Strategy Types: Critical Operations

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Bill Carson

LET’S take a quick look at some compelling strategy situations … 1.      SURVIVAL By a near miracle, or perhaps an actual miracle, you’ve just survived a night time airplane crash somewhere in the Amazon.  The Amazon is a big place and you don’t know where you are.  It’s also a formidable place, night or day.  You probably wouldn’t last more than several days in this environment before perishing, so you have to quickly make your way to safety. You sense that your chances of finding a village are poor and that perhaps you should try to arrange, instead, for someone else to … Continue reading →

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Strategy in the News: Lasso and Lascaux

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Bill Carson

LASSO Well-regarded author Patricia O’Brien had produced 5 novels.  But her last one hadn’t sold well, and her Simon & Shuster editor declined to publish her new one, “The Dressmaker”.  A dozen more publishers also rejected the efforts of her well-known literary agent, Esther Newberg, to secure a contract for the book. What was going on?  Turns out O’Brien’s book was being rejected because her numbers had been lowered in Nielsen BookScan, a book sales tracking service, as a result of the performance of her most recent book.  And the publishing house editors were making their publishing decisions based on … Continue reading →

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The Gray Area

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Bill Carson

Mt. Sopris  The scene below is of Mount Sopris, a prominent feature of the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness in western Colorado.  We’re here, you and I, because we’re doing a little reconnaissance for a flight in an altitude-limited light plane that will take us past that peak tomorrow morning. It’s a gorgeous day and getting here was an easy hike.  We find ourselves in a benign, rather soft and idyllic scene:  green, rolling hills, open woodlands; it’s sunny and the warm air has amped up the smell of the pines.  We’re sitting here, taking in the mountain, brilliant in … Continue reading →

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Found Strategies; Busacco

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Bill Carson

PALACE HOTEL AT BUSACCO  My wife, Barbara, and I were driving around Portugal on a route created by putting red dots on a road map at locations of interesting wineries, and then connecting them via various other places of interest.  Our friend Tim had bootstrapped this process with some helpful maps and suggestions, from his travels there. When we drove into sight of the great old Palace Hotel do Bucaco (alternatively spelled and pronounced Busacco and Bussaco), we knew we were doing something right.  This fabulous old building, with its lavish Manueline architecture, was once a hunting lodge for Portuguese … Continue reading →

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The Winds of Patagonia; Cooperative Strategy

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Bill Carson

Down the E. Coast of Patagonia My friend Marcelo organized a car trip through Patagonia.  As a young guy he had worked on a Patagonian estancia and knew the territory well.  The plan was to start in Buenos Aires, drive down the east side of Argentina through the Pampas, along the Atlantic Coast of Patagonia, cross the Strait of Magellan, spend Christmas week with friends in Ushuaia on the island of Tierra Del Fuego, then re-cross the Strait, head west, drive back north along the Andes Cordillera, and then east again to Buenos Aires.  6000 miles.  We would be stopping … Continue reading →

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Strategy in the News: Fake Review Scams

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Bill Carson

RISKY RELIANCE          Here we are online, looking for a pair of sneakers.  We’re at the site of a major online retailer.  [sorry – ignore this interruption: BYB6NREXZYJG]  So many sneakers to choose from.  A dazzling array of makes, models and colors.  How to choose?  After going down the search tree, we find several candidates that look pretty good.  Time to check out their customer reviews. Wow – so many 5-star customer ratings!  Funny.  As we read along, some reviews emerge as rather odd.  Maybe it’s the way the reviewer slipped into “marketing speak” – which we wouldn’t expect a real consumer … Continue reading →

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