Motivation: It’s Not About Carrots or Sticks

On August 27, 2009

Motivation: It’s Not About Carrots or Sticks

Forget those twin pillars of motivation the carrot and the stick, argues this fascinating TED talk. Sweet carrots (like more money) stress people out and often actually decrease productivity. So what does work? The answer may surprise a whole lot of traditional managers.
On August 27, 2009

Rockslide Closes Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel

The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park was closed and around 60 guests evacuated Wednesday because of rockslides. Officials said the hotel would likely remain closed until Friday afternoon, according to various reports. Apparently rocks the size of microwave ovens were falling in the luxury hotel's parking lot. No one was reported injured. Last October, falling rocks hit 17 cabins and closed part of Curry Village permanently. Falling rock is an accepted reality in Yosemite and unlikely to end. According to the Associated Press, the situation is even dire: An Associated Press story last year said that geologists have warned for at least a decade that the granite face of Glacier Point above the village was dangerous. Despite two deaths and an increase in the...
On August 26, 2009

Waste-to-Fuels Startup Terrabon Hauls in Waste Management Investment

Terrabon has landed another investment partner -- this time, it's Waste Management-- in its pursuit of commercially viable green gasoline, a renewable fuel made from the organic waste found in your local landfill. BNET wrote about Houston, Texas-based Terrabon back in April, when Valero Energy, the largest U.S. refiner, became a lead investor in the company. Consider this latest investment and partnership with Waste Management, also based in Houston, as the third leg on a stool. Without it, well, you'd have a two-legged stool, which isn't very useful. Meaning, Terrabon has the technology, Valero has the refining and Waste Management -- as North America's largest trash collector -- has access to all of that organic waste. Tim Cesarek, managing director in organic growth...
On August 26, 2009

4 Questions to Ask Any New Client

Ever get a call or an email from a potential client and something just doesn't feel right? You know, red flags go up and your spider sense starts tingling but times are tough and you need the business? Well, if you work for yourself or are in a service profession, these four questions may save your butt.
On August 26, 2009

Managing Information Overload | HBR IdeaCast

Information is one of our most valuable commodities in a knowledge economy. Yet research shows that the average worker is also completely overburdened with information -- and that can have a big impact on performance, reducing productivity, creativity, and decision making abilities. Author Paul Hemp explains how to cut through the clutter and focus on the work that matters. Featured Guest: Paul Hemp, author of the HBR article "Death by Information Overload." Click Play to hear the podcast. If you don’t see the player window, click refresh on your browser. If it still doesn’t appear, let our customer service team know. More HBR IdeaCasts. Subscribe to HBR IdeaCast now via iTunes.
On August 26, 2009

Google Offers Free Downloads of a Million Books

Google is in a class of its own in the sheer scale and ambition of what it chooses to do, and today's announcement that the search giant will make over a million public domain books available for free downloads in the open-source ePub platform is a prime example of that truth. "By adding support for ePub downloads we're hoping to make these books more accessible by helping people around the world to find and read them in more places," said Product Manager Brandon Badger on the company's blog. He added that "because ePub is a free, open standard supported by a growing ecosystem of digital reading devices, works you download from Google Books as ePubs won't be tied to or...
On August 26, 2009

New Sony E-book Reader Should Worry Amazon

A mere 12 days ago, not even a fortnight, while looking at increasing competition on the e-book front, I mentioned the rumors that Sony would announce an e-book reader with wireless capability sometime in September. It seemed "odd" at the time, as the company had just announced two other models, but perhaps it wanted to emphasize all the releases without one drowning out another. Apparently that was the plan, though the rumor was off in timing, as the new product was unveiled yesterday. And there are some interesting features that could offer some competition for Amazon.
On August 26, 2009

Macy’s, J.C. Penney Vie for Hip, as in Youth Fashion, Not Replacement

Macy’s has embraced more mainstream and celebrity brands of late from established – in some cases fairly described as aging – fashion plates as diverse as Tommy Hilfiger and Donald Trump, but now it’s rolling out a new, urban-oriented fashion line from designer Rachel Roy. However, the Roy move to grab a younger, hipper shopper is being contested, by J.C. Penney, itself a retailer trying to shake skepticism that it can run nearer the front of the fashion pack. The Rachel Rachel Roy collection has been placed at about 80 select Macy’s stores – and preparing to launch on the retailer’s website -- in time for the fall fashion season in what the company characterizes as a “fresh and edgy...
On August 26, 2009

Ad Trade Reporters Frequently Take Jobs With the Sources They Cover

How close are reporters in the advertising trade press to the agencies they cover? Very close. That closeness was writ large -- again -- by the news this week that USA Today ad writer Theresa Howard has joined Crispin Porter + Bogusky as a copywriter. Before USA Today, Howard was at Brandweek.*
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