Tag Archives: Investing

Eric Schmidt on Google in 2010 and the Economy

Posted on December 3, 2009 by John Hunter

CEO Eric Schmidt Reveals ‘Centerpiece’ Of Google’s 2010 Strategy, speaking at the White House jobs summit. Google is definitely hiring. “We’re hiring a couple thousand people over the next year,” he said. And looking at the White House summit he said, “The basic message today is that with small business – which is the primary source of jobs – we need to figure out the loan problem. The banks aren’t really lending to them and anything that the government can … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Google | Tagged , , , ,

Zappos and Amazon Sitting in a Tree…

Posted on July 23, 2009 by John Hunter

Amazon is acquiring the unique company – Zappos: we have written about Zappos previously: Paying New Employees to Quit. Jeff Bezos uses the webcast above to talk to the employees of Zappos. Excellent job. The letter from Tony Hsieh, the Zappo’s CEO, to employees is fantastic. This is a CEO that respects employees. These are leaders I would follow and invest in (and in fact I am glad I do own Amazon stock). First, I want to apologize for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Deming, Fun, Innovation, Investing, Management, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Pixar Movie Management Magic

Posted on May 29, 2009 by John Hunter

Image of Wall-e, from the Pixar film of the same name. Pixar’s secrets on display in ‘Up’ “I think it comes down to two basic things: one is that we’re run by artists. … John Lasseter is a film director, as opposed to being from a business school or whatever. He has that side of him as well, but he’s always approaching these things as the same way we are. “Second, we have some pretty great people that they’ve managed … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles, Respect | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Warren Buffett Answers Shareholder’s Questions – 2009

Posted on May 19, 2009 by John Hunter

Each year Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answer questions in front of crowds of tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in Omaha, Nebraska. The question and answer sessions provide great wisdom on economics, investing and management. Here are some of the highlights I have found from the meeting (see more on the Curious Cat Investing and Economic Blog review of the answers) Buffett, Munger praise Google’s moat “Google has a huge new moat,” Munger said. “In fact I’ve probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged , , ,

Toyota Posts Loss of $6.9 Billion in Last Quarter

Posted on May 8, 2009 by John Hunter

Toyota Posts Loss of $6.9 Billion in Last Quarter For January-March, Toyota booked a $6.9 billion loss, in line with consensus estimates, and cut its annual dividend nearly 30 percent — the first cut since at least 1994, when it changed its reporting period. … Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe was more downbeat, stopping short of predicting when sales would pick up in major markets, or when the company would return to profitability as it remains saddled with excess capacity. “Of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Investing, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Another Year of CEO’s Taking Hugely Excessive Pay

Posted on April 6, 2009 by John Hunter

I continue to do my part to publicize the abusive CEO pay packages that the current crop of unethical CEO’s, and those sitting on corporate boards have supported (Tilting at Ludicrous CEO Pay 2008 – 2007 post on CEO pay abuses). It does seem there is more anger now at the looting these corrupt CEOs have engaged in; though far too many people seem to think the corruption is some isolated few CEO’s. The widespread failure of ethical standards by … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Management, Management Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders 2009

Posted on February 28, 2009 by John Hunter

Warren Buffett published his letter to shareholders yesterday. As usual, it is of great interest to anyone interested in the economic, investing and management ideas. In 1995, MidAmerican became the major provider of electricity in Iowa. By judicious planning and a zeal for efficiency, the company has kept electric prices unchanged since our purchase and has promised to hold them steady through 2013. MidAmerican has maintained this extraordinary price stability while making Iowa number one among all states in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Investing, Management, Respect | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Toyota Winglet – Personal Transportation Assistance

Posted on August 10, 2008 by John Hunter

Toyota has a long term vision. The population of Japan is aging rapidly. Toyota has invested in personal transportation and personal robotic assistance for quite some time. I must admit this new Winglet doesn’t seem like an incredible breakthrough to me (their earlier iUnit seems much better to me – though I am sure much more expensive too). The interest to me is in their continued focus on this market which I think is a smart move. The aging population … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , ,

