Topic: Business
Careful study of Amazon.com reveals design treasures of surprising value. Jared Spool has studied Amazon for years and developed insights into which design elements create more sales, and why. But he cautions designers not to copy Amazon blindly. Some features only work for the dominant on-line retailer. Some don't even work for Amazon, whose site is peppered with "dead soldiers," the remnants of abandoned experiments. Along the way, Jared points out funny effects of Amazon's automation at scale. Even those show Amazon has much teach us.
Dr. Moira Gunn talks with author and Managing Director for Alchemy Growth Partners, Mehrdad Baghai, about his new book, As One: Individual Action, Collective Power. Published in Feburary 2011, this book is already being heralded as the key to unleashing lost productivity, hidden potential in people, and the inspiring power of purpose.
Good corporate citizenship starts with your own customers. That's the message of Tony Hsieh, CEO of the online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos.com. In this audio lecture, delivered to Stanford MBA students, Hsieh reveals the secrets behind the Zappos outstanding customer experience, and discusses how the company is helping businesses deliver better customer service using the retailer's culture-building techniques.
Dr. Moira Gunn talks with respected trends forecaster, Daniel Burrus about his new book, Flash Foresight, where he introduces the concept of harnessing ones sixth sense.
Ramy Habeeb of Kotobarabia hopes to generate interest in the Arab publishing industry, an emerging market. He believes it is incipient and thus ripe for new entrants. While he believes it will mature, it needs improvements in the areas of distribution, censorship and preservation. He discusses how e-publishing can be one of the most valuable tools in its development.
For the Chinese search engine, Baidu, Google's withdrawal from mainland China was described as "a great gift from Eric Schmidt." Baidu's Search exploded following Google's exit from China. This interview reveals how that came about. Baidu's Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robin Li, shares what he did to turn his company into the world's third largest independent search engine, one that answers more queries in China than any other search engine in any market.
Dr. Moira Gunn sits down with author, Parag Khanna, to discuss the idea of mega-diplomacy from the pages of his new book, How to Run the World … Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance.
Digital distribution is here to stay, and Hollywood knows it. While studios experiment with new distribution models, talent agencies are capitalizing on a new world where content is king. In this interview, Ari Emanuel, Co-CEO of one of the largest talent agencies in the world, talks about representing the current generation of entertainment talent, and the connection between content creators, the influencers who promote content, and distribution through social networks.
Jef Raskin started Apple's Macintosh project, and he wants to set the record straight. He decries mistakes in published accounts of the creation of the Macintosh. For example, he cites the "creation myth" that the Mac was built by "college drop-outs and intuitive engineers flying by the seats of their pants." Jef spices his account with anecdotes of square pixels, one-button mice, bit-mapped fonts, and more. A longtime BayCHI member, Jeff passed away a year after this program, the last of his six BayCHI appearances since 1994.
When a company like Wal-Mart decides to work with suppliers to reduce their emissions, a positive ripple is created throughout the global economy. However, is there room for smaller innovators when it comes to greening the supply chain? In this audio interview, part of the Future of Green series from Stanford's Center for Social Innovation, Professor Gary Gereffi and EDF's Andrew Hutson talk about opportunities for sustainable supply chains in the age of globalization.
