by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 comments
The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea is an apt title for this book. It is a short history, but a very interesting one. And its interesting because the subject matter is treated with enthusiasm which becomes a source of entertainment. This is a book written for the non-academic, acting almost like a Reader’s Digest version of a business history course. The book enthuses how the revolutionary idea known as the Company is one of the single greatest contributions to civilization’s development. This enthusiasm does not mean that they ignore the negative aspects of the Company, namely the grotesque pursuit of profit and company goals over human needs such as in the Belgian Congo, but the tone of the book is fan-boyish. Tone aside, the authors do accomplish what they set out to do. They illustrate how the idea of the Company is pretty revolutionary. Basically a government body grants a charter for a collective of disperse individuals to work together by pooling their capital and resources for the purpose of wealth accumulation. The book talks how the different national governments dealt with the rise of the Company (limited-liability joint-share corporations), and how in places like Britain they […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 comments
Origin of Brands: Discover the Natural Laws of Product Innovation and Business Survival was written for all businesses, but I have tailored my review for game developers since this is where a bunch of my investment money is currently tied up. The Origin of Brands by Al & Laurie Ries is a contrarian argument against conventional wisdom that the battle in the marketplace takes place between brands. Examples of some battles would be Dodge Caravan vs Chevy Uplander, Domino’s Pizza vs Pizza Hut, or for those in the game industry: World of Warcraft vs Guild Wars or Supreme Commander vs Command & Conquer 3. The book argues in 295 pages that people think category first and then brand. Their explicit example: “I’m thirsty and feel like having a beer.” The 2nd thought is: “Which beer? I think I will have Bud.” Beer is a category of drink that is popularly perceived to quench thirst. Within milliseconds the brand is invoked, but it is critical to understand that the category is the first thing that is thought about. The category address the need, while the brand address the want. Conventional marketing will ignore the entire question of category and instead focus […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller2 commentstags: Contrarian, Free Enterprise, Human Condition
One of the biggest criticisms I have heard from the anti-capitalist crowd (which I was once a part of in my younger years) against capitalism is that it is all about competition. Capitalism has no room for cooperation, or so we are told in the countless business and marketing books and courses (The Art of War) which focus primarily about how to beat the competition. Yet, this is a gross misunderstanding made by both anti-capitalists and pro-capitalists. Capitalism is not about valuing competition over cooperation. It is about having freedom to decide how to engage in the marketplace, either employing competition or cooperation or typically some fluid combination of both. Capitalism is the only system where voluntary economic cooperation can exist. Collectivist societies will place extensive social pressures on its members to “play nice”. This will determine what you are allowed to produce, who you are allowed to buy from, and who you are allowed to sell to. In a collectivist society you might not be allowed to sell your product to a particular region because they are not part of your social or ethnic group. The essence of being collectivist and having a common identity also means that there […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Investing Knowledge
Purchasing stocks carry with it risk. Your money could be lost if the company goes out of business. You could lose money if the company is losing sales. What if you could own a ticket that would allow you to purchase a company if it did well? Would it not be kind of like having insurance policy that you could exercise if the conditions were right? Film or theatrical producers often buy the right – but not the obligation – to dramatize a specific book or script. That is what a stock option is. A stock option is the right to buy (call option) or sell (put option) a specific number of shares of a company, at a certain price, by a specified date. They add a delay effect to the normal direct purchasing and selling of companies. This delay if used wisely, can give you added advantages as an investor. Because of this, Options are very sophisticated financial instruments and should only be done once you have a working understanding of the stock market. Options Help Limits Losses Consider this for a moment; two men invest in the same stock. One man invests $10,000 and he hopes the stock […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Comprehensive Analysis, Corporations Don't Think, Defining Life, Foolishness, Institutional Learning, Summarizing a Business Organization
I can’t recall how I stumbled onto this concept and websites, but a while ago I found this riveting theory which I believe explains why most modern organizations are so inadequate at times and spend far too much time chasing the wrong priorities. I have touched on parts of this in previous blogs such as Driven to Distraction and Even the Best Systems Fall Victim and A List of Guidance. The reason why this happens is they fail to embrace Complexity Science. Basically, it is because our social institutions continue to operate like machines, believing that events can be tracked in a linear fashion and have measurable inputs that neatly match known outputs. While there is no denying that some institutions do operate like machines (take most factories), the fact that humans end up doing most of the work leaves the model sorely lacking. What is more accurate is to realize that all human based organizations are non-linear and complex. It is common for these systems to exhibit the following characteristics: Small inputs can lead to dramatically large consequences. Very slight differences in initial conditions produce very different outcomes. Global properties flow from aggregate behavior of individuals. Emergence (of order) […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: How to Understand Money, Smart Money Management
You do not need to be an accountant or a financial wizard to handle your investments. There are some basic principles to follow, known as the KISS principle. KISS is generally know to stand for “Keep It Short & Simple” but I think the acronym can also apply to investing: K – Keep invested I – Invest in stocks S – Self-direct your investments S – Small investments possess an advantage K – Keep invested and don’t become discouraged There are lots of people who enter the stock market, get burned, drop out, and then hand their finances over to a broker or mutual fund seller. That is the wrong thing to do. Losing money in the stock market is all a part of learning how to invest. I have lost thousands on bad investments but I have also made more thousands on good investments. I still come out ahead because the good investments are that much better and I have invested wisely. The worst thing I could do is become discouraged and drop out of the market. Investing is like any skill. It takes practice and knowledge to master. You need to keep investing and learning. The trick is […]
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