Monthly Archives: April 2014

April 14, 2014 · 8:38 am

Why Facts Matter

I read a disturbing, though unsurprising report this morning. It’s from the Union of Concerned Scientists and has to do with climate change. Since this is a business blog we won’t get into the politics of that issue. I will, however, use my bully pulpit to remind you that unlike many of the challenges we face, money or power won’t buy you a different planet on which to live so you won’t have to deal with Earth’s climate.

Back to business.  The report looked at the three main cable news channels and the scientific accuracy of the statements they made with respect to climate change.  This is important since CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are the most widely watched cable news networks in the United States, and their coverage of climate change is an important source of information for the public and for policy makers. Thirty-eight percent of American
adults watch cable news and cable news coverage of climate science often reflects and reinforces people’s perceptions of the science, as the report states.  What did they find?

Using specified criteria, we determined whether the individual segments identified dealt with climate science and whether the portrayal of climate science was consistent with the best available scientific evidence at the time of broadcast.  Of the CNN segments that mentioned climate science, 70 percent were entirely accurate, while 30 percent included misleading portrayals of the science.  Of the Fox segments that mentioned climate science, 28 percent were entirely accurate, while 72 percent included misleading portrayals of the science. Of MSNBC segments that mentioned climate science, 92 percent were entirely accurate, while 8 percent included misleading portrayals of the science.

My point here isn’t to promote to bash one network over another.  If you’re making business (or other) decisions based on what you hear from a particular source, you might be missing quite a bit of information.  Even worse, as this study shows, you may have quite a bit of wrong or misleading information.  If the most accurate network got a bunch of critical information right only 92% of the time, how accurate can your facts be if they come from any single source?

Facts matter.  Just because a news organization (or a bright consultant) tells you something doesn’t make it factually accurate.  When a few independent sources do so, you’re probably on solid ground.  That’s the place we need to find.  Are you coming with me?

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April 11, 2014 · 10:46 am

Sinkers Vs. Floaters

It’s Foodie Friday and this is the last food-related post before the start of Passover.

matzah ball soup

Photo credit: h-bomb)

In honor of that, I thought I’d raise one of the most important questions this time of year brings:  sinkers or floaters?   I’m talking about matzo balls, of course, and the question of whether they should float in the soup like little clouds or sink to the bottom like rocks is a matter of serious debate around the Seder table.  As it turns out, the debate contains some instructive business thinking as well.

I’ll preface what I am about to say with an acknowledgment that I am not a neutral party.  I have some definite thoughts about matzo balls.  I should also add that here in the New York area, many non-Jews eat a lot of matzo ball soup year round so the debate isn’t limited to Passover tables.

The basic recipe for matzo balls is simple.  Matzoh meal, eggs, fat of some sort, and liquid.  That’s where agreement stops.  The primary aspects of the discussion involve the following (almost Talmudic) questions:

  • Should the kneidlach (Yiddish for matzo balls) sink or float in the soup?
  • Should they contain schmaltz (chicken fat) or margarine or oil?
  • Should seltzer be used to “leaven” them?
  • Should the egg whites be separated and whipped to add lightness?
  • Should they be boiled in salted water or in the soup broth?
  • Should they be the size of golf balls or tennis balls?

There are some minor issues including the use of parsley and other seasoning but the above are the main elements.  Every family has their own answers and even within a family there is disagreement, especially if there are two grandmothers involved.  Which brings us to the business point.

There are few things more simple and yet as complex as these little dumplings.  The risk one runs when just assuming they can make them without careful thought to each of the above is that the debate rears its ugly head at the table and a familial brouhaha ensues.  The same problem happens in business.  We often look at seemingly simple issues without a fully thinking through the many complex underlying issues that can affect how well the final product fares.  That can be a huge mistake and it’s always worth a few minutes thinking through those issues before jumping into a problem.

Floaters with a nice “chew”, by the way.  Yours?

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April 10, 2014 · 10:02 am

Put This Thought In Your Pipe

You’re going to be hearing a lot about the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable if you haven’t already.

pipeline

(Photo credit: LizMarie_AK)

That’s not really what today’s screed is about but it is what triggered the topic.  Many people are very outspoken against the merger; just as many seem not to care.  Whether you are for it or against it, the interesting thing is that the argument is over “the pipe.”  More and more, the pipe – the channel through which content is delivered – matters less and less.

Let’s take it out of digital terms.  Take Starbucks. Their “content” is coffee and coffee drinks.  Their pipe was initially their stores.  Then the content moved to other channels – supermarkets, airports, etc.  They also got many of their customers – 7 million of them at latest count – into a Rewards program using phones and other digital assets.  They continued to make the content experience appropriate to the channel – you get a nice china mug when you’re drinking in-store, you get free WiFi, etc.  What has that meant?

“Holiday 2013 was the first in which many traditional brick and mortar retailers experienced in-store foot traffic give way to online shopping in a major way,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo of Starbucks Coffee Company. “As our solid traffic growth and record Q1 results demonstrate, Starbucks unique combination of physical and digital assets positions us as one of the very few consumer brands with a national and global footprint to benefit from the seismic shift underway.”

In other words, it’s the content.  If you’re really good at it, the content morphs as needed for the particular channel.  In general, however, most of us can access that content though multiple channels, and if we’re unhappy with one we generally have the option to go to another to get the content we seek.  Sure, that’s not universally true on a free basis but if you throw in the ability to rent – generally for less than the cost of one Starbucks drink – you’d be hard-pressed to find anything that’s inaccessible (and I’m not including all the illegal availability either).

Yes, it’s important that consumers are protected from monopoly control.  Yes it’s important that the Internet remain open and equally accessible to all.  Those discussions are worth having but if the concern is that one pipe will be less attractive, believe me there are other ways to get to what it is we’re really after – the content.  The demand for that will drive the market to find a way around any pipe that gets blocked.

Thoughts?

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