A great start to your Leadership week from Wally Bock
“Here are choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms to start off your work week. I’m pointing you to articles about OpenTable, Twitter, bundling, creativity, and the first anniversary of Steve Jobs’ death. We open this week with two articles about innovative companies, OpenTable and Twitter.
From Fortune: Your table is waiting at OpenTable
“When OpenTable launched in 1998, you booked a restaurant table by picking up the phone. Most restaurant owners were wary of adopting computerized reservations because of the perceived cost and complexity. It has booked more than 350 million diners since inception — and is expanding into Europe. For a modest setup charge and a monthly subscription fee, OpenTable (OPEN) creates a hardware/software-based reservation system in each restaurant, which pays $1 for every seated diner who books through OpenTable and 25¢ for every diner who books through the restaurant’s website. The average restaurant makes $42.50 for every dollar that it pays OpenTable, according to CEO Matthew Roberts.”
From the NY Times: A Master of Improv, Writing Twitter’s Script
“A comic’s heart beats inside Dick Costolo, the nonconforming chief executive of Twitter who may well hold the key to the company’s success.”
From HBS Working Knowledge: Better by the Bundle?
“Video game companies do it, fast-food restaurants, too. Why don’t more companies bundle products and services together in one package at a bargain price? Research by Assistant Professor Vineet Kumar.”
Wally’s Comment : When I did a lot more public speaking, selling products was part of the game. I found that offering bundled packages at three price points increased my sales dramatically.
From Industry Week: How Manufacturing Managers Can Tap into the Unlimited Creative Potential of Their Employees
“Companies are missing out on a significant opportunity for innovative solutions if they don’t also look within their own walls.”
Wally’s Comment: This article is here because the authors and I share a belief: human beings are naturally creative. I wrote about that in my “Creativity and Innovation Catechism.“
It’s been a year since Steve Jobs died. Here’s a selection of posts considering his legacy.
From Fortune: Apple one year after Steve Jobs (2 min video)
From Forbes: Apple Says Greatest Tribute To Steve Jobs Is ‘Dreaming Up’ New Products
“Apple posted a video tribute to Steve Jobs today, commemorating the one-year anniversary of his death by saying that his legacy of creativity and high standards continues to inspire the company.”
From Business Week: Mapping a Path Out of Steve Jobs’s Shadow
“Like all companies, Apple (AAPL) is not immune to bungling a new product, though its apologies haven’t always seemed heartfelt. After slashing the price of the first iPhone by $200 only a few months following its debut in 2007, Apple tried to placate enraged early adopters with a $100 rebate that they could only spend on Apple products. When the iPhone 4 was introduced with a flawed antenna design in 2010, it took 39 days of complaints for Steve Jobs to hold a press conference—and to offer dissatisfied users a free rubber case. Considering that history, the reaction of new Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to the outcry over the balky Maps application on the new iPhone 5 was positively penitent.”
From Freek Vermeulen: Steve Jobs — ‘A Banner They Hold Aloft in the Wind’
“Would Apple have been equally great today if it hadn’t been for Steve Jobs? And, honestly, I think that is not impossible. And that is because I am a Tolstoy fan.”
Bonus: from the Wall Street Journal: Steve Jobs’s Best Quotes
Shortly after Steve Jobs left the CEO job at Apple, I posted, “Top Posts about Steve Jobs and His Legacy” where you’ll find pointers to posts about Jobs from that time. I also wrote: “Grading Steve Jobs: A+, A, and Incomplete .”
TED Talk: Steve Jobs: How to Live Before You die
Studying individual leaders is a great way to learn about leadership. That’s why my weekly post points you to posts by or about individual leaders. Last week I pointed you to posts by and about Jacqueline Novogratz, Amjad Bseisu, and Kristin Groos Richmond.
