Jim Collin’s books are well written but often readers, and probably Collins himself, may think Collins’ books contain “scientifically proven” advice. At best, Collin’s work should only suggest approaches. What is the complaint about Jim Collins? A Complaint About Jim Collins Many scholars criticize Collins’ methodology. I sympathize with many of the critics. Here, however,…
Author: neilbendle
Neil is an Associate Professor Marketing at the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia. He investigates the measurement of marketing performance, the accounting/marketing interface, and the impact of non-standard decision making in commercial and political markets.
Neil is the Chair of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board advisors. He is co-author of Marketing Metrics: The Manager’s Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance (3rd edition) Wharton School Press and is co-author of a cartoon book: Behavioural Economics for Kids.
What Makes Your Thinking Different?
Tim Harford’s books are always engaging even as he covers topics that many don’t find the most stimulating. His latest book gives a lively introduction to macroeconomics. He notes how unique thinking can be powerful. So what makes your thinking different? The Phillips’ Curve In this Harford is obviously enjoying himself when he describes the…
Managerial Advice From The Trolls In Frozen
I recently read the following: “People often regret not getting rid of problem staff soon enough”. This struck me as emblematic of everything wrong with business advice. It was glib, unsupported by evidence, and designed to resonate with our biases. Better to take managerial advice from the trolls in Frozen. Regret Sure some managers will…
The Mismeasure Of Man
Stephen Jay Gould could be a polarizing figure in academic circles. He is an evolutionary scientist quoted at the Creation Museum (which opposes the idea of evolution). Still, he was an interesting writer who did an excellent job of engaging the general public. His book rebutting the arguments of the Bell Curve, The Mismeasure of…
Scarcity Theory: A Hammer, But A Good Hammer
Mullainathan and Shafir’s new book Scarcity [written in 2014] explains that people make some debatable decisions when a resource is scarce because of the stress the shortage causes. They introduce Scarcity Theory: a hammer, but a good hammer. Poverty Leads To Worse Decision-Making The authors help explain poverty sometimes encourages people to take decisions that…
Seeing The Big Picture Behind People’s Attitudes
An interesting psychological phenomenon is the tendency to ascribe stable attitudes to people rather than consider the context. I can only speak to where I’ve worked — the UK, US, Canada — but it seems pervasive to me. Seeing the big picture behind people’s attitudes is important. Inferring Attitudes Despite Writer Having No Choice Early…
Simple And Smart Solutions
People often view complex as synonymous with brilliant. Only a genius could invent something with a huge number of moving parts. Such thinking misses the point. The real challenge comes to simplify. To reduce complexity by focusing on what is important. There is much to be said for simple and smart solutions. The Problem of…
Romance, Fear And Self-Knowledge
Marketing theory often starts with the assumption that we know what we want. That marketers serve consumers’ preferences underpins the marketing concept. Unfortunately, there is quite a lot of research that suggests that we don’t know our own preferences that well. This is illustrated at the intersection of romance, fear, and self-knowledge. A Valentine’s Day…
Simplification, Oversimplification, And Competitive Advantage
There are many ideas to learn in strategy. It is helpful to convey them in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. Yet I have concerns about oversimplification and competitive advantage. Simplifying Competition Bruce Greenwald‘s and Judd Kahn’s book has great cases and it is easy to see why managers might find the certainty they communicate useful. They suggest simplifying…
Classification And The Platypus: Imposing Rigid Structure On A Complex World
Classification is fundamentally a problem. It is putting things that are different into categories to make us feel better. (Perhaps more fairly to allow us to cope with a complex world). Classification and the platypus tells us that we shouldn’t do it more than we have to. Classifying Seems To Cheer Some People Up People…
