Blog posts
When embarking on a project, you know what’s worse than hesitation, disorganization or missteps? Quitting just because some spectators or sideline reporters inform you that you missed your window of opportunity and suggest to you that it’s best to move on to the next thing. That’s not a recipe for arriving at a good outcome. If the sign on the door says “closed,” break out the lockpicks. “The great game of business” is not a game, it just looks like one. The marketplace is not hard to decode – it wants to create best fits for handling tasks. The world is full of problems and if you can offer the best solution for a problem, the demand and resources will come to you. What matters to the marketplace is that the problem gets solved. All it takes is your commitment and buy-in from your management team. When that team presents to you and says, “we think we’re the best situated company to solve this problem or handle this task,” don’t say “absolutely” and then start eyeing other dangled projects the moment a roadblock gets thrown in front of you.There are going to be lots of roadblocks and setbacks on the way to solving the problem – that’s why it’s called a problem. What the marketplace wants is somebody who is going to ignore all the people who tell them “it’s over, move on, catch the next train, you’re wasting your time.” Stay committed to the project and see it through. And when someone says “sorry – not yours,” tell them, “nachos? I love nachos. They’re delicious.” Written by Dave
Who are the secret bidders for Pimlico? That's today's piece of intrigue in the business sector. According to an article in today's Baltimore Sun, the racetrack and Preakness Stakes race that goes along with it, has attracted six bidders, only two of which have allowed themselves to be identified: The Cordish Companies and Joseph De Frances. So who are the remaining four? According to the New York firm Miller & Buckfire, which is running the auction, "Each of them will be immediately recognizable to the constituents of Maryland." If you think about it, that doesn't leave a very large number of potential bidders who are both famous and have the money. We have no inside scoop, but some obvious names to wonder about are Bisciotti, Angelos, Ripken, Clancy and Plank. The interest of Peter Angelos in racetracks is well established, but don't rule out dark horse Kevin Plank of Under Armour. Plank bought the largest horse farm in the state, the storied "Sagamore Farm," which bred Native Dancer and had its original heydey under the Vanderbilt family. Plank told me he bought the farm after attending a Preakness where he was annoyed by some loud fans from out-of-town who were speculating that the Preakness would soon be moved away from Maryland. He claims that part of his mission with Sagamore is to restore Maryland's horse racing heritage. If he is a bidder, slots may not factor in as heavily to his thinking. Sagamore's neighbor, Cal Ripken is another real longshot, but don't rule him out either. At the Kentucky Derby, he bet on 50-1 shot "Mine That Bird" winning an undisclosed sum. Ripken allegedly picked the horse because it's name evoked the Orioles, it wore the number 8 and was ridden by a jockey named Calvin. Whatever the case is, it will be an interesting contest to watch. The auction is scheduled for January 8 (there's that number again) and we don't even know what horses are in the running. . Written by Dave
I've just been writing about a new Army helicopter, the UH-72A Lakota. Flying with the Washington, D.C. Army National Guard's 121st Air Ambulance Company since spring 2009, it's a good piece of good news for taxpayers. Delivered on budget, on schedule and mission-ready, the Lakota is a notable exception to the roster of bloated 21st century defense projects. It's also an example of how good leadership can make even the government and the aerospace industry fly right. Launched in 2004, the Light Utility Helicopter program sought a single ready-made platform to quickly replace the service's aged multi-variant fleet of utility helicopters. Rather than developing a completely new utility helicopter, the Army embarked on a COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) program, asking manufacturers to submit militarized versions of extant commercial helicopters for evaluation. Four aerospace industry consortiums competed for the contract. EADS North America (a subsidiary of Europe's EADS consortium) prevailed. A $2 billion contract was awarded in June 2006. Just six months later, in December 2006, the first UH-72 was delivered to the U.S. Army. That's stunningly quick compared to most defense procurement programs. To date, 90 of a planned 345 Lakotas have been delivered to units across the nation. Few hiccups have been encountered and Congress is so pleasantly surprised that completion of production has been pushed forward - from 2016 to 2015. Keith Roberson, the Army’s Deputy Project Manager for Utility Helicopters told me that clarity of purpose allowed the program to advance rapidly. Simply, the Army produced a well defined, fairly narrow set of requirements for the mission at hand, stuck by them and communicated continuously with its industry partner. EADS North America CEO Ralph D. Crosby Jr., understood the Army's needs and offered a versatile, well proven design paired with a robust business/manufacturing plan which allows Lakotas to be rapidly produced and creates jobs here in the U.S.. Production recently shifted from EADS' Donauworth, Germany facility (where the first UH-72s were built) to EADS North America's new 220,000 square foot facility in Columbus, Mississippi where Lakota production employs over 300 people. Pentagon procurement officials and our local defense employers should take a page from this effort.
