Originally used by Lockheed Martin to identify a secret aircraft development group within the larger company, the term “Skunk Works” is used today to broadly describe an autonomous company within a company. The skunk works is usually a small group of people who are allowed to work on a project in an unconventional way, unhampered [...]
Tag Archives: Entrepreneurial
7 Ways Big Companies Can Become More Entrepreneurial – Part 6
Today it seems like every big corporation wants to become more entrepreneurial. They envy the creativity and freedom of small start-ups, and they want that spirit in their own companies. In order to achieve the entrepreneurial spirit, they may have to think and act, even budget and organize, much like a small start-up. Every successful [...]
7 Ways Big Companies Can Become More Entrepreneurial – Part 4
One of the biggest challenges to large corporations becoming more entrepreneurial is their very structure. Chains of command and divisions of labor designed for efficiency can actually block good ideas and discourage creativity. In this seven-part series, we examine ways that big business can learn from entrepreneurs, small businesses and start-ups. One of the advantages [...]
7 Ways Big Companies Can Become More Entrepreneurial – Part 3
Small companies and start-ups operate a lot like families. The owners must provide an environment that encourages creativity everyday as they face challenges to their very existence. They can’t afford to have strict chains of command. In this series, we examine how big businesses can get the most from their employees by learning from small [...]
7 Ways Big Companies Can Become More Entrepreneurial – Part 2
Most big companies want creativity and innovation, but these attributes require a structure that allows them to thrive. Corporate structure itself may be the biggest impediment to out-of-the-box thinking. It’s hard to find the race horse in the twenty-mule team. In large corporations’ desire to get the job done and be more efficient, they can [...]
HBS Branding Blog by David Aaker
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Three Models of How a Brand Personality Impacts
What is the worst thing you can say about a person? That they have no personality. Who wants to spend time with someone who is so boring that they are described as having no personality? It’s better to be a jerk; at least you will be interesting. Having a personality is equally helpful to brands. Not all brands have a personality, or at least don’t have a st […]
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Look Who Sold Five Million Recipe Books in Japan: The Higher Purpose Pays Off
A small Japanese company that makes bathroom scales has under 100 million dollars in sales generated by less than 300 people. But they put out a recipe book in 2010 that has sold around five million copies and created a new growth platform. Their story, which depicts how a higher purpose can work, is instructive.Tanita makes and markets accurate, durable, us […]
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Why Brand Leaders in Japan are Winning
BrandJapan is an annual appraisal of the brand equity of one thousand Japanese brands from the view of consumers (BtoC) and business managers (BtoB). Each year I provide a commentary on the results. The 2013 data just became available, and it again provides insights into what drives winning brands in Japan.In the consumer database (BtoC), the big news is tha […]
Brand Week News And Features
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The Complete Taxonomy of College Sports Mascots
We've been in love with taxonomies ever since the agency-name infographic a few months ago. Here's one that's truly stunning to behold—Pop Chart Lab's new Chart of Collegiate Sports Teams. For sale (at $30 a pop) as a 2- by 3-foot poster, the chart claims to offer "a taxonomic breakdown of every collegiate sports team in the United S […]
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Ad of the Day: Bank of America
This lovely "Portraits" spot for Instagram really does wonders with the fuzzy yellow filter that just screams late 70's/early 80's, and the casting and direction bring you into this family's world even as the costumes change with the … hmm? What's that? This is an ad for Bank of America? Huh. Financial services is a tough catego […]
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McDonald's Apologizes for Mental-Health Parody Ad It Says It Didn't Approve
Are you addicted to the Big Mac, or can you stop anytime you want? Whatever your emotional issues with the burger, McDonald's is distancing itself from the mental-health parody ad above, which appeared on Boston's mass transit this month. (The 800 number on the ad is a McDonald's corporate line.) In a statement to Time magazine, Nicole DiNoia, […]
