A special holiday post on why empathy isn’t necessarily a good thing, the perils of empathy. Paul Bloom’s book Against Empathy argues that empathy isn’t the panacea that it is sometimes held up to be. Definitions Matter At its heart Bloom makes a relatively plausible argument seem outrageous. He does this by relying on our…
Using Non-Financial Indicators
Using non-financial indicators to predict future profits. The problem of rewarding the right things Establishing the right reward structure is extremely challenging. O’Connell and O’Sullivan aim to help in this. They tackle the problem that traditional finance/accounting measures are quite backwards looking. (They can also be manipulated to reward those who prioritize short-term, over long-term,…
A Sustainable Standard When Accounting For Marketing
The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) seems to have been remarkably successful. They have recruited some well-known board members. These have included Michael Bloomberg, Mary Schapiro (former SEC chair), and Laura Tyson (former London Business School Dean). This has helped them raise their profile. They have been working on a sustainable standard when accounting for…
Academics Need To Seriously Engage With The World
There are few things in the world more frustrating than people who list problems but offer no meaningful solutions. Such people often seem to be drawn to academia. I think academics need to seriously engage with the world. Citicism But No Solutions This brings us to Lawrence Busch’s Knowledge for Sale. Busch makes many good…
Listening Versus Leadership
One of the most interesting problems in marketing is how much to listen to consumers. There are certainly challenges with listening to consumers. Sometimes it is probably fair to say that consumers don’t have a great idea what they want. That said, in for profit businesses there rarely is a good reason to ignore consumers’…
Not Very Thoughtful Thought Leadership
I love terrible visuals, especially when they are used by consultants. Alex Usher (@http://higheredstrategy.com/) is brutal in criticizing a recent Deloitte report doing “big thinking” about the future of the workforce. (Post written in 2017). The report seems to be a great example of not very thoughtful thought leadership. Not Very Thoughtful Thought Leadership Usher…
Marketing And Finance Working Together
Charlotte Rogers has a fascinating practitioner article on the Marketing/Finance interface published in Marketing Week. This is a positive piece. It outlines how marketing and finance groups are collaborating more. Much of the advice is sensible. For example, UKTV brought a finance person into the media review team. This meant the person was able to…
Marketing In The World Of Big Data
Arvind Sathi’s book Engaging Customers Using Big Data has a number of interesting points about big data. What does he tell us about marketing in the world of big data? Marketing In The World Of Big Data Sathi is keen to point out that marketers now drive many technological needs in firms. The chief marketing…
Good Marketing And Social Missions
Managers often have challenges understanding how to position their brands and companies when contentious public issues find them. More interesting in some ways are companies whose managers seek out contentious issues. It is very hard to measure the net impact of having a contentious social mission. Experiments are hard to run on social missions. Yet,…
Marketing Standing On Its Own Feet
People like to ask “where are we all going?”. Marketing academics are no different. A recent editorial in JAMS (a major marketing journal) examines the future of marketing. Overall, I agreed with the author, Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, on most things in this article. (Although I hated his book Time To Lead with a passion, see here and…
