* Nice quotes from Larry Page - here
* Google co-founder Larry Page revealed in his 2009 commencement address to the University of Michigan that the basic platform for google was based on a sleep dream he had in college. Page, then 23, took the source material of his dream and worked it and worked it until it became a minor internet player. Page told the college grads that he had a "vivid dream" at age 23 that woke him up in the middle of the night that he just had to write down. "When I suddenly woke up," said Page in his address, "I was thinking: what if we could download the whole web, and just keep the links and... I grabbed a pen and started writing!" (Source)
* Google actually relies on our users to help with our marketing. We have a very high percentage of our users who often tell others about our search engine.
Sergey Brin
Highlights
* Google co-founder Larry Page revealed in his 2009 commencement address to the University of Michigan that the basic platform for google was based on a sleep dream he had in college. Page, then 23, took the source material of his dream and worked it and worked it until it became a minor internet player. Page told the college grads that he had a "vivid dream" at age 23 that woke him up in the middle of the night that he just had to write down.
==IF YOU LITERALLY GET SOME IDEA IN THE DREAM, IT IS POSSIBLY WORTH PURSUING==
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Charles Koch (and David Koch)
* Father, Fred C. Koch (d. 1967), invented method of turning heavy oil into gasoline. Sons Charles, David, Frederick and William inherited Koch Industries after father's death. Charles and David bought out William and Frederick for $1.1 billion in 1983. Today company has stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, fibers and polymers, forest and consumer products, chemical technology.
* Studied nuclear and chemical engineering at MIT; cofounder of conservative think tank Cato Institute.
* Much of Koch Industries' success can be traced to Mr. Koch's interest in
and commitment to scientific and social progress, which led to the
development and implementation of the Market-Based Management
business philosophy. The concepts and practice of MBM are described in
Mr. Koch’s book, “The Science of Success,” published in February 2007
by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
* Charles and his brother David do not appear to be the darlings of media, not by a long shot - see here
* Central to the acquisitions and to Koch's growth philosophy, Koch said, was his commitment to "Market-Based Management," a term he uses to describe encouragement of entrepreneurship within his company. The thinking behind MBM reflects the free-market philosophies of the economic theorists Friedrich von Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Joseph Schumpeter, and others who believed that encouraging entrepreneurial behavior and individual responsibility would make societies wealthier.
* You probably haven’t heard of Koch Industries, largely because it doesn’t trade on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. It is a private company, and Koch has no plans to change its status. In fact, at the luncheon last week, Charles Koch confessed that being private is one of the secrets to his company’s success. “Most publicly traded companies focus on short-term quarterly earnings reports and, therefore, have a hard time maximizing long-term value. If we had been a public company, I would have been fired long ago!”
* Koch started out as an oil & gas firm, but has since expanded into chemicals, plastics, fertilizers, ranching, paper, and trading commodities, while exiting from pipelines, tankers, fiberglass, and feedlots. Koch is a classic model of Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction.”
* Excerpts from his book "The Science of Success" - link
Highlights
* Charles Koch confessed that being private is one of the secrets to his company’s success. “Most publicly traded companies focus on short-term quarterly earnings reports and, therefore, have a hard time maximizing long-term value. If we had been a public company, I would have been fired long ago!”
* Koch started out as an oil & gas firm, but has since expanded into chemicals, plastics, fertilizers, ranching, paper, and trading commodities, while exiting from pipelines, tankers, fiberglass, and feedlots. Koch is a classic model of Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction.”
==KEEPING THE COMPANY PRIVATE==
==CREATIVE DESTRUCTION==
* Studied nuclear and chemical engineering at MIT; cofounder of conservative think tank Cato Institute.
* Much of Koch Industries' success can be traced to Mr. Koch's interest in
and commitment to scientific and social progress, which led to the
development and implementation of the Market-Based Management
business philosophy. The concepts and practice of MBM are described in
Mr. Koch’s book, “The Science of Success,” published in February 2007
by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
* Charles and his brother David do not appear to be the darlings of media, not by a long shot - see here
* Central to the acquisitions and to Koch's growth philosophy, Koch said, was his commitment to "Market-Based Management," a term he uses to describe encouragement of entrepreneurship within his company. The thinking behind MBM reflects the free-market philosophies of the economic theorists Friedrich von Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Joseph Schumpeter, and others who believed that encouraging entrepreneurial behavior and individual responsibility would make societies wealthier.
