Citi, Other Bank-Branch Closures, Spell Trouble for Retail

On September 25, 2009

Citi, Other Bank-Branch Closures, Spell Trouble for Retail

Reports that Citigroup might close or sell a chunk of its 1,000 bank branches as part of its plans to scale down its consumer-banking business spells more bad news for the retail real estate industry. And a lot of this type of news is coming from retail banking nowadays. This summer, Bank of America announced that it is closing about 10 percent of its 6,100 units.  The takeover of Washington Mutual by JP Morgan Chase resulted in about 400 closures so far. And a trend of more units shutting is expected in the space. This development comes after years of aggressive retail expansion by the big banks. In some locales, it even became a joke. Like Starbucks, you were...
On September 25, 2009

Stevia’s Uncertain Future, Glaceau’s Cautious and Quiet Approach

Nine months after the Food and Drug Administration proclaimed that two zero-calorie sweeteners derived from the stevia plant were Generally Regarded As Safe, stevia is bigger than ever. The food industry has introduced more than 110 stevia-based products since then, and stevia sales hit $95 million by July -- up from $21 million for all of 2008. But though people continue to throw around phrases like "the holy grail of sweeteners," problems remain. A majority of consumers have still never heard of the sweetener. Furthermore, as companies struggle with different formulations to counter unpleasant aftertastes, there is a danger that a customer's bad experience with one stevia product could turn them off of stevia for good. Glaceau made the interesting...
On September 25, 2009

Of Tosca, Telephones, “TRL” and Times Square

Advertising Week in New York — in addition to being exhausting — is often a chance to see the high and the low of our media-saturated culture in one fell swoop. So, during the week, I witnessed Martha Stewart, Mark Cuban, New York Times' digital chief Martin Nisenholtz and even Ashton Kutcher all opining on the state of media and advertising at various panels. But the most telling five minutes came not inside one of the many venues staging events, but in a brief walk to the subway through Times Square on Monday night. For me, Times Square is a particularly good place to compare-and-contrast how media has changed, as during much of the 1990s, I worked at 1515 Broadway,...
On September 25, 2009

Hyatt Protests Expand to Chicago, Others Join Boycott

Although the controversy is only a little over a week old, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's threatened boycott and letter to Hyatt Hotels Corp. chief executive Mark Hoplamazian over 100 fired housekeepers has gone viral, with protests against Hyatt in Chicago and San Francisco. In another development, Boston cabbies -- or their union, the Boston Taxi Drivers Association -- have also joined in the Hyatt boycott. The hundred or so housekeepers were fired after reportedly training their replacements from the Georgia-based Hospitality Staffing Solutions, who were described by management as "vacation fill-ins."   The public reaction seems to be overwhelmingly in favor of the housekeepers, on blogs like the Consumerist, the Harvard Business Review and the Boston Globe, with hundreds of comments on each story. The...


On September 25, 2009

Wanted: Your Thoughts on Awesomeness

Close to a thousand tweets later, your response to my Awesomeness Manifesto has been, well, awesome.

I'd like to open source the manifesto, in a specific way.

Send me your thoughts on awesomeness. A sentence, a paragraph, an essay. Positive, negative, explanatory, or exploratory. Your own real-world examples, or your vision of awesomeness.

Here are some questions to get you started thinking:

  • What resonated most (or least) with you about the idea of awesomeness?
  • Who do you think is awesome — versus just merely innovative?
  • What are your pillars of awesomeness?

With the help of my editors here at Harvard Business, I'll sort through and try and connect them. The goal is to produce a stronger, collaboratively written manifesto on awesomeness, rich with real-world example, discussion, and commentary.

Why? Simple. Because the world needs more awesomeness. Let's make it happen.

You can find my email here.


On September 25, 2009

Squeeze Every Last Drop Out of Your Laptop’s Battery

It never fails. You're on a cross-country flight, laptop open on your tray table, digging deep into an important project when — your battery dies. As we become more dependent on mobile devices like laptops and smartphones, knowing how to extend the life of the battery that powers that device can mean the difference between three wasted hours or making the deadline.

In the short term, when an outlet isn't available, there are simple things you can do. Before you start working, make sure you turn off all the unnecessary services on your notebook that draw power. On an airplane, for instance, you'd turn off your wireless adapter and Bluetooth services. You could also turn off the overhead light in your seat and dim your notebook's screen. Your laptop or smartphone's screen is the component that uses the most power, so the dimmer you can go, the longer it will last.

Shut down any software or applications that are needlessly spinning your hard drive or using up CPU. Make sure your email program isn't running if you can't check email, or that any startup items you don't need aren't hogging up precious battery life in the background. In short, run the fewest software applications required to get your work done.

If you use a Dell laptop, the manufacturer recommends you:

  • Utilize QuickSet* power schemes to customize your power consumption
  • Turn off Presentation Mode by using QuickSet
  • Turn off wireless by using the Fn+F2 keys or QuickSet
  • Reduce screen brightness by using Fn+ the up and down arrows
  • Remove external peripherals such as PC cards and USB devices when not in use
  • Perform high power tasks such as gaming, DVD playing and data analysis, while connected to AC power source

Here are HP's recommendations for notebook owners.

In the long term, a few considerations can increase the number of charge cycles you get out of your battery. For example, heat degrades battery life, so keeping your notebook in a cool place (out of a hot car, for example) and operating it at room temperature only will extend its life. Avoid charging your iPhone in a carrying case, because the case can trap excessive heat and reduce the phone's battery life.

Calibrating your battery — that is, fully charging and discharging it — also keeps it healthy. From Apple's web site:

For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it's important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.

If you store a battery for an extended period of time, Apple recommends charging it to 50% life first, which will help maintain its ability to hold a charge when you use it again. Battery University suggests keeping it in the refrigerator (not the freezer), making sure to seal it in a baggie to avoid moisture.

Until every airplane, meeting room, and cafe has an outlet next to every seat, how do you keep your battery alive as long as possible? Let us know in the comments.


On September 25, 2009

Auto Industry and Green Groups Agree on Landmark Climate Policy

In a swift bit of Congressional maneuvering September 24, the U.S. Senate rejected a proposed amendment from longtime global warming skeptic Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would have effectively killed President Obama’s plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. What’s interesting is that the auto industry itself opposed the bill, lining up with the Environmental Protection Agency. Murkowski’s amendment to an Interior Department funding bill was ostensibly aimed only at blocking funds to regulate stationary-source climate emissions under the federal Clean Air Act. Although she acknowledged the need to regulate stationary sources—including power plants—she claimed that “the Clean Air Act would be one of the least efficient and most damaging ways to pursue that goal. It would be...


On September 25, 2009

Nomura’s Share Sale The Exception To A Dubious Trend

There's not a lot of love for Japanese banks in general right now, but in Nomura's case, you can almost hear the collective sigh of shareholder frustration. Here at BNET Finance, my colleague Alain Sherter and I have been some of the few pundits who have bothered banging on throughout the month about the phenomenon of share sales in the financial services industry and all the various potential consequences of such (you can see all the articles in the links at the bottom). Indeed, this is a trend that was largely being ignored until Nomura stepped up to the plate this week. The unprecedented attention the Japanese bank has gained is mostly a result of the humongous size of the...


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