Björn Jeffery

The appeal of Maier’s designs is similarly aided by clubbiness and artificial scarcity. With the Cabat, small production runs insure that it is not seen everywhere and thus retains what Steele calls its “stealth luxury” appeal. “One of the most interesting aspects of fashion in the past ten years has been how much of it has been like a secret Masonic handshake,” she told me. “Only people in the know will recognize what you have, and it’s really just not relevant to other people.”

oh-totoro:

STUDIO GHIBLI ANNOUNCES CLOSURE

Toshio Suzuki has announced the closure of Studio Ghibli. Here’s a translated version of the news article:

“Just moments ago, Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli producer, announced on the TV show of the MBS Jounetsu Tairiku chain effectively as announced as sources close to the studio, Studio Ghibli will close and production studio anime, leaving himself only as a company that will manage its trademarks. As stated in the program’s producer, “the production department of anime will be dismantled,” which coincides with the data that we gave in our previous post on this decision had been taken from spring after the poor reception at the box office of Kaguya-hime no Monogatari.

In the interview, Suzuki has also admitted that it was a major setback for the study progress Hayao Miyazaki, one of the reasons already unveiled the portal Rakuten Woman. Once we have access to the full TV interview, adding more data. No doubt that this is a very sad news for Japanese animation, of which we are all fans, because it is undeniable everything Studio Ghibli has given the anime. Please remember that what will be his last film, Omoide no Marnie, premiered at the Japanese box office on 19 July.”

Such a shame.

So how should advertisers be re-looking at their relationships with media houses?

– I think it’s pretty tough, because the media houses are clueless. The average media company in the world is in pretty poor shape. A few will survive. A few newspapers will make the transition from a print product to an electronic product as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have done. And the Financial Times, which is perhaps the most successful example. In South Africa, you might have a few electronic news services – News24 and a couple of others – making it. But most media houses are as clueless as ad agencies.

Your own included – Naspers?

– That would be perhaps a little harsh but it’s approximately correct.

The fear about [kids] safety is the least rational. Despite the impression you get from watching crime dramas, children in rich countries are mind-bogglingly safe, so long as they look both ways before crossing the road. Kids in the 1950s—that golden era so often evoked by conservative politicians—were in fact five times likelier to die before the age of five. Yet their parents thought nothing of letting them roam free. In those days, most American children walked or biked to school; now barely 10% do, prevented by jittery parents. Children learn how to handle risks by taking a few, such as climbing trees or taking the train, even if that means scraped knees and seeing the occasional weirdo. Freedom is exhilarating. It also fosters self-reliance.

They easy way out is to look to the greener grass and aspire to run on it. New hires, new money and new partners can be very enticing. Sometimes, in fact dare I say most times, they may even be the best option. However, all too often (myself included), this option is taken too soon or too easily. What if your current employees, your current partners, your current investors and your current co-founders can become the best option you could ever hope for? You’ll never know unless you spend the time and energy “watering the grass” as it where.

’As Long As You Love Me’ says Big Sean and The Biebs (who has a great entrepreneurial story in his own right). They are right. Business is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of affair. Since the results of the day are often the focus, entrepreneurs can fall in love with a key hire, a new set of investors or a talented marketing executive. They aren’t the answer. There are no silver bullets. Having the right team is everything, but stop to think for a minute — in fact much longer — about what you’ve been thru with who you have. When the going gets tough, the easy way out is to come up with justifiable reasons to move ahead without them. I’m challenging you to think about this long and hard though. The team you have may eventually be the one that provides optimal results for the company.

Don’t be too quick to change them out in the name of greener grass.

Brandy is back.

Reputation is the magnet that brings opportunities to you time and time again. I have found that being nice builds your reputation.

Cover story! But not about my cooking (chef is the Swedish word for boss 😉
(via Toca Bocas Björn Jeffery: På jakt efter ny världssuccé « Chef.se)

My advice to entrepreneurs beyond the obvious (be in the right macro, hire great people, operate with purpose) is to –

1) Optimize for building institutional knowledge – get as many iterations as you can to give you insight into how to win long term

2) Pivot ahead of when you need to – pivoting early is leadership, pivoting late is desperation

3) Fully commit – you won’t / can’t win if you’re hedging. You only have finite emotional energy, deploying it in too many places will reduce the likelihood of success

A fantastic TEDx Talk from my colleague Jens Peter de Pedro, about why we must go beyond pink and blue.

(via Jens Peter de Pedro)