Entrepreneurial spirit

The U.S. holds an unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit. According to the Small Business Administration, over 500,000 new companies with employees are created annually in the United States. Industry experts attribute the high rate to increased layoffs, less executive job security, and more flexibility to operate a business as a secondary source of income.
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Profit margin

A company's profit margin is defined as net income divided by net revenue. Profit margin is usually expressed as a percentage. Calculating profit margin allows for normalized comparison of companies in the same industry. Higher profit margins indicate good performance while lower margins indicate inefficiency. Profit margins vary from industry to industry.
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Customer service

A Rockefeller University survey found that almost 70% of customers leave because of perceived rude or indifferent behavior by an employee, versus about 20% combined for price and product quality. Another study of customer complaint behavior, conducted by research consultancy TARP, found that only 5% of customers with problems complain to management while 50% simply walk away.
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Delegation guidelines

The hallmark of good supervision is effective delegation. Author Thomas R. Horton suggests the following delegation guidelines: delegate the entire task to one person; select the appropriate person; clarify the preferred results; delegate responsibility and authority; ask for a summary back from the delegatee; get progress feedback; evaluate and reward performance.
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ROI

ROI stands for Return On Investment. The simple ratio is used to evaluate the net benefits of a project or investment versus its cost. In math terms, the ROI ratio equals the benefit divided by the cost. ROI is a popular method due to its simplicity. If the resulting ROI is negative, the project or investment is deemed a poor investment.
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Economies of scale

The concept of "economy of scale" suggests generally that as production output increases, unit cost decreases. Economies of scale are achieved through such things as mass production, technology, marketing and communication. Economies of scale may also be produced through location, for example, production facilities that share services or fast food restaurants that share customers.
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Green business

A green business is an ecologically-friendly business. It is not limited to any particular market — it could be any kind of product for any market. What characterizes a green business is that it is run in such a way as to conserve natural resources, eliminate waste and remain ecologically in balance. Addressing climate change is the number one perceived green issue among most businesses.
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The Leadership Engine

"The Leadership Engine: How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level", by Noel Tichy and Eli Cohen, suggest that effective mangers lead as well as manage. The authors conclude that the best companies have "good leaders who nurture the development of other leaders at all levels of the organization."
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Standard Oil

John D. Rockefeller built Standard Oil during the 19th Century, earning him the distinction of being America's first billionaire. Standard Oil was established in Ohio in 1870 and by the turn of the century became one of the largest multinational corporations in the world. Standard Oil was broken up into 34 independent companies in 1911 by the U.S. Supreme Court under the Sherman Antitrust act.
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The 50-50-90 rule

The 50-50-90 rule suggests that anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there is a 90 percent probability you will get it wrong.
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The 80-20 rule

The 80-20 rule, also known as the Pereto Principal, states that for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. The business application of this rule of thumb says for most companies, 80% of its revenue comes from 20% of its customers.
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Internet search

Internet search engines are no longer limited in querying only web pages for results. The web has evolved into a vast collection of files that support a variety of applications. Google's Universal search and Yahoo's Glue search well beyond web pages, bringing back results from images, video, news, blogs, and even from specific web sites such as WebMD and Wikipedia.
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Endowments

Nearly 80 universities have endowments over $1 billion, according to data compiled by the Boston Globe. A robust stock market and generous donations have helped boost endowments to record levels. Some lawmakers are calling for more endowment spending to offset tuition increases. They suggest requiring colleges to spend at least 5 percent of their endowments each year, as nonprofits are required.
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Competitive advantage

The most important attribute that Warren Buffet looks for in a company is "sustainable competitive advantage". According to author Erica Olsen, competitive advantage can be boiled down to one question: what is a company best at in its market and why? Olsen suggests that the best companies always understand their competitive advantage and make it a key aspect of planning, strategy and growth.
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China

China is an economic superpower. According to the World Bank, China has been the world’s leading producer of steel, copper, aluminum, cement, and coal for several years. China is second in oil imports and is the world's second largest auto market. With ample supplies of money, resources, and people, the world's fastest growing economy will continue its unprecedented growth into the 21st century.
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Energy costs

CEOs have ranked energy costs as one of their biggest challenges, according to the Business Roundtable's Energy Task Force. Energy prices are rising in the face of increasing demand. Public policy has leaned against nuclear and coal energy sources, drilling and building oil refineries. At the same time, global demand has risen steadily, especially from new powerhouse economies in Asia and Europe.
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Social computing

Social computing, via websites such as FaceBook and Twitter, puts power in communities, not institutions. As more individuals use the Internet to shop, work, and exchange ideas, a more egalitarian social structure is emerging. Individuals take cues from one another, rather than traditional sources of authority — like corporations, media outlets, political institutions or organized religions.
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CEO Express

CEOExpress.com, the executive’s interface to the Internet, employs expert human editors and "mind ergonomics" to deliver the most critical and useful web information in a clear, easy-to-use format. CEOExpress filters and organizes the content executives need on the Internet while adding features to the site to make their lives even more streamlined and efficient.
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Vacation benefits

There is no federal law that requires employers to provide vacation time, paid or unpaid, to its employers. Most employees consider it to be one of their most important benefits. Workplace experts agree that it is important to productivity and morale for employees to take time off in order to rest and rejuvenate. The typical U.S. worker receives ten vacation days per year.
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10/80/10 Performance Principal

The 10/80/10 Performance Principal identifies workers in three categories. The first 10% are self-starters; they possess the right skills, knowledge and beliefs to be highly effective. The middle 80% represents the adaptors; employees with some of the skills and knowledge to be successful. The last 10% represent workers that will not be successful regardless of training or direction.
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Unions

Employee unions peaked in 1945 when almost 36% of U.S. workers were union members. Union memberships today stands around 12%. Unions have gained members in the public sector and in some service industries. Key factors in declining membership: the exodus of manufacturing jobs to other countries, job growth from smaller and specialized businesses, and decreased industry regulation.
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Angels

An angel investor is a venture capitalist that provides money for a business start-up, usually in exchange for ownership equity in the business. Angel investors typically invest their own money and commonly fill business capital needs under a million dollars. Many angels are successful entrepreneurs who want to help other entrepreneurs get their business off the ground.
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Leveraged buyouts

A leveraged buyout occurs when a company is acquired by another company through the use of borrowed money. In many cases, the assets of both the acquiring company and target company are used as collateral for the purchase loans. Leveraged buyouts allow companies to make large acquisitions without having to commit a lot of capital and also provide a tax shield in the form of debt payments.
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Productivity

