November 2011
5 posts
"What I Learned Building the Apple Store" →
Ron Johnson, former VP for retail at Apple:
There isn’t one solution. Each retailer will need to find its own unique formula. But I can say with confidence that the retailers that win the future are the ones that start from scratch and figure out how to create fundamentally new types of value for customers.
That statement applies to more than just retail.
"Your competitive advantage" →
Seth Godin:
When you increase your discernment, maximize your awareness of the available options and then go ahead and ship work that scares others… that’s when you succeed.
More time on the problem isn’t the way. More guts is. When you expose yourself to the opportunities that scare you, you create something scarce, something others won’t do.
Overpowering Perspectives
I love Mandy Brown.
How many of us have read Nicholas Carr’s latest work about the idea of ‘Google making us stupid’ and believed him? Yep, I’m in that camp. In fact, I found his argument so compelling that it kind of terrified me.
Enter Many Brown’s reading note: “How to read in an age of abundance”:
Katherine Hayles points out the oft-overlooked...
Focus on What Matters Most; Family, Friends &...
Today I was reminded that life is precious, and all the little things… well, that’s what they are - little things. They can be swept aside for the big things; things like friends, family, and great colleagues. This time of year, it’s easy to lose focus on what matters, so let’s all try harder not to forget.
Bezos: We're Stubborn on Vision, Flexible on... →
My favorite quote from the entire interview:
Our first shareholder letter, in 1997, was entitled, “It’s all about the long term.” If everything you do needs to work on a three-year time horizon, then you’re competing against a lot of people. But if you’re willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, you’re now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing...