer enthusiasm for environmental responsibility? That's what The New York...

"Where teachers lead, children succeed." More than a feel-good sentiment, this is the actual philosophy of...

You don't need to be the editor of Vogue to know what the hottest trend in women's footwear is. All you need to do is...

Millennials represent 41 percent of the U.S. population -- nearly 80 million individuals. By 2014, they will account for half of all U.S. workers. But today, they are struggling to find their way.

Imagine you're a farmer working under the hot sun in Bakersfield, Calif., where daytime temperatures in September...

Cross-posted from Fobes.com: Leadership. As companies begin to emerge from the Great Recession,

"The West's Most Daring Government." That's what The Economist is calling the United Kingdom's new Conservative-Liberal

A decade ago, I learned an invaluable lesson that serves me to this day: we have to make tough decisions, but we don't have to...

A properly trained and equipped crook could unravel your 5 or 6 character computer password in less time that it takes to eat lunch and make a quick stop at the dry cleaners.

In a few short weeks, tens of millions of schoolchildren will be asked a familiar question: What did you do on your...

How would you manage 250 operating companies spread over three industries that do business in more than 60 countries? That's...

Cross-posted from Washington Post: On Leadership Would you give up some of your authority and responsibility if...

Unlike most companies working to provide environmentally friendly transportation, Better Place focused its energies not on the electric vehicles themselves but on the overlooked infrastructure they require.

Smart companies not only develop products in the established world and transport that knowledge to emerging world, but they increasingly do the reverse as well. They prevail by doing both.

One Family. One Product. One Century. That's the heritage of the Onofrio Piano Co. of Denver. Actually, the...

This is a guest post by Greg Justice, the World's Most Interesting Intern. It is cross-posted from Cisco.com:...

Rather than view customers and partners as opposing forces competing for internal resources or financial advantages, smart companies go to great lengths to satisfy each equally -- and uniquely.

Doctors and administrators at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic are already making critical reforms that some say could "cure" health care in the U.S.

Two TV legends, Oprah Winfrey and Larry King, are planning to sign off for the final time. Given their recent ratings, it's probably for the best. So far this year, King's ratings have fallen by more than 40 percent. The Queen of Daytime Talk has also seen better days. In June, Winfrey's ratings di...

A measly 9 percent. That's the scant number of business executives who plan on increasing headcount in professional occupations in the third quarter of 2010, according to the latest Robert Half Professional Employment Report. The implications of this finding couldn't be more personal for managers...

This week, I am sharing some common questions and answers about doing both. Today, let's talk about companies that benefit from doing both--and those that struggle without it. Then I have some advice for those of you who want to get started with this approach. I hope you will comment or Tweet with...

The current business landscape is ripe with dichotomies: Run today's business or invest for tomorrow? Nurture innovation or drive operational excellence? Conventional wisdom says that organizations wrestling with two divergent choices will more likely succeed if they select one option over the other...

Have a desire for a $2,500 chandelier hand-crafted from oak wine barrels from France? What about a 6-foot, leather-wrapped steamer trunk that doubles as an office workstation? Gary Friedman sure hopes you do. He's the chairman and CEO of Restoration Hardware, and the man responsible for the company...

Here's a brain teaser: How can you make something invisible disappear? Answer: cut off its funding. Last July, the U.S. Congress voted to terminate further spending on the F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighter, one of the costliest weapons programs in history. The Defense Department built 187 F-22s -- a...

"Ka." "Kooza." "Ovo." And "Nouba." Are these names familiar to you? If so, then you're likely one of the nearly 100 million people who have seen a performance by Canada's famed circus troupe, Cirque du Soleil. Founded in Quebec, Canada, by stilt-walker and fire-breather Guy Laliberte, Cirque du So...

When upstart engineer James Dyson entered the U.S. vacuum cleaner market in 2002, the competition bristled at the soft-spoken Englishman with a quirky passion for suction. Just three years later, it was clear why: Dyson's cyclonic wind technology had reshaped the market landscape as though a tornado...

Last year in the United States, a record 480,000 people ran a full marathon--all 26.2 miles of it. Another 1.3 million quit smoking, while countless more took steps to improve their credit scores. What do these people have in common? A desire to improve their lives, for one thing. In the last quar...

Ever lose sleep over a difficult business decision? Did you watch the hours tick by as you agonized over the advantages of one option, or the risk of selecting the other?