The virtuous cycle of rising worker productivity is a key component of economic growth and stability. The rewards of higher productivity growth come in the form of more money for workers to spend on consumption items. This extra money provide businesses with incentive to invest more in technology and equipment, thereby laying the foundation for even higher future productivity.
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Exit strategy

An exit strategy is a planned departure from a business with the goal of redeeming your investment plus any potential profit. Exit strategies are typically carried out through a sale, merger, IPO, buyout or liquidation. Successful exit results are obtained when companies have established value, relationships and distribution channels, customer base, or with intellectual property.
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Lean Manufacturing

James Womack coined the phrase "Lean Manufacturing" in his 1990 book "The Machine That Changed The World". The lean concept is a derivative of the Toyota Production System and Just In Time Production systems. Lean means manufacturing without wasted material, time, equipment and inventory. Most companies waste 70% to 90% of their resources. Even the best Lean Manufacturers waste about 30%.
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Statistical mode

In statistics, the mode is a measure of central tendency for a set of values and is defined as the most frequently occurring value or values in a given data set. The mode is a useful when dealing with categorical data. For example, if a manufacturer sells 12 different computer chips, the mode would represent the most popular chip sold.
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Early business failure

About a third of all new establishments never make it past two years, according to statistics from the Small Business Administration. The editors at BusinessKnowHow.com cite the following top reasons for early business failure: poor management, insufficient capital, bad location, and lack of planning. Additionally, many businesses fail because people start them for the wrong reasons.
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The Sarbanes-Oxley

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is a federal law enacted in 2002 in response to major corporate scandals at Enron, Adelphia and WorldCom. The act covers issues such as auditor independence, corporate governance, internal control assessment, and financial disclosure. It also established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to regulate accounting firms as auditors of public companies.
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Executive coaching

Executive coaching is becoming a mainstream function in many companies. A recent survey by Right Management Consultants found almost 90% of companies said they used coaching to sharpen the skills of current executives and future organizational leaders. The most frequently cited benefit of corporate coaches is that they provide objective, real-time feedback that cannot be provided by others.
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Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy is a business strategy that promotes developing uncontested products or services that makes the competition irrelevant. In contrast, Red Ocean Strategy promotes competition in existing industries and markets. The Blue Ocean concept was developed by authors Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in their book "The Blue Ocean Strategy".
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Group Think

Entrepreneur.com editor David Javitch uses the phrase "Group Think" to describe the process where a group or team is reluctant to challenge its leader, presenting the image that all is well, even if it's not. Javtich suggests the following remedies: confer with random groups from different departments; hold theme-based sessions with employees; or call company-wide Q&A meetings.
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Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker is considered the father of modern management. Born in Austria, Drucker came to the U.S. in the 1930s and became a preeminent writer, commentator and management consultant. He authored many books and articles that explored human relationships and the organization of business, and offered management advice grounded in history, sociology, psychology, philosophy and culture.
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The Great Depression

The Great Depression in the U.S. was a major economic recession that occurred from 1929 to 1933. The severe recession lasted 43 months, almost three times the duration of the average recession of the 20th century. Several complex factors are cited as the cause and persistence of this worldwide malaise: massive bank failures, sudden stock market crashes and government policy decisions.
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In Search of Excellence

The best-selling 1982 book "In Search of Excellence" by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman is heralded as a landmark business book. The book is a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies within the context of eight primary principles of management that made these organizations successful. Each principle is covered in the book's eight chapters.
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Good stress

Some forms of stress can actually be good for you. According to psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Tan, as published in a recent MSNBC article, moderate amounts of stress can help people perform tasks more efficiently and can improve memory. This "good" stress can improve heart function and make the body resistant to infection, experts say. Learn to recognize good stress events and welcome the challenge.
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Alfred Nobel

The idea of the Nobel Prize was established in 1895 when Alfred Nobel wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth for its establishment. Since 1901, the prize has honored men and women for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace. Nobel invented dynamite and made his fortune through manufacturing and distribution of the explosive.
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The concept of three

Audience members tend to retain about three things from a presentation. A presentation rule of thumb says use the concept of three to structure your presentations. Present three ideas, each having three sections, with each section having three items, and so on.
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Father of Branding

British grocer William Lever is considered the Father of Branding. Lever came up with the idea of cutting and wrapping bars of soap with the name Sunlight on them toward the end of the 19th century. Up until then, people would ask the grocer to cut and wrap a piece of soap. Sales of Lever's soap surged and soon after other soap producers copied his marketing idea.
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Bombarded

Efforts to achieve sustainable brand loyalty are directed at consumers that are bombarded with messages on a daily basis. Jack Trout, author of "Differentiate or Die", cites the following daunting facts: printed knowledge doubles every five years; four-thousand new books are published every day; the web grows by one-million pages a day; by age 18, a person has watched 140,000 TV commercials.
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Chief Executive Magazine

Chief Executive Magazine compiles the monthly CEO Confidence Index that measures CEO confidence in the economy as well as their future business plans. The survey includes a provocative “bonus question” created by Chief Executive’s editorial team. Each month the e-mail survey is sent to a rotating list of Chief Executive Subscribers. Visit chiefexecutive.net.
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The four Cs

The four Cs of competitive advantage: Competitive uniqueness: what can I do for my customers that no one else can do? Competitive advantage: what can I do better for my customers than my competitors? Competitive parity: am I at the same level as my competitors? Competitive disadvantage: where does the competition have an advantage over me?
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Search within a site

Use Google's "search within a site" syntax to search within a specified website. Use the following syntax at the Google Search text box: site: siteyoursearching.com search text. For example site:cnn.com Florida elections will search the CNN website for the text "Florida elections". See google.com/advanced_search for more Google advanced search methods.
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Business benefits of blogs

Blogging author Jason O'Connor suggests that online businesses can benefit from blogging. The business benefits of blogs include: they help position a company as an industry expert; they are interactive in nature and can obtain valuable customer feedback; they are inexpensive and easily marketed; and certain products or services may be featured in blogs.
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Myers-Briggs

The Myers-Briggs personality assessment test has been identifying introverts, extroverts and other personality types since 1943. Based on the theories of psychologist Carl Jung, the Myers-Briggs questionnaire has been gauging personalities through attitude, style and cultural changes over the past sixty-years. Many consider it an essential tool for hiring and career planning.
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Alumni network