* You probably haven’t heard of Koch Industries, largely because it doesn’t trade on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. It is a private company, and Koch has no plans to change its status. In fact, at the luncheon last week, Charles Koch confessed that being private is one of the secrets to his company’s success. “Most publicly traded companies focus on short-term quarterly earnings reports and, therefore, have a hard time maximizing long-term value. If we had been a public company, I would have been fired long ago!”
* Koch started out as an oil & gas firm, but has since expanded into chemicals, plastics, fertilizers, ranching, paper, and trading commodities, while exiting from pipelines, tankers, fiberglass, and feedlots. Koch is a classic model of Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction.”
* Excerpts from his book "The Science of Success" - link
Highlights
* Charles Koch confessed that being private is one of the secrets to his company’s success. “Most publicly traded companies focus on short-term quarterly earnings reports and, therefore, have a hard time maximizing long-term value. If we had been a public company, I would have been fired long ago!”
* Koch started out as an oil & gas firm, but has since expanded into chemicals, plastics, fertilizers, ranching, paper, and trading commodities, while exiting from pipelines, tankers, fiberglass, and feedlots. Koch is a classic model of Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction.”
==KEEPING THE COMPANY PRIVATE==
==CREATIVE DESTRUCTION==
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Michael Bloomberg
1. Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University, where he joined Phi Kappa Psi, and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in electrical engineering. Later he received his MBA degree from Harvard Business School. On May 16, 2009, he received a honorary doctorate of humane letters from Fordham University and in 2007 he received an honorary doctorate of public service from Tufts University.
2. Bloomberg became a general partner at Salomon Brothers, where he headed equity trading and, later, systems development. In 1981, he was fired from Salomon Brothers and was given a $10-million severance package. Using this money, Bloomberg went on to set up a company named Innovative Market Systems. In 1982, Merrill Lynch became the new company's first customer, installing 22 of the company's Market Master terminals and investing $30 million in the company. The company was renamed Bloomberg L.P. in 1986. By 1987, it had installed 5,000 terminals.
3. "We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn't think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we're already on prototype version No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version No. 10. It gets back to planning versus acting. We act from day one; others plan how to plan - for months."
Highlights
* In 1981, he was fired from Salomon Brothers and was given a $10-million severance package. Using this money, Bloomberg went on to set up a company named Innovative Market Systems.
* "We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn't think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we're already on prototype version No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version No. 10. It gets back to planning versus acting. We act from day one; others plan how to plan - for months."
==GOT FIRED, AND GOT FIRED UP==
==TAKING A PRODUCT EARLY TO THE MARKET INSTEAD OF GETTING INTO ANALYSIS PARALYSIS==
2. Bloomberg became a general partner at Salomon Brothers, where he headed equity trading and, later, systems development. In 1981, he was fired from Salomon Brothers and was given a $10-million severance package. Using this money, Bloomberg went on to set up a company named Innovative Market Systems. In 1982, Merrill Lynch became the new company's first customer, installing 22 of the company's Market Master terminals and investing $30 million in the company. The company was renamed Bloomberg L.P. in 1986. By 1987, it had installed 5,000 terminals.
3. "We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn't think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we're already on prototype version No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version No. 10. It gets back to planning versus acting. We act from day one; others plan how to plan - for months."
Highlights
* In 1981, he was fired from Salomon Brothers and was given a $10-million severance package. Using this money, Bloomberg went on to set up a company named Innovative Market Systems.
* "We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn't think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we're already on prototype version No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version No. 10. It gets back to planning versus acting. We act from day one; others plan how to plan - for months."
