Uncategorized

Slack language is a sign of slack thinking

There are industries in which vertical integration is appropriate and others where very different skills are required for the various elements of the value chain. In a brief look at the rationalisations of recent media mergers, John makes a case for hard-nosed analysis over hazy dreams.
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Article

Why the Atkins approach is bad for business

Doing an Atkins diet is now as fashionable in business as it is in personal life. But in business – as on the female body – there are places where you want fat as well as those where you do not. Bottom line – rather than tinker with sustainability, it is still best to soak up resources and use the energy productively.
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Article

Bonuses are a problem diet for financiers

Heads, we win; tails, they lose! Managers, traders and advisers who take more of gains than of losses have incentives to support risky courses of action that are not in the best interests of the principals they represent. John explains why this scheme can never really align the rewards of the individual with the objectives of the organisation.
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Article

Nobody wins when there are too few taxis

Most bad economic policies can be abandoned, but the harmful effects of restrictive licensing systems are usually irreversible. By illustrating the flaws of taxi regulation, John explains why governments and licensing authorities should think twice before being caught in a transitional gains trap.
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Essay

Obliquity

Strange as it may seem, overcoming geographic obstacles, winning decisive battles or meeting global business targets are the type of goals often best achieved when pursued indirectly. This is the idea of Obliquity. Oblique approaches are most effective in difficult terrain, or where outcomes depend on interactions with other people.
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