SelectMinds CEO Cem Sertoglu suggests that companies maintain an "alumni" network of ex-employees, according to a recent Inc.com article. Keeping track of former workers can pay off for a business as rehiring a former employee typically costs only about half as much as bringing in a brand-new hire. Rehired alums may also provide sources of new business.
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Executive and management coaches

More organizations are making use of executive and management coaches. A recent survey by Right Management Consultants found 86% of respondent companies said they used coaching to sharpen the skills of individuals who had been identified as future organizational leaders. Many used certified executive coaches through consulting arrangements or brought them on as permanent staff.
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Wellness management

More organizations are employing "wellness management" methods to identify preventable, long-term health problems with the goal of prevention versus treatment. The program begins with employees enrolling in a yearly, voluntary health-risk appraisal. Employees with potential health problems work with health educators and coaches to plan and track health progress.
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Nucor Steel

North Carolina-based Nucor Steel is one of the world's most productive companies, according to a recent MRO Today study. Nucor has recorded over 130 consecutive quarters of revenue and dividend growth through its commitment to its customers, employees, and technology. Bucking most corporate policies, the first cost-cutting measures when business goes down is executive perks and bonuses.
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Rudy Giuliani

"There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader." - Rudy Giuliani
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The Internet

The Internet was born on October 29, 1969. UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock led a team of engineers in sending the first message from one remote computer to another on ARPANET, a network developed by the Department of Defense. The actual message sent from UCLA to the Stanford Research Institute is the text "lo".
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IPOs

The credit card company Visa set the record for the single largest U.S. initial public offering raising $17.9 billion in 2008. The ideal candidate for an IPO has a well-established track record of steadily growing sales and earnings, and operates in an industry that is currently on the way up. IPOs are the most expensive way to raise money in terms of cost.
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Proxy fights

In business, a proxy fight is a hostile takeover method where the acquiring company attempts to convince shareholders to vote for a new management team or board of directors that will approve a takeover. Proxy fights often start with unhappy shareholders or managers within the company itself. The proxy technique allows the acquiring company to avoid paying a premium for the target company.
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The American Business Awards

The American Business Awards have been awarded annually since 2002. The awards were created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and business people worldwide in dozens of categories. Winners receive the distinctive American Business Award trophy called a "Stevie", which is derived from Greek meaning "crowned".
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Business Gateway

Business.gov, the official business link to the U.S. Government, is managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in partnership with 21 other federal agencies. This partnership, known as Business Gateway, is a Presidential E-government initiative that provides a single access point to government services and information to help the nation's businesses with their operations.
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Global competitiveness

TIME Magazine partners with the WEF to annually rank the global competitiveness of national economies based on 113 factors, including venture capital availability, market-size, and infrastructure. The U.S. was first in the latest rankings, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Germany and Finland. South Korea saw the biggest year-to-year jump in rank.
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National Business Women's Week

In 1928 President Herbert Hoover designated the third week of October as National Business Women's Week. This week celebrates the contributions of working women to the American society, economy and family. The objectives of the week are to promote full participation and equity for women in the workplace as well as publicize the achievements of professional women.
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The Big Three

General Motors sold one of every two cars in America in 1962 compared to about one in four vehicles today. Ford and Chrysler report similar market erosion. Auto industry experts lay blame on several factors: too many competing models, chronic downward spiral in demand, spiking employee and retiree health care costs, and thinning vehicle profit margins.
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The Mechanism of Mind

Edward de Bono is a pioneer in the art of improving one's creative thinking processes. One of de Bono's creativity techniques is called "reverse thinking". When discussing a problem or scenario, participants pose opposites in size, time, meaning, etc. as a way of stimulating ideas and thought. The book "The Mechanism of Mind" offers several more of de Bono's creative thinking techniques.
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Black Monday

On October 19, 1987, the S&P 500 lost 20.5%, the Dow Jones lost 22.6% and the NASDAQ lost 11.3%, marking the largest one-day decline in stock market history. One of the major causes of the crash was the use of automated computer program trading. During the rapid decline, the markets were found to be controlled more by computers rather than by investor decisions.
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Innovation management

Innovation management is a key component of successful companies, suggest authors Morten Hansen and Julian Birkinshaw. Companies without a process to get good ideas to market put themselves at risk to unfocued initiatives and added stress to existing processes. Proctor & Gamble and Apple are cited as good innovation value chain examples.
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American labor

The 20th Century saw a dramatic change in the way Americans work. Over 80% of all U.S. workers where categorized as self-employed in the early 1900s. By 1980, over 90% of workers in the U.S. were considered as employees. Federal labor laws, New Deal legislation and the growth of large corporations factored heavily in this complete turnaround of American labor.
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10-year rule

Occupation experts often speak of the "10-year rule"—that it takes at least a decade of hard work or practice to become highly successful in most endeavors, from managing a hardware store to writing sitcoms. They cite the ability to persist in the face of obstacles is almost always the essential ingredient in major achievements.
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Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard concept is a management metric system that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. The goal of the balanced scorecard is to tie business performance to organizational strategy by measuring results in four areas: financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth.
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Ben Bernanke

Ben Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2006. Bernanke, from South Carolina, holds a B.A. degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. in economics from MIT. He taught at Princeton, Stanford, NYU and MIT, and has authored many articles and books. Bernanke's 14-year Federal Reserve Board term ends in January 2020.
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Henry Luce

Henry Luce was one of America's most influential publishers and is considered the Father of the modern magazine. Henry Luce and partner Briton Hadden published the first edition of Time Magazine in 1923. The success of Time was followed up by Fortune in 1930, Life in 1936, and Sports Illustrated in 1954. Life magazine was notable for introducing photojournalism to American mass media.
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80/80 designer’s rule of thumb

80/80 designer’s rule of thumb. To keep things within scope and budget, always design for the rule and not the exception. The 80/80 design rule of thumb says design for what 80% percent of people want to do 80% of the time.
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McDonalds

Ray Kroc was the first businessman to apply the principles of mass production to restaurants when he introduced Americans to McDonalds. Kroc convinced the McDonald brothers of California to sell their small chain to him in 1961, which he turned into one of the biggest franchise bonanzas in history of business. Billions of hamburgers have been sold from thousands of McDonalds.
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Children's Digital Library

Children were a key staffing element in the design of the International Children's Digital Library at the University of Baltimore, as reported in the Baltimore Daily Record. Growing up in a world permeated by interactive media, the children were seen as unique partners in discovery and as native guides in creating and constructing their virtual worlds for the project.
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Jack Welch

"If change is happening on the outside faster than on the inside the end is in sight." -- Jack Welch.
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Alka Seltzer

