Digital Strategy, Innovation, Leadership

Retail Lessons from Toys R US – Competing in the Digital and Amazon World!

19 Sep , 2017  

Retail Lessons from Toys R US – Competing in the Digital and Amazon World! Toys R Us and the related Babies R US announced that they are filing for bankruptcy. How Toys R Us got to this point and how they hope to get out are great lessons for retailers competing in the digital and […]

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Innovation, Leadership

Product Branding Challenges in Winner Take All Business: Products As Services

11 Sep , 2017  

Product Branding Challenges in Winner Take All Business: Products As Services At the turn of the past century, the dominant retailer was Sears Roebuck and Company of Chicago, Illinois. Their famous catalog advertised virtually everything an American family would need. Sears also owned many factories that made the products and branded products as Sears, including […]

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Global Insights, Leadership, Risk Management

The Case for Low Interest Rates, Lower Taxes, and More Babies – Deflation!

7 Sep , 2017  

The economists and central bankers of the US Federal Reserve have a perplexing challenge. The US economy has picked up in terms of GDP growth, but inflation is below the Goldilocks target of 2%. How could economic models be wrong? What, if anything, has changed? It has spurred a serious discussion that suggests that US economy operates differently now. I think the answer is obvious – DEFLATION! We have deflation, just not in an absolute form. We have deflation in the economy like you might have bugs in your house. They are not everywhere, just in places. Overall, the house is mostly clean, but there are some bugs.

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Global Insights, Leadership

Iceland: Economic and Business Lessons – Fire and Ice

25 Aug , 2017  

Iceland: Economic and Business Lessons – Fire and Ice This summer, I had the pleasure of visiting Iceland with my family. It is an amazing country in so many ways. In addition to its unmatched natural beauty of mountains, glaciers, seashores, and active volcanoes, visiting offers some great lesson in economics and business. Iceland Has […]

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Getting the Most out of Your College Investment: Advice to New MBAs and College Students

Career Advice, Innovation, Leadership

Advice for Those Going to College: How to Get More from Your Investment and Experience

10 Aug , 2017  

Fall will soon be here in Evanston, Illinois; the first of the maples are turning orange and the summer is quickly cooling. In the coming weeks, we will welcome our new students to campus at Northwestern University. It is always an exciting time of the year. It is exciting to be part of the new […]

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Analytics, Big Data, Big Data and Analytics, Career Advice, Digital Strategy, Innovation, Leadership

5 Career Tips & Outlooks for Analytics Professionals

14 May , 2017  

1.  Analytics has Moved from Manual to Machine-Driven – Don’t Become a Robot! Most people in the field of analytics can remember writing their own analytical code. Today, our Data Scientists in the MSiA program at Northwestern, can produce analytical models from regression, decision trees, support vector machines (and more) – all with more or […]

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Analytics, Big Data, Big Data and Analytics, Leadership

Do You Live in a Bubble? 5 Lessons from the 2016 Presidential Election

13 May , 2017  

Map of Party Change Arrows from NY Times. Large red arrows show counties that moved to Trump in 2016 over Obama in 2012.   The 2016 Presidential election offers many valuable lessons. It shows that for many Americans, especially those in urban areas, there is a bubble. Living in a bubble is a challenge for […]

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Career Advice, Leadership

Leadership Lessons from United Airlines

12 Apr , 2017  

United Airline’s recent fiasco continues to spiral out of control. The dragging of a fare-paying doctor from the flight was recorded by many other passengers. The reaction of United Airlines and the impact of social media on this crisis show that United and its CEO, Oscar Munoz, failed to recognize the dangers of the situation […]

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Career Advice, Leadership, Risk Management

Learning from Bad Decision-Making at United Airlines

11 Apr , 2017  

By now, you have probably heard about the doctor that was dragged off a United flight from Chicago to Louisville. The video, taken by passengers, tells all. How do companies make such bad decisions? How can we learn to make better decisions and stay away from such self-infected and unnecessary damage? Identify Conflicts before Critical […]

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Analytics, Big Data, Big Data and Analytics, Digital Strategy, Global Insights, Innovation, Leadership, Risk Management

Make 2017 a Year of Growth and Prosperity

9 Jan , 2017  

I hope this finds you off to a very Happy New Year! It is a natural time to plan for the coming year. The Angel Oak of Charleston, South Carolina has always inspired me. It has grown and prospered for over 500 years, reminding us that everyday can bring growth and prosperity. I wish you […]

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