Get Fresh Minds

From the Horse's Mouth: Why new products fail.

Why would a business shun a new technology that requires less upkeep, works faster and more consistantly? A lesson on why new products can fail inspired by the Boudin Bakery. Read more →

South China Mall: Pushing the envelope too far...

A friend sent me to an interesting mini documentary about the world's largest shopping mall - South China Mall in Dongguan, China. It's a fascinating video, because it turns out that the largest mall in the world is not. The mall has space for over 2000 tenants, plus a replica of the Arc de Triomphe, a replica of Venice's St Mark's bell tower, a canal with gondolas, and an indoor-outdoor roller coaster. Unfortunately, the mall is 99% unoccupied. And unlike most other "dead" malls, South China Mall never was filled with stores. (Or even close to a quarter filled!) It... Read more →

Jobs seekers... please restrain your creativity!

It's no secret that finding a job right now is tough. And when times get tough, the tough get creative! Right? Today I ran across the results of a survey from CareerBuilder that says 20% of hiring managers are seeing more people try to get their attention in unusual ways. Some of the things people are trying? Sending in a shoe with a resume to "get my foot in the door." Staging a sit-in in the lobby to get a meeting with a director. Washing cars in the parking lot. (No reason given for this.) Sending a resume wrapped as... Read more →

Why Ford deserves to fail.

There's a lot of talk about the Wall Street bail-outs. $700+ billion dollars to rescue financial institutions from a crisis they created themselves. And that probably won't be the end of it. But there's another bail-out that people aren't talking about much - but probably should. Not long ago, while flying home from Germany, I read a small article buried in USA Today about how American automakers are begging Congress for a bail-out of their own. They want $25 billion in loans to upgrade their plants for production of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Recently, the House authorized this loan, and it... Read more →

There's danger in thinking within the box.

Everyone who talks about creativity goes on and on about "thinking outside the box". But what does that really mean? And why is it so important? Well, learning to think outside the box can really make a huge difference. Trust me on this. I know! A couple years ago, I suffered through a horrible, torturous reminder about how important it is to think outside of the box. Here's the story! It was one of my first times visiting Germany, and I understood almost no German. So, every time we went out to eat, I had to spend a ton of... Read more →

Have you heard about Starbucks' latest bad idea?

Big news in the world of coffee yesterday. Starbucks has apparently decided to offer $2 coffees to reward loyal patrons. The Associated Press reports: Looking to bring more value-seeking consumers through its doors for a late afternoon caffeine fix, Starbucks Corp. said it will now offer its morning customers any iced grande beverage for $2 after 2 p.m. The price is a big cut from the normal price of most grande-sized iced drinks.... To get the discount, customers must present a receipt from their morning Starbucks visit. Does this sound like a good idea to you? To me, Starbucks represents... Read more →