There is a marketing legend about how Alka Seltzer doubled its sales. The heartburn and indigestion product had seen sales decline into the 1960s and was in need of a jump start. Their ad agency at the time came up with the idea of telling its customers to take a double-dose of the tablets. The campaign was a huge success as Alka Seltzer sales and profits doubled.
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Enterprise 2.0

The phrase "Enterprise 2.0" was coined to describe the business use of web-based services once thought only as online novelties. Products such as blogs, wikis, social networks, and mashups are making their way into corporate computer networks. Factors fueling this growth include more empowerment among employees and customers, faster application development cycles, and more effective communication.
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Mashups

"Mashups" are the latest breed of software emerging on the web. Mashups are applications developed from a variety of disparate programs, such as web applications, map software, databases and images. The first mashups combined real estate search databases with maps. Software venders are now providing interfaces to their digital assets with the intent of fostering more mashups on the web.
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Cough and colds

Cough and colds are most common during the winter months. Cold germs are contained and spread more easily during indoor months. Use the following tips to avoid cough and cold: wash your hands often; avoid putting your hands near your eyes, nose and mouth; make sure shared items are cleaned frequently; get enough rest; drink more water; limit alcohol consumption; and eat healthy.
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ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo.com is a summarization search engine that delivers comprehensive information on over thirty million business professionals and two million companies across many industries. ZoomInfo finds and extracts information from Web sites, press releases, electronic news services and SEC filings, and summarizes the information into a comprehensive, searchable format.
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Succession planning

Succession planning establishes a process to recruit employees, develop their skills, and prepare them for advancement, all while retaining them to ensure a return on the organization's training investment. Succession planning involves understanding the organization's long-term goals and objectives, identifying employee development needs, and determining trends.
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Moonlighters

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about seven to eight million workers are holding multiple jobs. After several years of decline, the numbers of "moonlighters" has increased in the U.S. The top reasons cited for holding multiple jobs are: to earn extra money, to pay off debt, gratitude or enjoyment, to meet people, and to gain new experience.
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Wonderlic Personnel Test

All National Football League draft picks take the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) as part of the annual pre-draft combine. The Dallas Cowboys were the first NFL team to use the WPT in the early 1970s. Originally developed in 1937, the WPT test is popular because it provides quick, easy and accurate information about a job candidate's intelligence.
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Peter Drucker

"Since we live in an age of innovation, a practical education must prepare a man for work that does not yet exist and cannot yet be clearly defined." - Peter Drucker
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Workplace stress

Employee and management stress costs companies billions of dollars annually through increased absenteeism, lack of enthusiasm for the job, and poor performance. According to several industry surveys, the following factors cause the most stress in the workplace: unclear policies and direction, failure to show appreciation, lack of communication, and lack of control.
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U.S. national debt

The national budget of the United States has recorded only four annual surpluses in the years since 1970. The total U.S. national debt is approaching 16 trillion dollars with annual interest costs running in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Some economists see further future pressure in the face of pending government programs, increasing trade deficits, and further economic globalization.
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Tender offers

A tender offer is an unsolicited bid by one company to purchase another. The buying group usually offers a premium share price to encourage current shareholders to sell their shares. Tender offers may be friendly or unfriendly. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires any company or individual acquiring 5% of a company to disclose information to the SEC, the target company and the exchange.
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Business incubators

The first business incubator was opened in Batavia, New York in 1959. The concept of providing business assistance services to early-stage companies in shared facilities did not catch on with many communities until the late 1970s. By 1980 there were twelve business incubators operating in the U.S. Incubator development grew from about 20 openings annually in 1984 to more than 70 in 1987.
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Psychological pricing

Psychological pricing is a marketing practice based on the theory that certain prices have a psychological impact. Two common forms of psychological pricing are odd pricing and prestige pricing. Odd pricing ends prices with an odd number. Prestige pricing sets prices at an artificially high level for perceived prestige or quality.
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Patents

IBM has led all other companies in receiving patents for the past fifteen years. IBM held number one again in the latest patent rankings with a total of 3,148 patents. Big Blue was followed by Samsung, Canon, Matsushita and Intel. Microsoft made the top ten for the first time. Overall, 80% of the top 35 patent receiving organizations were down from the previous year.
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The median

In statistics, the median is a measure of central tendency for a set of values and is determined by sorting the data set from lowest to highest values and taking the data point in the middle of the sequence. The median value is useful when the distribution of values is skewed or unevenly distributed such as in the case of home values or income. Otherwise, use the mean or mode values.
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The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal was first published in 1889 when Edward Jones began printing and distributing a daily journal that featured the Jones average and stock and bond prices from the New York Stock Exchange. Today, The Wall Street Journal has more than two million daily readers and has earned over thirty Pulitzer Prizes. Visit the Wall Street Journal on the web at online.wsj.com.
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Joint ventures

A joint venture is a strategic alliance where two or more businesses form a partnership to share markets, intellectual property, assets and knowledge. They are usually formed to save money and make profit. Joint ventures are widely used by companies to gain entrance into foreign markets. Some countries require a joint venture as a way for a foreign company to gain access to its market.
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Business plans

A good business plan contains a description of your business, including details about how it will operate, a section on market research and marketing strategies, an evaluation of your main competitors, and several financial forecasts. Business plans determine feasibility, estimate start-up costs and potential profit, and reveal potential problems.
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Off-shoring

Off-shoring of business processes began in earnest during the 1970s and took of in the 1980s. Over 30-years later, off-shoring has segmented into several variations. "Near-shoring" sources work in a lower-wage country that is relatively close in distance or time zone. "In-shoring" sources foreign workers within the same country. "Right-shoring" is a combination of domestic and foreign sourcing.
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Entrepreneurs

The word entrepreneur is French in origin, meaning "to undertake". An entrepreneur is a person who starts and runs a business, develops a new product, or creates a new service. In an existing business, the idea of stimulating individual employees to act in an entrepreneurial way is referred to as "intrapreneurship."
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Disintermediation

Disintermediation generally means removing the middleman. Typical supply chain intermediaries, such as distributors, wholesalers, brokers, resellers or agents, may be removed from a channel when technical, communication or logistical factors allow. The onset of the Internet produced several attempts at disintermediation, namely book sales, electronics and PCs, and airline and travel sales.
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National Bureau of Economic Research

The National Bureau of Economic Research, or NBER, is considered the official arbiter of recessions, but it doesn't define recession by the school book measure of two or more consecutive quarters of economic contraction as measured by GDP. According to NBER, "a recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months.
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Small business success rate

