A friend tipped me off to recent FDA approvals; it seems to me there’s a wedding-ish theme to them:   Something Old. J&J’s new Levaquin is now approved for an affliction dating back to medieval times; the plague. Every year, 1,000 or so people still succumb to that ancient bacteria ‘Yersinia pestis’.   Something New: [...]

When we think of exports, we usually start with big, memorable markets-national or regional economies so well known you can rhyme them off the top of your head: European Union, USA, China, Japan, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Canada, Spain, Australia, Netherlands. Then, the much-hyped B.R.I.C. group: Brazil, Russia, India, China. And why not? BRIC accounts [...]

North America’s ‘drive everywhere’ culture has an undeniable impact on one’s physical & emotional well-being. On visits to Europe I was struck by how sociable a daily walk from work might be. You buy a baguette at a bakery, a pack of aspirin (that dissolve in water!!!) at a Pharmacy, a bottle of wine at [...]

Easter weekend involved dozens of progeny, including many grandchildren, coming to Gramma’s homestead. A well behaved bunch of young adults, most of whom are Millennials, 17 to 25 yrs old. Much of their conversations involved …wait for it…science. Huh? Not the latest Gaga tweet? Not Bieber’s new haircut? Not which smartphone is the sleekest, or [...]

Not so long ago we had never heard of Marketing’s ’5th P’, Public Input, but we occasionally felt its wrath. Public Input ‘happened to’ Marketers and they adjusted. Smart marketers now turn it into an advantage, actively seeking ‘Public Input’,  just as they solicit/ manage Consumer Research & Product Development Design. In the ‘public’ sector, [...]

Wisdom, Skill, Virtue: Real or mythical, there’s something compelling about the idea of someone who embodies all 3 traits eg the warrior-monk, noble yet humble, dedicated to a larger cause. A thinker who is rich in spirit, yet willing & able to act decisively. The Shaolin priest-warrior; the taciturn dispossessed Ronin; a self-sacrificing Knight Templar; [...]

I’ve posted previously on the power of the ‘5th P‘ of Marketing, Public Input. I’m genuinely surprised at the rate at which that power is growing. Recently, Rush Limbaugh advertisers dropped faster than RIM share’s price, after his Sandra Fluke ‘slut’ insult generated immediate, furious consumer reaction. Backlash over ‘Pink Slime’ caused Safeway & Fred [...]

Had a discussion with a friend recently about the Millennials, a generation who get a bad PR rap for being ‘withdrawn into themselves & their devices’. My experience is that they are indeed connection-focused. They believe Virtual is Virtuous, and we’re just going to have to adjust. A fellow prof won’t allow any cellphone surfing [...]

My eldest just turned 22; for birthday gift ideas, she suggested specialty camera gear. A  fine source for such items is Photojojo.com so I had a chance to try their service. The experience was amazing. When I shopped there, I found site graphics that are cute yet informative. When the order shipped, they sent a [...]

Time to fess up. Wish I had been wrong. RIM just posted its latest quarterly- the first under the leadership of Thorsten Heins, and those results said more than I could have said – although I did say it  -in guest lectures in November 2009, full classroom (Rip RIM)  sessions starting in January 2010- an [...]