==GOT FIRED, AND GOT FIRED UP==
==TAKING A PRODUCT EARLY TO THE MARKET INSTEAD OF GETTING INTO ANALYSIS PARALYSIS==
Lee Shau Kee
* Lee's wealth rebounded, thanks in part to doubling share price of Henderson Land Development, the property firm he founded and still heads. Active investor in China, has stakes in such outperfomers as PetroChina, China Shenhua Energy and China Life. Chairman of Hong Kong & China Gas, which distributes gas in more than 90 cities. Also chairman of Miramar Hotel and Investment, and a director of Hong Kong Ferry and Bank of East Asia
* Born in Guangdong, Dr Lee Shau Kee settled in Hong Kong in his early years and has since been actively engaged in property development and other commercial businesses for over 40 years.
* Born in Guangdong, Dr Lee Shau Kee settled in Hong Kong in his early years and has since been actively engaged in property development and other commercial businesses for over 40 years.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Sam Walton - Success Strategies and Secrets of Success
1. Walton's life was not easy, though, and his academics were met with equal challenges at home. Growing up during the Great Depression meant that his family was always looking for ways to save money and Walton's parents required him to tend to matters at home as much as those at school. Part of his daily routine involved milking cows and delivering milk, along with newspapers, to people in the neighborhood.
2. With his degree, Sam Walton joined the management team of JCPenny in Des Moines, Iowa, only three days after graduation - this might have helped in his later career, perhaps?
3. Sam Walton wanted to focus on providing a wide range of goods at discounted prices to the consumer and keep his stores open longer than his competitors, even during the Christmas season. His lower-priced strategies allowed him to drive up sales and negotiate lower prices on purchases with his wholesalers. A combination of his location and price strategies made him a top seller in the chain in the six-state region of the franchise market.
4. He continued to open new stores and offered the managers to become involved in the business from an investment perspective
5. Walton remained dedicated to keeping Wal-Mart involved in local activities by allowing charities to hold bake sales on his property as well as providing scholarships to high school graduates from local schools.
6. He appears to have been a very enterprising guy, right from his school and college days
7. Walton made sure the shelves were consistently stocked with a wide range of goods at low prices. His store also stayed open later than most other stores, especially during the Christmas season. He also pioneered the practice of discount merchandising by buying wholesale goods from the lowest priced supplier. This allowed him to pass on savings to his customers, which drove up his sales volume. Higher volumes allowed him to negotiate even lower purchase prices with the wholesaler on subsequent purchases.
8. Walton offered managers the opportunity to become limited partners if they would invest in the store they oversaw and then invest a maximum of $1,000 in new outlets as they opened. This motivated the managers to always try to maximize profits and improve their managerial skills.
9. Share your profits with all your associates - “Treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations. Remain a corporation and retain control if you like, but behave as a servant leader in a partnership. Encourage your associates to hold a stake in the company. Offer discounted stock, and grant them stock for their retirement. It’s the single best thing we ever did.”
10. Motivate your partners - “Money and ownership alone are not enough. Constantly, day by day, think of new and more interesting ways to motivate and challenge your partners. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs. If things get stale, cross-pollinate; have managers switch jobs with one another to stay challenged. Keep everybody guessing as to what your next trick is going to be. Don’t become too predictable.”
11. Exceed your customers’ expectations - “If you do, they will come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don’t make excuses - apologies. Stand behind everything you do. The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign, ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed‘. They are still up there, and they have made all the difference.”
12. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business - “A paycheck and a stock option will buy one kind of loyalty. But all of us like to be told how much somebody appreciates what we do for them. We like to hear it often, and especially when we have done something we are really proud of. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They are absolutely free - and worth a fortune.”
13. Control your expenses better than your competition - “This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. For 25 years running - long before Wal-Mart was known as the nation’s largest retailer - we ranked number one in our industry for the lowest ratio of expenses to sales."
14. Swim upstream - “Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything else was: a town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long.”
Sources
http://www.woopidoo.com/biography/sam-walton/
Highlights
* With his degree, Sam Walton joined the management team of JCPenny in Des Moines, Iowa, only three days after graduation - this might have helped in his later career, perhaps?
