Business Game Time

Another short summer thought on the Tour De France. This time: Why it’s worth to fight when going uphill.

Filed under: cycling by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: breakthrough • competition • competitive advantage • creativity • cycling • entrepreneur • french alps • idea • low hanging fruits • mountain stages • summer thoughts • tour de france • uphill

So there are two possible positive effects of an idea: It is implemented or it inspires someone. If the latter is the case, we should care less about where it came from and more about spreading it.

Filed under: (american) football by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: (american) football • apple • bazerman • copy • copycat • creativity • escrow account • expose • forgetting • idea • ideation • information • inspiration • j.k. sebenius • karl-theodor zu guttenberg • kristi dosh • lockout • m.a. wheeler • malhotra • national football league • new york times • nfl • nfl lockout • original • originality • overload • patenting • patents • plagiarism • pulse network • samsung • seth godin • sports buzz • twitter

Why Charlie Sheen showed in “Major League” that Industry Experience is a fallacy, how good job postings should look like and how companies can avoid narrowing their recruiting scope.

Filed under: baseball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: aim • baseball • charlie sheen • cinderella • competitiveness • creativity • flexibility • industry experience • job posting • limitation • major league • mlb • movie • result orientation • sports comedy • strengths

Dortmund beating Bayern shows us the way towards the post-ideological future: Being strategic does not mean to tell others what to do. A large part of it is to define where not to tell them what to do.

Filed under: soccer (football) by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: a.c. milan • arjen robben • bastian schweinsteiger • bayern münchen • bayern munich • borussia dortmund • bundesliga • coach • complexity • control • creativity • decision power • empowerment • euro club index • f.c. barcelona • frame work • franck ribéry • germany • ideology • juergen klopp • jürgen klopp • louis van gaal • manchester united • micro-tactics • philipp lahm • plan a • post-ideological future • raphael honigstein • soccer (football) • strategy • the guardian

One of the most unusual post-season touchdowns ever in the NFL shows us that things aren’t automatically right just because it’s the majority’s opinion.

Filed under: (american) football by Johannes
1 Comment » Tagged with: (american) football • augment prices • baltimore ravens • ben roethlisberger • challenge • cory redding • creativity • defensive tackle • fumble • incomplete pass • innovation • majority • nfl • offer extra service • opinion • pittsburgh steelers • product range • products • profitability • quarterback • simplify business model • terrell suggs

F.C. Barcelona will play Real Madrid on Monday, not on Sunday as usual. Officials from both teams complain about this unusual timing. Here’s why they shouldn’t, but look for the opportunity this opens.

Filed under: (american) football, soccer (football) by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: ajax Amsterdam • athletico bilbao • break usual ways of thinking • camp nou • catalonia • creativity • different from usual • el clasico • elections • environment • f.c. barcelona • jorge valdano • miguel pardeza • monday • monday night football • nfl • opportunities • panathinaikos athens • primera division • real madrid • spanish league • spaon • ud almeria • uefa champions league • xavi hernández

The Pittsburgh Pirates now have 17 losing season in a row, yet they are a profitable business. They show us why over-obedience may not help, but selling less may.

Filed under: baseball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: allow • associates press • complex markets • creativity • disallow • earning • economies of scale • experience curve • franchise • integrated markets • linear models • losing • major league baseball • mlb • output volume • payroll • pittsburgh pirates • player roster • profit • revenue • revenue sharing • revenue structures • rules • transparency of information • unit cost • winning

While teams in the big European soccer leagues play to qualify for the European Cup, teams in lower divisions don’t have that kind of motivation. While top management sits in fancy global meetings, work from those in lower management is less recognized and less incentivized. But why not create a “European Cup” for lower divisions?

Filed under: soccer (football) by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: big kahuna • coordination • creativity • decision power • dritte liga • england • environment • european cup • experience • france • germany • global executive meeting • global team • idea • incentive • innovation • international competition • italy • league one • lega pro prima divisione • motivation • national d3 • segunda división b • soccer (football) • spain • style of play • technology • third division • transfer • travelling • uefa champions league • uefa europa league • young talent

The Cleveland Indians offer “Lunch and 3 Innings”: Watch a game for $15 and get a $10 voucher on top. Is this a good strategy? What the Indians miss: Rebates may be important part of your pricing strategy, but how can you expect your customers to show belief in your product if you don’t?

Filed under: baseball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: activating new customers • albert belle • attendance • baseball • belief in the product • charles nagy • chicago white sox • cleveland • cleveland indians • community • convenience • creativity • critical mass • demand • facebook • giffen goods • identification • jacobs field • jim thome • kenny lofton • lunch and 3 innings • lunch and three innings • manny ramirez • marketing • merchandising • metcalfe's law • mlb • offer • omar vizquel • orel hershiser • playoffs • price • price reduction • price sensitivity • pricing • progressive field • purchasing decision • rebate • rebuilding • roberto alomar • sandy alomar jr. • self-esteem • social event • tribe • value perceived • voucher • world series

Former champ Takeru Kobayashi was excluded from this year’s “Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest” for not signing an exclusivity agreement. What a dumb move: In competitive eating and in your business, power has shifted. The people that can really make a difference will be scarcer, more powerful and more flexible in whom they work for.

Filed under: misc by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: "free kobi" t-shirt • abilities • annual • better • capability • competitive eating • coney island • creativity • credibility • eatoff • exclusive contract • exclusivity • faster • gifted • high performers • hot dog • hot dogs • ideas • joey "jaws" chestnut • joey chestnut • let him eat • major league eating • make a difference • mle • more accurate • more creative • nathan's hot dog eating contest • negotiation • new york • obstructing governmental administration • performers • play • power • pride • prison • resisting arrest • shift • strategy • takeru "the tsunami" kobayashi • takeru kobayashi • tim "eater x" janus • trespassing • win • world record