When people attend classes I’ve taught about strategy or economics, the questions often focus around how brands should approach an innovation and platform strategy. Those questions recently came up again in a different format, so I took notes and decided to start putting some of the most frequently asked questions on my blog.
Imagine what happens when a baby has enough diapers. A baby with a safe supply of cloth diapers is changed more often. Because she is changed more often, she has less diaper rash. Because she has less diaper rash, she might cry less. Because she cries less, her parents might be less anxious. Because her […]
The removal of psychological constraints and physical constraints for retail and now imminent threats to grocery competitors has fundamentally changed the way business is done. This change has substantively altered economic forces in a way that should cause courts to evaluate and perhaps, once-again, evolve anti-trust law.
It was twenty years ago. Jimmy and I weren’t married yet. We were looking for a church that we could call home together. We’d seen a commercial, and decided to find that church. One Friday night, forty-five minutes late, Jimmy and I walked in the door and this particular usher just happened to be the one standing there.
A few years ago, someone emailed me a question. We had an active project that we were getting ready to release publicly, but it wasn’t ready to be shared that day. I replied to the email. In my response, I told her that we were working on an answer to her question, but that I […]
Negotiation is discussion aimed at reaching an agreement. When you want to accomplish a certain goal, it is important to consider the whole situation carefully before making commitments. It’s a big game and, if you play your cards right, you can get to your goal. Most importantly, get to know the rest of the players […]
An article was published on Wired recently about Facebook’s failure to suppress fake news. The epically long, but must-read article is titled “Inside the Two Years that Shook Facebook — And the World”. As I read, in particular, I noted the implications to corporate power, retail economics, and platform marketing in the content… “For the […]
Diapers are expensive. As you change each diaper, the costs (or the savings) add up. We took a look at how the costs and the savings compare to each other over a period of 2 ½ years. Potty training happens for many children sometime during toddlerhood. Potty training may be delayed for some children well […]
Every baby leaks. Most families choose to use diapers, either cloth diapers or disposable diapers, to contain the leaks. The cost of containing those leaks can be high. Disposable diapers are a single use product. Use it once, throw it away, buy it again. Cloth diapers are used again and again, often for multiple children. […]
Two years ago, we began the process of building a diaper factory in St. Louis. We hired a team at Washington University to evaluate the efficiency of our manufacturing process. I wanted to understand what we were doing and how we could, perhaps, improve on those processes. That team came back with a solid recommendation […]