Comment

Comment by Tom Jarmyn on May 5, 2009 at 5:51pm

Possible the problem is that we get what we demand from the boardrooms. How many people prior to the tech bubble or the most recent difficulties were prepared to accept an investment that yielded 8 or 9 percent annually? Many (large and small investor) were demanding annual returns in the high teens and if they did not get them every quarter would sell out of either their mutual fund or their stockholdings. In order to satisfy their investors boards became focused on chasing tomorrow's number rather than next year's good idea. There is no room for risk or innovation when stakeholders (including shareholders, employees, pension funds and government) demand immediate high returns.

Comment by Justin Kingsley on May 5, 2009 at 11:23am

The real issue is creativity and its absence from board rooms. Decision-makers in big corporations are too focused on numbers and not enough on letters. The metaphor is that numbers deal only with money, whereas letters focus exclusively on creativity. Letters create emotion, which is what a product or a brand needs to generate movement. Only when board rooms make a little bit more room for letter-type individuals will we see true innovation - whether it's product or campaign to reach consumers.

Comment by Tony Mcintyre on April 27, 2009 at 1:39pm

CHANGE AND BUSINESS ARE OFTEN OXIMORANS.STATUS QUO IS WERE THIER MONEY IS INVESTED/VESTED SELF INTEREST ./EXAMPLE ;IMAGINE That at the turn to the 20th century Tesla had not bin burned out and driven into obscurity ,Tesla wireless electricity would be running our cars for a hundred years by now .No wires every were no internal combustion engines needed for 100 years .CLEAN CENTRIAL WIRLESS ELECTRICITY WAS A FACT 100 YEARS AGO BUT THE GREADY CAPATOLIST COULD NOT SEE HOW TO PROFIT .MUCH MORE TO BE MADE WITH THE OBSOLITE WIRED METHODS .