Ricardo Semler became quite popular more then twenty years ago when he tragically and unexpectedly inherited Semco, the family company located in Brazil (originally operating in the naval technology field) from his father. Young and inexperienced he ended up making many mistakes until he realized that the entire traditional ‘military, ... continue>

How do breakthrough ideas, products, services come to live? What is the real contribution of the so called ‘geniuses’ to the process? How does our mind process information and reality in order to come up with novel ideas? This book presents, in an original and articulated fashion, possible intriguing answers ... continue>

Why do we work? What we do expect from work? What do we get from work? Is the nature of work changing along with the economic and social changes affecting all of us? The topic is relevant to anyone and the perspective taken by Al Gini (member of the Department of Philosophy and the Institute of Human Resources and Industrial Relations at Loyola University Chicago) is at the same time academic and wide ranging for the general reader referencing from subjects such as psychology, history, popular literature and economics. This ... continue>

An unsettling paradox: over fifty years of marked progress yet we are not any happier...   Why does a leading economist write a book about ‘soft stuff’ such as happiness? Even more puzzling: why does he ... continue>

Richard Branson is an unusual “british bloke” full of energy, ideas and a real zest for life. To tell you the truth, before reading this book, I did not think much of him. I felt like he was the typical entrepreneur that likes to show off and dare to do adventurous things just because he can afford them. Somehow ... continue>

Al Gore tone of voice can still be very boring at times (no matter how much passion he clearly puts into his strong arguments) yet this is a fascinating and very impressive collection of information. The topic is about causes and dynamics of global warming and we have to thank ... continue>

I find it interesting to read a book published fifty years ago; mostly it is interesting when the book is an autobiography written by the founder of one of the leading global brands: Conrad Hilton. The book is still fascinating for several reasons: the breadth of US social and business history it covers - beginning with the late 1800’s; Hilton’s ... continue>

This is a readable and enjoyable management book. The novel format makes it easy to relate to the ideas and practices featured; the relevant model introduced by Lencioni at the end of the novel in order to solve team dysfunctions (and we are mainly talking about executive level teams) is ... continue>

Branding. It is the term that we use to describe the way a company affirms its identity (and the identity of its products and services) within the perceptions of customers and clients. Therefore it is a way to distinguish the own identity related to other competitors present on the market. A company that does not have a well defined branding within the perceptions of consumers is running the risk to jeopardize its identity within the marketplace and, as a consequence, its existence. But how can a company affirm its own brand? How can a company positively distinguish its identity within ... continue>

Abstract In this paper, the authors intend to examine the factors and practices that allowed a once- small enterprise to become an internationally recognized brand leader, focusing on the company’s knowledge management and use of innovation. This case will map the interplay of the local and the external knowledge and the evolutionary nature of the development of a company knowledge base within a knowledge deprived region. Piante Faro started operations in Sicily about 35 years ago as a retailer of plants suitable for Mediterranean and cold European climates suitable for interior and exterior decoration. The company is focusing on the ... continue>

Mixing a surprisingly young skilled management team and a bold determination to launch new innovative services, Alba Project is certainly an unique entrepreneurial project. Founded in 2003 in southern Italy Puglia region, through a spin-off from the University of Lecce, Alba Project represents a genuine and market-oriented company that, although preserving its roots in the south of Italy, has been thinking globally since the very beginning focusing on three 'must'. "Inventive solutions" The first must is “inventive solutions” and, with the clear purpose to play the game in the high fragmented and competitive media and video content market, Alba Project distinguishes itself thanks to the continuous commitment in thinking new solutions, based upon ... continue>

Human resources are the collective knowledge, skills and abilities of your organization’s people that largely contributing to its success. Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are quantifiable measurements of a business’ performance in certain areas of importance, and if effectively utilized can mean a more productive and successful relationship between Human Resources (HR) and organizational leadership. Considering the importance of alignment with HR and organizational performance, KPI’s illustrate in-depth comprehension of business strategy. Leaders recognize this as more than compliance with the ... continue>

Change, globalization, change again, innovation, networks, market niches, change again... the bla bla bla of business speak has been spreading along many of these buzzwords during the last few years. We have all become quite familiar with all of this. All of us: entrepreneurs, workers, managers, students, consumers, consultants. We use these terms to show we are up to speed with the latest trends and fads. We feel that this way we can better communicate with others, we can show how much we know and what we are all about. Great! We ... continue>

Twenty years ago (June 1986) Carlo Petrini founded in Italy the Slow Food ® movement.   What is Slow Food all about? It is about learning to enjoy life starting from daily habits such us eating and drinking: eating slower (the opposite of “fast food”), drinking less (in terms of wine) but better quality. The success ... continue>

Let’s start from the end... of the previous paper Beyond the value life cycle there is hope. We have a new dream: how to become younger. Being more concrete beyond the life cycle there are: ·         an entirely new methodology to forecast the capability to produce value of an enterprise. The novelty lies in the fact that through the value life cycle it is possible to forecast the future cash flow taking into account the stage of competition an enterprise is involved in.   ·         the first methodology ever developed to support an entrepreneur or a managerial team to redesign the identity of an enterprise not to compete; but to eliminate competition. In other words: the first methodology to rebuild (instead of defending) the capability to produce value of an enterprise.   Qualitative forecast of the capability to ... continue>

  Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   The final part of our series discussing practical ways to better prepare our students for the world of work focuses on: - How to improve our efforts to promote career awareness;- How to incoroporate student work-based learning experiences. ... continue>

Recently I was fortunate enough to attend the Wisconsin Innovates Conference in Milwaukee.  This event was hosted by the ... continue>

This article explains the method I used in work with groups in the field of practical philosophy. The method is based on the book by R. Madera and V. Tarca, La filosofia ... continue>

The last newsletter provided some background regarding the controversy surrounding climate change. As noted, on February 5 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provided a Summary for Policymakers describing the physical science basis for climate change. This summary contained data showing concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased during the industrial period as determined from ice cores and atmospheric measurements. ... continue>

A number of recent news releases, notices and articles indicate the increasing interest in developing biomass as a source of fuels and energy. Fortunately, Wisconsin has been able to garner some of the federal funding that will power this work. On November 24, it was announced that three Wisconsin companies ... continue>