The success rate for small business start-ups is slim. An estimated 40% of small business start-ups fail during their first year. Of the survivors, 80% will fail within five years. In comparison to the dismal rate of ordinary small-business start-ups, about 75% of franchise businesses succeed at five years.
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Patent trolls

The information and technology age has spawned a new industry occupation best described as "patent troll". A patent troll is a person or company that looks to acquire patents with the primary purpose of making patent infringement claims against other companies. Patent trolls make money by forcing companies to license their patented technology through lawsuits or litigation.
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Business decision rule of thumb

A good rule of thumb that many successful leaders follow says when they have sixty percent of the information they need to make a decision, they go ahead and make it.
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The 90-50 project management rule of thumb

The 90-50 project management rule of thumb comes into effect when you have completed 90% of the project leaving only 50% left to complete.
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Henry J. Kaiser

Henry J. Kaiser is on the list of Forbes most influential in business. His companies helped construct America’s roads, bridges and dams. His ship-building companies helped win World War II. Kaiser’s industries included automobile manufacturing, aluminum and real estate development. His diverse group of companies and employees led him to help form the country's first HMO, Kaiser Permanente.
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The first income taxes

The first income tax in the United States was enacted in 1862. Congress passed the income tax law in order to raise revenue to pay for the Civil War effort. A typical worker during this time paid about three percent of their income in taxes. In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution made the income tax a permanent fixture in the U.S. tax system.
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Rules of automation

"The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency." -- Bill Gates.
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NASA's infamous space pen

The legend of NASA's infamous space pen. NASA astronauts discovered during their first flights into space that their pens did not work in zero gravity. NASA engineers developed, at considerable cost, a pen that worked upside down, in a vacuum, in zero gravity, and even under water. Meanwhile, the Russian space program's solution was simpler: use a pencil.
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MBA degrees

The number of MBA degrees earned in the United States has grown significantly over the past several decades. About 5,000 MBAs were awarded annually during the 1960s. By the 2000s, the number of earned MBAs exploded to nearly 100,000 a year. The typical MBA costs about $30,000 to complete. An MBA is worth about $10,000 to $30,000 a year over a bachelor's degree.
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Company buy back

After selling stock to the public, companies sometimes buy some of it back. Companies buy back their stock for three reasons. One is to add to the demand of their stock. The second is to increase the company’s position as a shareholder. The third is to take advantage of the stock's bargain price.
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Labor Day

On September 5, 1882, ten thousand workers participated in America's first Labor Day parade in New York City. The first governmental recognition of Labor Day came through municipal ordinances passed in 1885. By 1894, twenty-eight states had recognized Labor Day. President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making Labor Day an official national holiday in 1894.
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The War for Talent

Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, and Beth Axelrod, authors of the book "The War for Talent," suggest that the very best companies have leaders who are obsessed with talent: they recruit ceaselessly, finding and hiring as many top performers as possible. They reward top talent disproportionately and push them into ever more senior positions.
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Five characteristics

Best-selling author and business speaker Jason Jennings suggests five characteristics that the best-performing companies share: they have an "authentic" reason for existence; are willing to let go and embrace change; focus on the right customers; get everyone to think and act like owners; have leaders that put service over self-interest.
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Paying more than competitors

According to a survey of 1,400 CFOs conducted by search firm Robert Half International, paying more than competitors is still the best way to attract top talent. However, nearly one-third of the survey respondents reported non-monetary perks such as flexible hours and telecommuting options were more appealing with prospective employees, ahead of higher compensation.
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Fantasy football

During the NFL season, nearly 37 million people will spend about fifty minutes a week at work managing their fantasy football teams, according to a survey by outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The survey estimates that companies will lose as much as $1.1 billion a week in lost productivity.


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Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement is dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. JA reaches over 8 million students a year in 339,000 classrooms and afterschool locations. JA programs are taught by volunteers throughout America and in more than 100 countries around the world. Learn more at ja.org.
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Michael Gerber

"My experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more." - Michael Gerber
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Social Computing

Social Computing describes a relatively new experience where technology puts power in communities, innovation occurs from the bottom-up and value is based on interactive experiences. Web sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn typify social computing. Computer companies such as Microsoft and IBM have recently added dedicated social computing research groups.
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Oligopoly vs. Oligopsony

Oligopoly is the market condition that exists when there are few sellers, as a result of which they can greatly influence market factors. The retail gas market is an example. Oligopsony is the market condition that exists when there are few buyers, as a result of which they can greatly influence market factors. For example, the tobacco industry's hold on tobacco farmers.
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Mergers

There are four classes of business mergers. A horizontal merger involves firms from the same industry. A vertical merger involves those from the same supply chain. A circular merger involves those with similar distribution channels. A conglomerate merger involves firms with few or no similarities but that come together to create a larger economic base and greater profit potential.
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Corporations

A Corporation is the most common form of business class. It is characterized by the limited liability of its owners, the issuance of shares of easily transferable stock, and existence as a going concern. A corporation is an independent entity from the people who created it. Most corporations are registered with a local jurisdiction as either a stock corporation or a non-stock corporation.
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Management fads

The life-cycle of the typical management fad goes like this: formal introduction of a change initiative by management with fanfare and workshops, formation of committees, early adoption of the changes by staff, and the gradual disappearance of the initiative as management and staff lose interest, with a return to business as usual.
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Patents, trademarks and copyrights

A patent is a grant of a property rights for an invention, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. A trademark, also called a service mark, is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade to distinguish and promote products and services. A copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of original works of authorship.
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The mean

In statistics, the mean is a measure of central tendency for a set of values. This measure is useful when the distribution of values are normally distributed and not influenced by extreme values. For example, the population of all wage earners is not distributed evenly thus making the average value less meaningful than the other measures, such as the median or mode.
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The Harvard Business Review

The Harvard Business Review has been published by the Harvard Business School since 1922. HBR has evolved through the decades into a high-ranking business journal revered by academics, executives and management consultants. HBR began awarding the McKinsey Award in 1959 to the two most significant articles of the year. HBR is online at harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu.
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RFx

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is an invitation for suppliers and vendors to submit a proposal or bid on a specific commodity or service. A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is used where price is the main or only factor in selecting a successful bidder. A Request for Information (RFI) is an invitation for sellers and providers to determine what products and services are potentially available in the marketplace.
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Outdoor advertising