Management Advice from Warren Buffet

Posted on March 4, 2008 by John Hunter

As usual, Warren Buffett’s letter to shareholders is packed with wisdom. He is best know for his investing genius but his writing provides great thoughts for managers also: Berkshire Hathaway 2007 Letter to Shareholders: We will soon purchase 60% of Marmon and will acquire virtually all of the balance within six years. Our initial outlay will be $4.5 billion, and the price of our later purchases will be based on a formula tied to earnings. … This deal was done … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Investing, Management | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Amazon’s Amazing Achievement

Posted on July 24, 2007 by John Hunter

I have mentioned I like the way Amazon, and Jeff Bezos, have been managing in several posts. Recently Amazon has added very strong financial results to that portfolio of things they do well. Amazon earnings announcement: Net sales increased 35% to $2.89 billion in the second quarter, compared with $2.14 billion in second quarter 2006. Excluding the $46 million favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales grew 33% compared with second quarter 2006. … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Investing, IT | Tagged , , ,

Goodbye Quarterly Targets?

Posted on March 31, 2007 by John Hunter

Goodbye Quarterly Targets? [the broken link was removed], Business Week: For about a decade, companies have tried to goose their stocks-or manage the market’s expectations-by putting out quarterly earnings projections. Now the practice has come under fire as business leaders fret that the focus on short-term targets undermines long-term growth. On March 14 the Commission on the Regulation of U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century, a project of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, urged executives to stop issuing their … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Firing Workers Isn’t Fixing Problems

Posted on February 26, 2007 by John Hunter

I commented on a post on Evolving Excellence that Jim Jubak is a wall street guy who has good ideas. He has posted another good article: Firing workers isn’t fixing problems [the broken link was removed] Both CEOs, Edward Zander at Motorola and Jeffrey Kindler at Pfizer, of course, kept their jobs and their paychecks. According to Motorola’s latest proxy statement, Zander received a salary of $1.5 million, a $3 million bonus and $2.3 million in restricted stock in 2005. … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Danaher – Lean Thinking

Posted on February 14, 2007 by John Hunter

A Dynamo Called Danaher [the broken link was removed] DBS, as it’s called, is a set of management tools borrowed liberally from the famed Toyota Production System. In essence, it requires every employee, from the janitor to the president, to find ways every day to improve the way work gets done. Such quality-improvement programs and lean manufacturing methods have been de rigueur for manufacturers for years. The difference at Danaher: The company started lean in 1987, one of the earliest … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Danaher Practicing Lean Thinking

Posted on August 22, 2006 by John Hunter

Manufacturer’s Acquisition Strategy Sets It Apart From The Pack [the broken link was removed], Investors Business Daily: “It’s adapted from the Japanese Kaizen system,” Holmstead said. “Kaizen is a way of removing waste and standardizing processes and bringing underperforming or slow-growth companies with maybe single-digit margins up to midteen margins.” The keys are standardization, measurement and innovation — all directed toward the goal of continuous improvement. “It’s basically a set of tools that allows Danaher to make whatever widget they … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Gladwell (and Drucker) on Pensions

Posted on August 21, 2006 by John Hunter

The Risk Poolhttps://management.curiouscatblog.net/2006/08/21/gladwell-and-drucker-on-pensions/ by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink): The most influential management theorist of the twentieth century was Peter Drucker, who, in 1950, wrote an extraordinarily prescient article for Harper’s entitled “The Mirage of Pensions.” It ought to be reprinted for every steelworker, airline mechanic, and autoworker who is worried about his retirement. Drucker simply couldn’t see how the pension plans on the table at companies like G.M. could ever work. “For such a plan … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Economics, Health care, Investing, Management, Popular, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Future for Investors

Posted on July 15, 2006 by John Hunter

I completed The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New by Jeremy Siegel today. It provides a great deal of analysis of what historical stock market returns for various strategies have been. The subtitle captures the basic theme of the book. Investing in the boring old stocks that people are not excited about is what have performed best. His basic advise is still to buy the broadest market index fund (such … Continue reading →

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