The things worth writing about, and the things worth reading about, are the things that feel almost beyond description at the start and are, because of that, frightening.
— Douglas Coupland
Andy Crestodina's annual survey of bloggers is out. It shows 2 of 3 bloggers focus on SEO, up from 1 of 2 three years ago.
I guessed eleven months ago American Society of Association Executives wouldn't contact me after I'd enrolled—even once—until it wanted me to renew my membership. I guessed correctly.
Associations need to do better than that, to stay in business.
Perhaps ASAE should consult the FBI. It would learn the Bureau frowns on advance fee schemes.
It is difficult for the common good to prevail against the intense concentration of those who have a special interest.
— Jimmy Carter
Healthcare, housing and education—while increasing in cost, but declining in value—have a stranglehold on the US economy that will eventually plunge most Americans into near-poverty, says a recent report from Gallup.
Now accounting for almost 40 cents of every US dollar spent, the inflationary price tags on healthcare, housing and education mean most Americans will never, as previous generations liked to say, "get ahead."
Ironically, white Americans are sicker than they were 40 years ago; live in older, smaller homes farther from their workplaces; and don't know what the Constitution is, or that the earth orbits the sun.
Other things are amiss in this land, too, according to the report.
High healthcare costs are not only hammering businesses' profit margins, but dampening entrepreneurship and full-time hiring. And in industries where hiring is brisk, employers can't find Americans who are well enough, or smart enough, to perform the new jobs. Employers are forced to favor foreign-educated workers.
What's behind our downward spiral? Special interest groups, Gallup says.
In healthcare, paperwork, "defensive" medicine, and doctors' excessive salaries are driving up healthcare costs. Patients spend more for less, as a result. Trade groups like the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians are to blame.
In housing, zoning is distorting housing markets. Localities in demand allow only a fraction of their land to be used for high-density housing, which drives builders to start single-family homes in faraway places, at a pace that lags demand. The resulting undersupply drives up prices. Groups like neighborhood associations and The Sierra Club are to blame.
In education, runaway administrator costs and unaccountable teachers are making education unaffordable and ineffective. From pre-school to grad school, the system rewards foolish initiatives. Unions like the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are to blame.
While shares of retailers like Macy's and J.C. Penney continue to plummet, shares of Apple climb. Apple is not only the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, it has generated better investor returns than any since 1926, including blue-chip stalwarts like Dupont, GM, and Procter & Gamble.
Why? The answer's simple.
Whereas mass retailers like Macy's layer flash sales on top of loyalty programs on top of coupon discounts on top of even more discounts for using their branded credit cards, Apple sticks with price integrity (and a premium price, at that).
While retailers engage in relentless price wars, Apple enjoys peaceful prosperity.
Retailers brought the wars on themselves.
"Retailers could have chosen to focus on deep customer insight to deliver more relevant personalization," says consultant Steven Dennis. "They could have invested in product innovation. They could have seen their physical stores as assets to leverage in creating a more harmonious and remarkable customer experience, rather than as liabilities to cost reduce and shutter."
Meantime Apple and its shareholders flourish.
There's a lesson in this―or 10 lessons.
HAT TIP: Many thanks to Ellie Summers for offering me her infographic.
A book on business ethics must be a very short book.
— Arthur Dobrin
An old joke goes: A businessman is counting the daily receipts and observes that a customer has mistakenly paid $1,000 instead of $100. It sinks in with the
businessman that he faces an agonizing ethical question: Should he tell his partner? While most B-schools require students to take ethics courses, there's no evidence the training works, if you read the news of corporate fraud. Students in those courses must read professors' papers with titles such as Managing for Stakeholders, A Note on Rights, and Ethics at the Frontier. But the best book on business ethics for my money is, thankfully, a very short book (130 pages). It's titled Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Written by philosopher Immanuel Kant in 1785, Groundwork argues that making the right ethical choice is easy, if you know how to make a rational decision.
When you make any decision, you act on a "maxim," Kant says.
Morality is merely a set of maxims. But moral maxims differ from other maxims (like valuing money) because they apply equally to everyone.
According to Kant, your choice between two actions, one right and one wrong, is easy. You just have to ask: "Would I want everyone to make the same choice?" If you can answer "Yes," it's the right one.
Kant calls such a maxim a Categorical Imperative. You can’t take or leave a Categorical Imperative as you want in the moment. Making a choice you'd deny to everyone else isn't selfish; it's irrational.
Like reason itself, morality is universal ("categorical"). Neither depends on what might satisfy your selfish desires; and neither ever stops applying to you—even when you don’t care. Here's a delightful podcast on Kant's Categorical Imperative, courtesy the BBC.