Outdoor advertising has enjoyed higher spending growth in contrast to other ad channels such as TV, radio and print advertising. Outdoor ads appear on billboards, street signs, and places such as transit stations and recreations facilities. Factors fueling the growth include improved outdoor ad technology, more travel and outdoor activities by consumers, and the ability to reach global audiences.
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Middle management

Middle management is losing its career luster, according to a recent Accenture workplace survey. Only 4 in 10 managers were satisfied with their situation, while nearly a third reported frustration with their work-life balance. Experts attribute middle management dissatisfaction trends with lack of flexibility, high work volume, long hours, and little or know recognition.
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Integration

Horizontal integration occurs when a business acquires or expands into activities at the same level of the value chain. For example, a TV company acquiring a radio station. Vertical integration occurs when a business is involved with the various levels of the value chain. For example, raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, etc.
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CQ

Cultural intelligence, or CQ, describes one's capability to grow personally through continuous learning and good understanding of diverse cultural heritage, wisdom and values, and to deal effectively with people from different cultural background and understanding. CQ is gaining significance an in increasingly global business environment.
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ETFs

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a bundle of stock equities. It is a low-cost way for investors to own a basket of companies that they can trade like a single stock. ETFs provide diversification, low expense ratios and tax efficiency of index funds, while still maintaining all the features of ordinary stock. The first ETFs were established in 1989 and have grown to over $600 billion in assets.
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The Effective Executive

The classic "The Effective Executive" by noted management author Peter F. Drucker touches important concepts in pursuit of being a better business manager: time management, decision-making, delegation, and prioritization. The book includes real world examples and reader questionnaires to reinforce Drucker's thesis that "executive effectiveness can be learned."
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Charitable giving

Charitable giving in the U.S. exceeded $300 billion for the first time in 2008, according to estimates by Giving USA. The top charitable recipient type was religious congregations, which received 33% of the total. Other top recipient types included education organizations (14%), human services (10%) and health organizations (8%).
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Healthy companies

A general business rule of thumb says a company is considered healthy when it produces over $150,000 in revenue per employee.
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Healthy companies

A general business rule of thumb says a company is considered healthy when it produces over $150,000 in revenue per employee.
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Startup funding

A business rule of thumb says a startup company should go into business with a sum of money at least equal to the projected revenue for the first year of business plus its anticipated expenses.
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Edward H. Harriman

Edward H. Harriman was America's rail baron. Harriman's empire started with the purchase of an upstate New York short-line railroad in 1881. Harriman expanded nationally with a high-volume, low-cost strategy, and eventually over the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific railroads. Harriman's railroad company was dissolved by the Supreme Court in 1904.
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Google

Google is a play on the word googol, a mathematical term that refers to the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed the search engine they first called "BackRub" in reference to the links pointing to a given website. They renamed the search engine to Google and officially opened to its first search customers on September 7, 1998.
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Peter Drucker

"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." -- Peter Drucker.
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Executive pay

The gap in pay between executives and workers has grown significantly over the past decade. According to data compiled by the Congressional Research Service, the average pay of U.S. CEOs is 180 times greater than that of workers, up from 90 times in 1994. Factors such as technological innovation, globalization, and government regulations, have made top-level positions increasingly difficult to fill.
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Vision

"Good business leaders create vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion." - John Welch.
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A Whole New Mind

Industry experts have identified an emerging east-west global division of labor. The book "A Whole New Mind" suggests that "left brain" intellectual tasks that are routine, logical, and can be specified, are migrating to places like Asia where there are lower wages and an abundance of trained engineers. The U.S. will keep "right-brain" activities such as artistry, creativity, and customer relations.
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Brain Fitness

The same advice that we follow to achieve physical fitness applies to brain fitness. Just as daily physical exercises strengthen certain muscle groups, mental exercises will strengthen and enhance cognitive functions. According to Monique Le Poncin's book "Brain Fitness" people can use several mental exercises to strengthen perceptive, visuospatial, structuralization, logic and verbal abilities.
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Margaret J. Wheatley

"The things we fear most in organizations -- fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances -- are the primary sources of creativity." - Margaret J. Wheatley.
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Introverts

Nearly four in ten top executives are introverts. The term introvert was first used by Sigmund Freud to describe people's attitude of inward energy flow where the preferred focus is on thoughts and ideas. Workplace experts suggest that introvert executives succeed because they have inner strength. When faced with difficult decisions, introverts worry little about what others will think of them.
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Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a rigorous and disciplined methodology that utilizes data and statistical analysis to measure and improve a company's operational performance, practices and systems. Six Sigma was pioneered by Motorola in the mid-1980s and has spread to many other organizations. The term literally translates into 3.4 defects per million or 99.9997%.
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Peter Drucker

"So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work." - Peter Drucker.
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Republicans

The Republican party is traditionally viewed as pro-business and is backed by a wide variety of industries from the financial sector to small businesses. Since Ronald Reagan became president in 1980, the GOP has branded itself as lower taxes, strong military, less regulation, pro-business, and social conservatism. Statistically, Republicans are about 50% more likely to be self-employed.
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The Office

The television series "The Office" first aired in Great Britain in July 2001. Versions of the Office have been produced in France, Germany and Chile. The U.S. version of show first aired in 2005. The show chronicles the daily interactions of a group of idiosyncratic office employees at the Dunder Mifflin paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as seen by a documentary film crew's cameras.
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Commercial gambling

State lotteries are the most popular form of gambling among Americans. Nevada was first to legalize casino gambling in 1931, New Hampshire was the first state lottery in 1963. Over the last quarter century, 40 states have added lotteries, 11 states have added commercial casinos, and 28 have added Indian casinos. Commercial gambling in the U.S. generates almost $30 billion annually.
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Financial cities

London is the world's best financial and commercial city, according to the latest commercial and financial research by MasterCard. Following London on the list: New York, Tokyo, Singapore, and Chicago. Shanghai and Moscow showed the greatest improvement in rank while Los Angeles was displaced from the top ten.
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Index of Coincident Indicators

The Index of Coincident Indicators is published monthly by The Conference Board. The four economic indicators that make up this index reflect the current state of the business cycle: non-agricultural employment, personal income, manufacturing and trade sales, and industrial production. Other coincident indicators are stock market prices and interest rates.
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LLC

A limited liability company (LLC) is a hybrid business entity having characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership. The primary advantage of an LLC is that its owners, known as members, are not personally liable for the debts and liabilities of the LLC. LLCs may find it more difficult to raise business capital. Some states levy taxes or fees against LLCs.
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U.S. patents

