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17 10, 2022

The New Math of Manufacturing

By |2022-10-17T16:23:46+00:00October 17th, 2022|Innovation, Next Generation Manufacturing, Strategy|Comments Off on The New Math of Manufacturing

Come with me, for a moment, to the plant floor of the well-respected (albeit fictional) drill manufacturer, Grunnings. Plant Manager Vernon Dursley is evaluating his energy costs — and finds the recent increases to resemble nothing so much as bad witchcraft. As his complexion turns an unpleasant shade of purple, his Assistant Manager chimes in: “Look, it’s painful, but energy is overhead — we just have to bite the drill bit and write a check.” And so it was, for a couple hundred years (more or less). Energy costs were an unfathomable, seemingly unfixable drain on profits. It could [...]

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18 12, 2018

Life Cycles of the (Not-So) Rich and (Formerly) Famous

By |2018-12-19T16:59:23+00:00December 18th, 2018|Alec Pendleton, Big Ideas for Small Companies, Business, Customer Service, Growth, Process, Small Business Advice, Strategy, Value Proposition|Comments Off on Life Cycles of the (Not-So) Rich and (Formerly) Famous

Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world and the founder of Amazon, recently predicted to a group of employees that “Amazon will go bankrupt.” He was reflecting on the recent bankruptcy of Sears, which not that long ago was as formidable as Amazon is today. “If you look at large companies,” he said, “their lifespans tend to be 30-plus years, not a hundred-plus years.” I know what you’re thinking: That doesn’t seem right. Large companies have enduring strength. Massive corporations such as those in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are cornerstones of our economy. We don’t think [...]

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