Nicholas Everett wrote a blog about pet rocks. I’m writing one about a video with a man doing the splits in between two huge trucks. What could possibly be the connection?

Although it may not seem like there is much of a connection, Nick said “the most absurd and ridiculous ideas become successful in the business world” –  A very strong statement that can completely relate the two. For Volvo, their commercial trying to emphasize the directional stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering it self is very absurd and out there. I’m sure that when first pitched, just as the pet rock, nobody thought of these ideas as “professional” or effective means of developing products and advertising. But it is exactly these crazy ends of ideas that create huge bursts of media attention on the businesses. Already, the commercial is being claimed as one of the best of the year. Without even explicitly stating the practicality of their product, Volvo is able to catch the eye of any watcher that is still able to understand its significance. So, you don’t have to be entrepreneuring Elon Musk’s Hyperloop to become a successful business developer, sometimes the best thing to do is go with the short, crazy, and completely out there proposal.

A good friend of mine, David Zhang, recently wrote a blog post about Starbucks and their beliefs in regards to gun control within the store environment. I completely agree with his points that this was a strong move for Starbucks. Not only is it giving them free positive publicity, it shows that they care and are effectively delving into the minds of their customers. What I can imagine the Chief Executive, Howard Shultz did was review Starbucks’s business plan, honing in on customer segments and asking: Exactly what type of relationship do we want to establish and maintain with them? With not supporting the use of or concealed guns in their stores it further promotes the comfortable, friendly environment that Starbucks uses to differentiate it self.

But what exactly is the connection here between a store like Starbucks and guns? Why does a company need to take such steps? Possibly, because in the United States a company like Starbucks is so huge it is engrained in the culture just as much as firearms. Because of this, it is an aspect that business owners need to take into account and recognize their surrounding markets.

In Canada, I’ll be glad just to grab my pumpkin spice latte without worrying about the consequences of accidentally taking the black coffee from the person in front of me.

“The Internship: A Fun Movie, But Also A Beautiful Google Commercial.” This may be one take on the new movie, Danny Sullivan’s, along with many others viewers, but I found my self watching and picking out many relatable topics to recent Commerce 101 classes. In particular, I found connections that helped shed light on Management Information Systems and Business Technology Management.

In a certain scene the intern team is tasked with making the largest Google sale possible by locating a company that currently does not use Google tools for their business. They enter a pizza parlor and discuss with the owner why he has not franchised his business. Originally, the team just throws a bunch of “Googely” information at him without much explanation and he is not convinced. However, when the two main characters step in, they perfectly combine business technology management and strategy to show the owner the true power of Google. Using the information gathered from Google’s analytics they are able to gain insight on the best possible locations of new parlors as well as the most effective ways for them to advertise to bring the business to the next level. In the end, he is convinced and uses the information gathered to start a very successful franchise chain.

The scene emphasized to me that even though a business can have all of this information and technology; you need to real people managing it to make it truly useful and powerful. Shown through the light of this movie, it’s easy to see that MIS and BTM can be a hands on, exciting feature of business, and not all data and numbers in the back office.

// Google’s Latest Product Isn’t Free

The Internship Trailer

Lulu Lemon’s out, Athleta is in. Or so I think it should be this way.

Yet again, Lulu has been put in the dark spotlight regarding issues with their product and lifestyle with the companies CEO Chip Wilson recently speaking out. Slowly turning off many of their customers (although many devotees will disregard the seemingly small issues), opportunity for Gap Inc. owned “Athleta” to step in arises. Currently, the stores are only situated in the United States; already posing a threat by popping up close to every new Lulu Lemon chain. However, with their significantly higher quality, uniquely diverse products, and company culture a cut above Lulu, there is a huge opening to come into Canada and take down the declining champions that are tearing their own company apart.

“Gap’s Athleta Stalks Lululemon One Yoga Store at a Time”

Athleta doesn’t focus solely on yoga, but on the health and fitness journey as a whole. With programs for running, triathlon, and paddle boarding, they create a supportive community centered on the store and the products they offer. Rather then pinning product deterioration on their most important customers, Athleta begins with quality first and has a very lenient return policy of “give it a workout guarantee.” With the negative vibe coming from Lulu products, buyers will have the incentive to move to a brand with a positive standing like Athleta. I propose that Lulu needs to step up their commitments to the brand they created, or get out of the way as more upcoming threats begin to enter through the wide open door into the athletic culture industry.

// Check out Athleta Chi: http://www.athleta.net/

Bloomberg Article

After recently reading a Globe and Mail Article, I found a great example of how interesting and important I find the idea of creating shared value in business. In this case, a pair of Western grads precisely captured the 2nd criteria we discussed in class and read about in the Harvard Business Review’s article: Redefining productivity in the value chain. They pursued a social entrepreneurial-geared idea to create shared value within their workplaces, founding an online platform called “Sprout at Work”.

One of the issues that many desk job, long working hour oriented companies face is the deterioration of employee health, and in turn decreased productivity. I strongly believe valuable, hard-focused-work begins at your core, and without ample time and motivation to keep a healthy lifestyle; this priority can be dropped to the bottom of the list. With Sprout at Work, a social game is made of becoming healthier.Employees become actively involved and focused on staying active, sharing experiences with each other.

The idea then has the opportunity to directly improve employee skills and health, and in turn boosting the company’s overall productivity and value of work. With happier, healthier, and more effective people in the workplace, comes an endless amount of value beyond the confines of the 10×10 feet cubicles.

// Nike Accelerator Program: http://www.nikefuellab.com/