* He continued to open new stores and offered the managers to become involved in the business from an investment perspective
* Walton made sure the shelves were consistently stocked with a wide range of goods at low prices.
* His store also stayed open later than most other stores, especially during the Christmas season. He also pioneered the practice of discount merchandising by buying wholesale goods from the lowest priced supplier.
* Walton offered managers the opportunity to become limited partners if they would invest in the store they oversaw and then invest a maximum of $1,000 in new outlets as they opened. This motivated the managers to always try to maximize profits and improve their managerial skills.
* Swim upstream - “Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything else was: a town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long.”
==JOINING THE RIGHT COMPANY EARLY IN CAREER==
==OFFERING COLLEAGUES TO BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN THE COMPANY FROM A FINANCIAL AND OWNERSHIP PERSPECTIVE==
==MAKING SURE CUSTOMERS ARE EXTREMELY SATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU OFFER==
==DOING IMPORTANT THINGS THAT COMPETITORS DO NOT DO OUT OF HABIT OR CUSTOM==
==CONTRARIAN THINKING==
2. With his degree, Sam Walton joined the management team of JCPenny in Des Moines, Iowa, only three days after graduation - this might have helped in his later career, perhaps?
3. Sam Walton wanted to focus on providing a wide range of goods at discounted prices to the consumer and keep his stores open longer than his competitors, even during the Christmas season. His lower-priced strategies allowed him to drive up sales and negotiate lower prices on purchases with his wholesalers. A combination of his location and price strategies made him a top seller in the chain in the six-state region of the franchise market.
4. He continued to open new stores and offered the managers to become involved in the business from an investment perspective
5. Walton remained dedicated to keeping Wal-Mart involved in local activities by allowing charities to hold bake sales on his property as well as providing scholarships to high school graduates from local schools.
6. He appears to have been a very enterprising guy, right from his school and college days
7. Walton made sure the shelves were consistently stocked with a wide range of goods at low prices. His store also stayed open later than most other stores, especially during the Christmas season. He also pioneered the practice of discount merchandising by buying wholesale goods from the lowest priced supplier. This allowed him to pass on savings to his customers, which drove up his sales volume. Higher volumes allowed him to negotiate even lower purchase prices with the wholesaler on subsequent purchases.
8. Walton offered managers the opportunity to become limited partners if they would invest in the store they oversaw and then invest a maximum of $1,000 in new outlets as they opened. This motivated the managers to always try to maximize profits and improve their managerial skills.
9. Share your profits with all your associates - “Treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations. Remain a corporation and retain control if you like, but behave as a servant leader in a partnership. Encourage your associates to hold a stake in the company. Offer discounted stock, and grant them stock for their retirement. It’s the single best thing we ever did.”
10. Motivate your partners - “Money and ownership alone are not enough. Constantly, day by day, think of new and more interesting ways to motivate and challenge your partners. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs. If things get stale, cross-pollinate; have managers switch jobs with one another to stay challenged. Keep everybody guessing as to what your next trick is going to be. Don’t become too predictable.”
11. Exceed your customers’ expectations - “If you do, they will come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don’t make excuses - apologies. Stand behind everything you do. The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign, ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed‘. They are still up there, and they have made all the difference.”
12. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business - “A paycheck and a stock option will buy one kind of loyalty. But all of us like to be told how much somebody appreciates what we do for them. We like to hear it often, and especially when we have done something we are really proud of. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They are absolutely free - and worth a fortune.”
13. Control your expenses better than your competition - “This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. For 25 years running - long before Wal-Mart was known as the nation’s largest retailer - we ranked number one in our industry for the lowest ratio of expenses to sales."
14. Swim upstream - “Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything else was: a town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long.”
Sources
http://www.woopidoo.com/biography/sam-walton/
Highlights
* With his degree, Sam Walton joined the management team of JCPenny in Des Moines, Iowa, only three days after graduation - this might have helped in his later career, perhaps?
* He continued to open new stores and offered the managers to become involved in the business from an investment perspective
* Walton made sure the shelves were consistently stocked with a wide range of goods at low prices.