U.S. patents are granted for a term of 20 years from the date of application. Design patents last for 14 years. After expiration of the term of the patent, the person holding the patent loses the right to exclude others from utilizing the invention, so that anyone can go ahead and make use of the invention without permission of the patent holder.
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J.K. Rowling

"You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default." - J.K. Rowling.
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Men and women shop differently

Men and women shop differently. according to a recent Wharton School study, men typically get what is needed and get out while women "experience" the shopping trip. The number one issue for women: unable to find help. For men: parking. Women felt more strongly about being ignored by a sales clerk while men felt more strongly about products being out of stock.
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Fortune

Fortune Magazine has been publishing global business news and features since 1930. Fortune was published as a monthly magazine until September 2005, when it became a bi-weekly publication. Fortune is best known for its annual Fortune 500 list of top American public companies. Forbes compiles other annual lists. Forbes magazine is served online at CNNMoney.com.
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ISO 9000

ISO 9000 is an international quality system standard that certifies the process or system used to manufacture a product or service. The standards cover design, procurement, production, quality assurance, and delivery processes for everything from banking to manufacturing. Many of the best managed companies try for ISO 9000 certification and only the best of the best make the grade.
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Online advertising

Online advertising represents about 6% of all American advertising dollars spent, according to market research company eMarketer. Online advertising has grown significantly over the past five years and should continue through the next several years. Emarketer estimates total online ad spending to hit $25 billion by the end of 2010. Paid search and video ads will increase, display ads will decrease.
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Matrix organization

A matrix organization is an organizational structure where employees report to more then one manager or supervisor. One manager represents a functional area of the organization while the other manager(s) represent a project within the organization. Matrix structures allow members to share information more readily and it allows employees to develop increased specialization.
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Viral Marketing

The term Viral Marketing was coined by a Harvard Business School professor Jeffrey F. Rayport in 1996. Viral marketing is a phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing messages via existing social networks, such as email, blogs, or messaging. Success depends on a high pass-along rate from person to person.
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Law of Diminishing Firms

The Law of Diminishing Firms suggests that as transaction costs decrease, as in the case of technology and communication advances, the size of the firm will also decrease. Trends toward downsizing, outsourcing, and otherwise distributing activities support this view. The "diminished" firms will reside in a complex relationship network of customers, suppliers and regulators.
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Western Union

Western Union passed on the offer to purchase the patent for the telephone in 1876. In response to the proposal, Western Union president William Orton said "Mr. Bell, after careful consideration of your invention, while it is a very interesting novelty, we have come to the conclusion that is has no commercial possibilities. What use could its company make of an electrical toy?"
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Built to Last

"Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies" authors James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras spent six years researching 18 "visionary" companies to determine what's special about them. Leadership styles and planning methods differed among the companies. However, each company shared the characteristic of having employees highly committed to its identity, ideology and success.
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Celebrity endorsements

Victorian era potter Josiah Wedgwood is credited with inventing the celebrity endorsement. Wedgwood began marketing "Potter to Her Majesty" when he learned that his products being sold to Queen Charlotte. Wedgwood capitalized on the endorsement as he was able to increase prices on his coveted goods, creating further marketing fervor.
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Passion

Gregory Benford is a professor of physics and astronomy, a long-time advisor to NASA, and a novelist. A good rule of thumb coined by Benford says passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available.
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The rule of 72

The rule of 72 calculates the number of years required to double an investment at a given interest rate. The value is determined by dividing the interest rate into 72. For example, an investment at 8% will take about 9 years to double.
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Henry Ford

Henry Ford is considered the Father of Mass Production. Ford experimented with combustion engines and produced his own vehicle, the Quadricycle. Nearly ten-years later, in 1908, Ford introduced the Model T. To meet growing demand, Ford combined manufacturing, interchangeable parts, a division of labor, and a moving assembly line. By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts.
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Longest average lifespan

The Japanese district of Okinawa has the longest average lifespan in the world and the highest number of people over age 100. Researchers believe their longevity is explained by fact that Okinawans eat up to 40 percent fewer calories than Americans and 17 percent fewer calories than the Japanese average.
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Milton Berle

"A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours."

-- Milton Berle.
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Corporate boards

Corporate boards are wielding more influence on CEOs. Management consultant Booz Allen studied CEO departures during the years 1995 to 2006. The number of CEOs leaving because of conflicts with the board increased from 2% in 1995 to 11% through 2006. The study suggested corporate boards are demanding more strategic involvement while flexing more muscle on underperforming executives.
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PC software market

One of the most infamous business decisions occurred in the early 1980s when IBM ceded dominance of the software market to Microsoft for $80,000, paying Bill Gates a fee for his PC operating system and allowing him to freely market the software to others. IBM did not appreciate the potential value of the software market, and were overconfident that they could dominate the hardware market.
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Research and Development

After decades of cost-cutting in areas such as manufacturing, back-office and warehouse activities, many companies are focusing on their R&D areas. In the face of global competition, companies are realigning or outsourcing R&D to achieve efficiency and competitive advantage while retaining core competency. The emerging global division of labor is playing a key role in latest business evolution.
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Breakfast

According to studies, having a high-protein, high-fiber breakfast can improve memory and enhance attention. One study showed that those who consumed breakfast cereal had a more positive mood and performed better on a spatial memory task than those in the "no breakfast" condition. Another study found increased egg consumption as a factor in reducing age-related memory loss.
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Passionate employees

Most hiring managers believe passionate employees are high achievers. Assessing a potential candidate's passion is more of an art than a science. Some feel those that pursue a job opening with vigor are passionate. Some think speed-talkers or speed-thinkers are passionate. Others gauge passion by looking at high school or college activities such as sports, band, and debate team participation.
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Workaholism

According to a CareerJournal.com article on workaholism, a recent study found that highly effective managers worked an average of 52 hours a week, while less productive managers averaged 70 hours of work per week. Managers who logged more hours also reported twice the level of stress-related health problems, such as stomach ailments, headaches, lower-back pain and common colds.
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ISO 9000

ISO 9000 is an international set of five related quality standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization. Businesses that are certified to these standards have documented, repeatable processes for ensuring that they deliver quality products. The ISO 9000 requirements were established in 1987.
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Aviaphobia

Fear of flying (aviaphobia) can have negative impacts on employees and employers. An otherwise excellent employee may avoid career opportunity or advancement due to aviaphobia. Experts agree that most people who are afraid to fly can be treated. Statistically, the average person would have to fly every day for 29,000 years before getting involved in a fatal airline crash.
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Body language

