Career Advice, Innovation, Leadership

Turnaround Advice: Think Outside the Box at Chipotle!

16 Feb , 2018  

Turnaround Advice: Think Outside the Box at Chipotle! The recent news that Steve Ells is stepping down from Chipotle as CEO and that Chipotle has hired Brian Niccol, former Taco Bell CEO, to lead the chain through a turnaround has shocked many foodies and confirmed the dysfunction at Chipotle assumed by many industry experts. The […]

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Leadership

My Favorite Super Bowl and Life Lessons, Too!

29 Jan , 2018  

With Super Bowl LII upon us, I thought I’d share a bit about why Super Bowl XVIII remains my favorite Super Bowl. Really, it was Super and offers a few lessons in leadership! Building a Team: A First for Tampa: This was the first Super Bowl to be held in Tampa. Everyone was excited about […]

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Career Advice, Innovation, Leadership

2018: Wishing You a Year of Growth and Prosperity

1 Jan , 2018  

The General Sherman Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) is the largest currently standing tree in the world, by volume, towering over 275 feet tall, supported by a 36-foot base diameter, and estimated to have sprouted at about the time of Christ’s birth. It can be found in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park in California. A […]

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Leadership

Wisdom from a Bowl of Ramen: (Almost) Everything a Business Leader or Owner Needs to Know Can be Learned in a Restaurant

31 Dec , 2017  

Wisdom from a Bowl of Ramen: (Almost) Everything a Business Leader or Owner Needs to Know Can be Learned in a Restaurant Today, I took my family to a much-heralded ramen house in Wilmette, IL. The experience was overall disappointing and reminded me that nearly all business lessons are at work in the restaurant industry. […]

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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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