* His store also stayed open later than most other stores, especially during the Christmas season. He also pioneered the practice of discount merchandising by buying wholesale goods from the lowest priced supplier.
* Walton offered managers the opportunity to become limited partners if they would invest in the store they oversaw and then invest a maximum of $1,000 in new outlets as they opened. This motivated the managers to always try to maximize profits and improve their managerial skills.
* Swim upstream - “Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything else was: a town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long.”
==JOINING THE RIGHT COMPANY EARLY IN CAREER==
==OFFERING COLLEAGUES TO BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN THE COMPANY FROM A FINANCIAL AND OWNERSHIP PERSPECTIVE==
==MAKING SURE CUSTOMERS ARE EXTREMELY SATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU OFFER==
==DOING IMPORTANT THINGS THAT COMPETITORS DO NOT DO OUT OF HABIT OR CUSTOM==
==CONTRARIAN THINKING==
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Ingvar Kamprad - Success Secrets and Strategies
Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy, selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheaply from Stockholm, sell them individually at a low price, and still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded to selling fish, Christmas tree decorations, seeds, and later ballpoint pens and pencils. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him a cash reward for succeeding in his studies. He used this money to establish what has grown into IKEA.
Trading appears to have fascinated him right from his childhood!
* At an early age, he learned that he could buy matches in bulk from Stockholm and sell them at a fair price, but a good profit. He reinvested his profits and expanded to fish, seeds, Christmas tree decorations, and pens and pencils
* He continued to expand his business to a variety of goods, including wallets, watches, jewelery and stockings. When he outgrew his ability to call on his customers individually, he converted to a sort of makeshift mail order operation, hiring the local milk van to make his deliveries.
* In 1947, Kamprad introduced furniture into the IKEA product line. The use of local manufacturers allowed him to keep his costs down. The furniture was a hit, and in 1951, Kamprad decided to discontinue all other product lines and focus on furniture. In 1953, the first IKEA showroom opened. It came about because of competitive pressures. IKEA was in a price war with its main competitor. The showroom allowed people to see it, touch it, feel it, and be sure of the quality before buying.
* In 1950, Ingvar Kamprad developed the concept of foldable furniture, the secret to IKEA's success. The Swedish businessman patiently built his empire of inexpensive contemporary furniture that now extends to the far corners of the world.
* Was foldable furniture Ingvar's real breakthrough idea?
* Best Advice For Entrepreneurs: “Time is your most important resource. You can do so much in ten minutes. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Ten minutes are not just one-sixth of your hourly pay. Ten minutes are a piece of yourself. Divide your life into ten-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.”
* The inspiration for IKEA’s design philosophy came when taking the legs off of a chair to fit it into a car. IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was so irritated by the experience that he developed the concept of flat pack design. The novel packing method had a twofold appeal: it allowed easier shopping for urban Europeans who depended on public transportation, and it also lowered the company’s shipping costs dramatically.
* The IKEA Catalogue Is Bigger Than the Bible - The IKEA catalogue was and is the company’s greatest weapon in its arsenal. A 300-page missionary text, it goes out to over 180 million people in 27 different languages. Each year, there are more copies of the IKEA catalogue printed than the Bible. A bit of a cult following has also developed around the catalogues, with earnest readers on the lookout for hidden messages in the pictures, such as running references to Mickey Mouse and weird, obscure books on the bookshelves.
Highlights
* In 1950, Ingvar Kamprad developed the concept of foldable furniture, the secret to IKEA's success. The Swedish businessman patiently built his empire of inexpensive contemporary furniture that now extends to the far corners of the world.
* Best Advice For Entrepreneurs: “Time is your most important resource. You can do so much in ten minutes. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Ten minutes are not just one-sixth of your hourly pay. Ten minutes are a piece of yourself. Divide your life into ten-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.”
* The inspiration for IKEA’s design philosophy came when taking the legs off of a chair to fit it into a car. IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was so irritated by the experience that he developed the concept of flat pack design.