Body language is the nonverbal cues that we give others while communicating. Some typical body language interpretation short-cuts are: open hands with palms visible is openness and warmth; leaning forward with chin up is confidence; fidgeting or quick, repetitive motions is nervousness; arms crossed in front of chest or looking down is defensive or untrusting behavior.
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Taxes

All U.S. companies must file and pay income taxes. Income tax is a pay-as-you-go tax, meaning it is paid through the year as revenue is earned. Companies with employees must pay employment taxes, including social security and Medicare taxes, Federal income tax withholding, and Federal unemployment tax. Some companies must also pay excise taxes, depending on their type of business.
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Exxon

Exxon Mobil Corp reported the largest annual profit on record for a U.S. corporation earning $39.5 billion -- about $75,000 every minute -- in 2006. The world's biggest publicly traded company by revenue posted revenue of $377.6 billion in 2006, topping its previous profit record of $36.1 billion in 2005.
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Index of Leading Indicators

The Index of Leading Indicators is published monthly by The Conference Board. The ten economic indicators that make up this index change before the economy has changed. Examples include production workweek, building permits, unemployment insurance claims, money supply, inventory changes, and stock prices. The Fed watches many of these indicators as it decides what to do about interest rates.
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P.C.

A Professional Corporation (P.C.) is a corporate entity authorized by state law for a fairly narrow list of licensed professions, including lawyers, doctors, accountants, various types of health practitioners and often architects. A P.C. does not absolve a professional for personal liability for negligence, but does not hold them personally liable for the malpractice of other partners or owners.
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Business-friendly states

Wyoming tops the list of states with the most business-friendly tax system, according to the Tax Foundation’s annual State Business Tax Climate Index. South Dakota, Alaska, Florida, and Nevada round out the top five. Businesses face the least hospitable business tax climate in New York, followed by New Jersey, Rhode Island, Ohio and Vermont.
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The Tax History Project

The Tax History Project is a public initiative from nonprofit publisher Tax Analysts. The Project provides information on the history of U.S. public finance. The Project also offers the Tax History Museum at tax.org/Museum, which provides a multimedia overview of the history of American taxation and revenue policy and politics.
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Inflation

Inflation is defined as the general level of prices for goods and services over time. Inflation is generally affected by fluctuations in demand for products and services, and by changes in the supply or demand for money. Two common measures of inflation are the Consumer Price Index and the Gross Domestic Product Deflator. Economists generally agree that steady versus fluctuating inflation is best.
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Forbes

Forbes Magazine has been in circulation since 1917. Three generations of the Forbes family have been at the helm of one of the world's premier business publications. The bi-weekly publication also features its website Forbes.com. Forbes publishes several annual rankings, including among others the best companies, largest private companies, and the world's wealthiest people.
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Five Whys

The "Five Whys" is a problem-solving guideline developed by Masaaki Imai and was made popular as part of the Toyota Production System during the 1970s. The strategy involves working a problem by asking why repeatedly after each successive answer in order to discover the root cause of the problem. Each successive answer provides better understanding and offers more options to consider.
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Direct Mail

American marketers spent $60 billion on direct mail ads according to the latest figures published by marketing consultancy Winterberry Group. Direct Mail as a marketing vehicle is expected to grow 5% annually through the next five years. Direct mail strategy has shifted away from soliciting direct orders to one of generating prospective leads and driving traffic to other transaction channels.
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Frederick Winslow Taylor

Frederick Winslow Taylor is considered the father of scientific management. In the 19th century Taylor suggested that the way people work was worthy of systematic observation and study. From this he developed the Scientific Management approach to business. His new ideas laid the foundation for 20th century management thinkers, such as Peter Drucker, Frank Gilbreth and James McKinsey.
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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are not interchangeable, according to Management-Issues.com editor Brian Sullivan. Sullivan suggests that leadership is innovative, creative and, above all proactive. Effective leaders anticipate, motivate and engage. In contrast, management is a reactive tool, based on responsive, familiar and time-tested strategies.
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Butterfly Effect

The term "butterfly effect" is based on Edward Lorenz's 19th century study of Chaos Theory. Small variations of an initial event may may produce large variations in long term behavior. The analogy is that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in a certain location.
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The Beatles

In one of the most infamous business decisions ever made, Decca Records turned down the Beatles in January 1962. After a 15-song audition at Decca studios, the company told the group's manager, Brian Epstein, "we don't like your boys' sound. Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars particularly are finished."
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Imagination economy

Fortune Magazine writer Geoffrey Colvin recently coined the phrase "imagination economy" as America's new economic formula. Traditional thinking stresses math and science. Colvin suggests otherwise, that technology advances circle the world too fast for competitive advantage. Rather, the intuitive, nonlinear processes of creativity and imagination hold the key to a new economic frontier.
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Thomas J. Watson, Jr.

Thomas J. Watson, Jr. became CEO of IBM in May 1956. Watson successfully transitioned IBM from the age of mechanical office equipment into the computer era during its most explosive period of growth. When Watson assumed the CEO position, IBM employed 72,500 people and had revenue of $892 million. When he stepped down in 1971, there were more than 270,000 employees and revenue hit $8.3 billion.
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80/20 rule

Dr. Joseph Juran originated the use of the 80/20 rule in quality management research during the 1930s in what he called "vital few and trivial many." The 80/20 rule of thumb says roughly 20% of your efforts produce 80% of the results.
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2 of 3 rule of thumb

2 of 3 rule of thumb. The three major attributes of most products and services are quality, price and speed of delivery. The 2 of 3 rule of thumb says you can pick any two of these attributes but not all three.
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Walt Disney

Born in Chicago in 1901, Walt Disney developed an early interest in drawing, sketching and photography, and later developed movie animation methods. Mickey Mouse made his debut in the 1928 cartoon film "Steamboat Willie". Thus began Disney's fantastic run as a movie and entertainment franchise. Walt Disney and his staff have received more than 950 honors, including 48 Academy Awards.
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Monopoly

The real estate board game Monopoly was invented in 1934 by Charles B. Darrow. His first version of the game was rejected by Parker Brothers due to design flaws. After Darrow sold 5,000 handmade sets of the game to a Philadelphia department store, Parker Brothers agreed to sell the game. Since then, over 200 million Monopoly games have been sold worldwide.
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The greatest leader

"The greatest leader isn’t necessarily the one who does the greatest things. The greatest leader is the one who gets the people to do the greatest things." -- Ronald Reagan.
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