Art Contrarian on the paintings of Jack Vettriano and R. Kenton Nelson. [The above painting is by Nelson.]
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Cheesecake Chief
Cheesecake Factory founder David Overton tells his story in Fortune:
When I was growing up in the 1950s, my father, Oscar Overton, managed retail stores in Detroit. My mother, Evelyn, found a recipe for cheesecake and made one for my father's boss. He liked it so much that he asked if she could make 12 cheesecakes that he could give to friends as Christmas gifts. That gave her the idea of going into business. So she made cheesecakes in the basement during the day, and in the evening my father delivered them to two restaurants in town. I got a penny per box for folding the cake boxes.
When I was growing up in the 1950s, my father, Oscar Overton, managed retail stores in Detroit. My mother, Evelyn, found a recipe for cheesecake and made one for my father's boss. He liked it so much that he asked if she could make 12 cheesecakes that he could give to friends as Christmas gifts. That gave her the idea of going into business. So she made cheesecakes in the basement during the day, and in the evening my father delivered them to two restaurants in town. I got a penny per box for folding the cake boxes.
Selling Boxes or Hours
Tim Berry has an excellent post on the difference between selling boxes and hours. An excerpt:
With a product business you sell more and you make more money. Succeed with online marketing, open up a new channel, and you can build more of those things. Product businesses usually – obviously not if a lot of hand labor is involved – scale up. On a classic service business, though, to double sales you have to double your payroll. That’s what investors call a “body shop.”
With a product business you sell more and you make more money. Succeed with online marketing, open up a new channel, and you can build more of those things. Product businesses usually – obviously not if a lot of hand labor is involved – scale up. On a classic service business, though, to double sales you have to double your payroll. That’s what investors call a “body shop.”
The Team That Killed Bin Laden
From Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan, the modified MH-60 helicopters made their way to the garrison suburb of Abbottabad, about 70 miles from the center of Islamabad. Aboard were Navy SEALs, flown across the border from Afghanistan, along with tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers.
Read the rest of Marc Ambinder's National Journal article here.
Read the rest of Marc Ambinder's National Journal article here.
The Diocletian Lesson
One of my interests is Roman history. On a whim, I recently examined different accounts of the death of Diocletian, an emperor who stepped down from power to go off and grow cabbages in the countryside. Some say he died of illness. Others hint that he committed suicide. I also recall reading that he'd been beheaded by rivals who feared that he may return to power.
Hmm. There is a big difference between dying of illness and being beheaded.
Diocletian's story is a small example of the danger of trusting only one source. If students learn anything in school about research, it should be that a strong skepticism regarding sources is usually wise. You expect to get differing interpretations of events but even those facts which you might expect to be relatively solid can be illusive.
Workshop Design
"If we hold it on a Friday, no one will want to register. Who wants to be in class on a Friday?"
"Are you crazy? I love Friday workshops. I'm out of the office, drinking coffee, telling stories, and hoping that the session will end early so I can head home."
"Following your lead, we should also scrap the two-hour sessions."
"You've got that right. I finish a two-hour session and I feel morally obligated to go back to the office. Not so with the longer sessions. Love those longer sessions that break early."
"Unless we hold the two-hour sessions in-house. In that case, you'd already be at the office."
"True, but then you have to make sure that people don't slip off to make phone calls."
"Don't you think they would appreciate not having to spend too much time in a workshop?"
"Who are you? Horatio Alger? Sure, there are a few people who might like those two-hour briefings, but others may feel as if they are being short-changed. If they go to a workshop, they want a workshop. And don't forget the coffee."
"So one-day max?"
"Unless it's more like a retreat, make it one-day. Or a half-day. I see some consultants take a half-day topic and stretch it out for two or three days. They should be beaten with a presentation skills workbook. I could tell you all you need to know about Western civilization in one day."
"So let's talk about topics. We have some that they really need."
"Let me stop you right there. If they really need it, you'll have a tough time selling it. Try providing a topic they really want. Needs are broccoli. Wants are ice cream."
"What's an ice cream topic?"
"Ask your customers and then read between the lines."
Quote of the Day
Trump demanding to see Bin Laden's death certificate.
- From a tweet by Albert Brooks
- From a tweet by Albert Brooks
Monday, May 02, 2011
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