==USEFUL PRODUCT INNOVATION==
==SPLIT YOUR LIFE INTO TEN MINUTE PACKETS==
==SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES FROM EVERYDAY PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY PROBLEMS IN USING A/THE PRODUCT==
Trading appears to have fascinated him right from his childhood!
* At an early age, he learned that he could buy matches in bulk from Stockholm and sell them at a fair price, but a good profit. He reinvested his profits and expanded to fish, seeds, Christmas tree decorations, and pens and pencils
* He continued to expand his business to a variety of goods, including wallets, watches, jewelery and stockings. When he outgrew his ability to call on his customers individually, he converted to a sort of makeshift mail order operation, hiring the local milk van to make his deliveries.
* In 1947, Kamprad introduced furniture into the IKEA product line. The use of local manufacturers allowed him to keep his costs down. The furniture was a hit, and in 1951, Kamprad decided to discontinue all other product lines and focus on furniture. In 1953, the first IKEA showroom opened. It came about because of competitive pressures. IKEA was in a price war with its main competitor. The showroom allowed people to see it, touch it, feel it, and be sure of the quality before buying.
* In 1950, Ingvar Kamprad developed the concept of foldable furniture, the secret to IKEA's success. The Swedish businessman patiently built his empire of inexpensive contemporary furniture that now extends to the far corners of the world.
* Was foldable furniture Ingvar's real breakthrough idea?
* Best Advice For Entrepreneurs: “Time is your most important resource. You can do so much in ten minutes. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Ten minutes are not just one-sixth of your hourly pay. Ten minutes are a piece of yourself. Divide your life into ten-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.”
* The inspiration for IKEA’s design philosophy came when taking the legs off of a chair to fit it into a car. IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was so irritated by the experience that he developed the concept of flat pack design. The novel packing method had a twofold appeal: it allowed easier shopping for urban Europeans who depended on public transportation, and it also lowered the company’s shipping costs dramatically.
* The IKEA Catalogue Is Bigger Than the Bible - The IKEA catalogue was and is the company’s greatest weapon in its arsenal. A 300-page missionary text, it goes out to over 180 million people in 27 different languages. Each year, there are more copies of the IKEA catalogue printed than the Bible. A bit of a cult following has also developed around the catalogues, with earnest readers on the lookout for hidden messages in the pictures, such as running references to Mickey Mouse and weird, obscure books on the bookshelves.
Highlights
* In 1950, Ingvar Kamprad developed the concept of foldable furniture, the secret to IKEA's success. The Swedish businessman patiently built his empire of inexpensive contemporary furniture that now extends to the far corners of the world.
* Best Advice For Entrepreneurs: “Time is your most important resource. You can do so much in ten minutes. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Ten minutes are not just one-sixth of your hourly pay. Ten minutes are a piece of yourself. Divide your life into ten-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.”
* The inspiration for IKEA’s design philosophy came when taking the legs off of a chair to fit it into a car. IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was so irritated by the experience that he developed the concept of flat pack design.
==USEFUL PRODUCT INNOVATION==
==SPLIT YOUR LIFE INTO TEN MINUTE PACKETS==
==SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES FROM EVERYDAY PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY PROBLEMS IN USING A/THE PRODUCT==
Karl Albrecht - Small Grocery Store to Mega Discount Chain
Germany's richest man - he seems to have really been a case of self-made. He and his brother took over their mom's small corner grocery shop in a city in Germany and built it into one of the largest discount chains in the world - Aldi.
Lesson? Not sure, since little is known about how they did it. Naturally, it helped that their mom ran a small grocery shop, but there are tens of thousands of moms and pops running grocery shops - their kids continue to remain small grocery shop owners as well!
Lesson? Not sure, since little is known about how they did it. Naturally, it helped that their mom ran a small grocery shop, but there are tens of thousands of moms and pops running grocery shops - their kids continue to remain small grocery shop owners as well!
Late Blooming Billionaires
A nice article @ Yahoo on billionaires who started late - on David Duffield (PeopleSoft), John Sperling (adult education in the US), Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull energy drink)...http://in.news.yahoo.com/240/20100816/1301/twl-7832129.html
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