“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

 Rumi: 13^th-century Persian poet

 From Leather to Electronics

Most people alive today would have trouble remembering when there wasn’t a local Radio Shack store. For years, Radio Shack was synonymous with all things electronic.This past week Radio Shack filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, with most if of its brick and mortar assets probably destined to be resurrected as Sprint Stores. Founder Charles Tandy began with a few outlets serving leather goods hobbyists (I made several Tandy wallet and belt kits in the late 50’s!) and over time morphed his enterprise into the nation’s leading chain of hundreds of electronics stores…a remarkable evolution.

What happened and why? Take a few minutes for a cautionary tale about taking success for granted and failing to understand one’s market place. Technology writer Robert X. Cringely analyzes the rise and fall of this enterprise in a brief article  Remembering Radio Shack. On the CNBC site, analyst Charles Fearon (author of “Dead Companies Walking”) offers a one minute video montage of the history of Radio Shack and a brief musing of why, from a larger societal standpoint, Radio Shack’s Demise is a Good Thing.

 SNL, Cirque du Soleil and Bill Murray

Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this week: a remarkable feat for any business and especially for a television show (how many shows from 1975 are still on the air?). Not only has SNL enjoyed remarkable staying power, it did so by reviving a format most thought was dead; the live variety show, and in a time slot that shouldn’t have commanded a large segment of its young target audience – late at night (at 11:30 p.m. on the east coast) on Saturdays. Great writing, great talent and a willingness to challenge some assumptions underscore this highly successful franchise. (Another example of this is the stunning success of Cirque du Soleil which proved that the dying circus business wasn’t really dead, it just needed a new business model.)

SNL launched numerous careers but perhaps none so successful as Bill Murray’s. Murray played a huge role in SNL’s success but many forget that he was brought on to replace popular headliner Chevy Chase who left to pursue a movie career…very big shoes to fill. Murray stumbled in his early outings and took a big risk to gain the audience’s acceptance This short article from Variety explains “how Bill Murray saved Saturday Night Live.”  

Chicken Soup and The Rule of Five

Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen became famous (and rich) as the authors of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” Writing a great book is one thing….getting others to think it might be (and to buy it) is quite another. They solved their promotional dilemma by adopting what they call the “Rule of Five”… based on an analogy, shared by one of Canfield’s friends, regarding lumberjacks. Find out why the “Rule of Five” may be just what you need to succeed.(A young person in your life might benefit from this as well).

Customer Service “With Sprinkles”

Entrepreneur Magazine recently ran an article, Win Customer Loyalty With an Unexpected Experience, featuring Vistage Upstate member Chris Corley’s company, Corley Plumbing, Air, and Electric. Author Chip Bell (Sprinkles:Creating Awesome Experiences Through Innovative Service) discusses how Corley turns satisfied customers into enamored advocates. How many of your customers are truly delighted and advocate your company, and why? Are you actively managing your customer experience? What could happen if you did?

Econ Recon: Noise, Not News…The Oil Slowdown….

The recent drop in retail sales has some folks worried. Is a recession coming? Not to worry says Economist Brian Wesbury in his most recent Wesbury 101 “Noise, Not News”.

Vistage Staff economist and ITR Economics Principal Alan Beaulieu sees the oil price drop hitting the energy sector hard enough to offset much of the benefit of lower oil and gas prices to consumer: slowing the economy but not putting it into reverse in a recent talk to a group of business people in Oregon.