Written by Jan
If you want to see a graphical representation of what the last two years have been like from an unemployment perspective, clink on the interesting link below. For one thing, it shows the magnitude of the task before all of us with regard to job creation. If you created any jobs last year, give yourself a pat on the back. But also it shows how the Baltimore-Washington corridor fared much better than most of the rest of the country, with the exception of the agricultural economies in the Midwest. As the holidays roll around, it's well to remember that we reside in a fortunate area and should do our best to try and grow jobs - because it won't be long before people in more desperate areas of the country start migrating here in search of work. http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html Written by Dave
On Call - I happened to witness a small piece of business history last week while attending the Los Angeles Auto Show. As you may know by now, General Motors CEO, Fritz Henderson, resigned from GM early last week after pressure from quarters unknown (though specualted endlessly upon) to move on. Henderson was scheduled to speak at the Motor Press Guild breakfast - the traditional kick-off to the LA Show - before about 1000 assembled journalists the following morning. That didn't happen. Instead, GM Vice Chairman, and legendary automotive executive, Bob Lutz, got the call late Monday night (11/30). I spoke with a Detroit-based journalist that morning who had been on Lutz's redeye from Detroit to LA. Whilst standing in line to board he noticed the well known Lutz cut to the front of the line and head for first class with only a sheaf of papers in his hand. Lutz had no escorts which was unusual. Upon arriving in LA, my colleague told me, he was whisked away by several GM PR types. Hours later, he was giving a speech at the MPG breakfast with little sleep and little preparation. Lutz did an outstanding job. He was witty, knowledgeable and deflected questions about Mr. Henderson's departure with good humored skill. I suggest we draw two lessons from this. First, the CEO or senior executive must be prepared to improvise at a moment's notice. Your business and the 'game' around it can change radically at any time. Think ahead but be prepared to be quick on your feet when necessary. Second, Mr. Lutz is in his mid-70s. The depth of his experience and personal confidence are obvious and a signal to any CEO that with age wisdom doth often come. Treat all of your company talent equally and don't dismiss time-honed experience for the new kid on the block. All I'd add was that there were some bitchin' cars there....
Written by Eric
I'm not a big believer in wave theory, but Time Magazine has this interesting article on the psychology of crowds and how they can influence markets. I think crowd psychology can influence any business decision and the best thing CEOs can do when the madding crowds are getting them down is to remember to stay positive. Written by Dave
So here's the setup: Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, which are, of course, creatures of Wall Street operating near Ground Zero, just finished underwriting a deal for General Electric where it issued $1 billion in "Islamic bonds" or "sukuk." These types of bonds operate under sharia law and have never been tested in a western court. They were dreamt up a decade ago to accommodate the greed and needs of laughable projects in places like Dubai. Then, days after GE's issuance of Islamic debt, Dubai had a meltdown. It defaulted on its debt. This was soon followed by the announcement that trading was suspended in billions of these bonds on Monday without warning - an unprecedented move. And if these bonds go, there is no legal recourse for investors to collect. Islamic law labels investors as partners who must accept any losses. My guess is that these kinds of bonds will very soon be relics of the past. The whole mess in the financial markets is kind of like a confusing joke with billions of dollars as the punchline. Written by Dave
We're working on a story right now about talent evaluation. One of the interesting things is the difference between your gut feeling about somebody and what the numbers tell you. I was having a discussion in the office yesterday with Josh (our ultra-talented graphic designer) and we both agreed that on Monday Night Football, Drew Brees had turned in the best quarterback performance we had ever seen. Turns out that gut feel and numbers tell the same story.Written by Dave
If you put together some cool marketing collateral or a creative ad campaign in the past year, you might consider entering the DC ADDY Awards. Sponsored by the DC Ad Club, the awards recognize the best in creative excellence in the DC metro area. Local winners go on to compete at the American Advertising Federation (AAF) District level, and those winners compete with winners from around the world. You can find out more on how to apply at the "How to Enter the ADDY's Brown Bag" on December 3. For more info, click here. Deadline for submission is December 18. Written by Jeanine
Looks like Baltimore may get a new mayor. Sheila Dixon has been convicted: story here
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