We love a mystery. We’re told there is a bizarre creature in the woods, a treasure buried in the earth, something in the night sky that we can’t identify—and we yearn to discover what these things are. Here’s how three businesses used mystery to grow and get...
Sustainability is on the minds of consumers and corporations, and it’s likely to be more than a buzzword and become a byword of commerce from here on out. What is goodwill? How valuable is it? And how does it relate to sustainability? One Los Angeles company is...
Meccano, a brand that was built from a bright idea in the late nineteenth century, still entertains and teaches young people across the globe. How did this toy revolutionize favorite toys in Great Britain and ultimately around the world, building an enthusiastic...
Who could have predicted that a silly app about angry birds would create a gaming empire worth upward of a billion dollars? The app’s creators were facing bankruptcy—until they adroitly used this “administrative tool.” The name of the company that created the silly...
What a company stands for may be as important as the products or services they sell. This is the story of three young men who utilized a special aspect of public relations to turn a failed idea into a multi-million-dollar business in a few short years. Back in 2013,...
Prosperity can be achieved by many means: hard work, smart money management or killer advertising. The list goes on. But there’s one prosperity-producing subject that rarely gets enough press. And that’s the subject of . . . Speed. How fast your company ships...
What is the unique appeal of Trader Joe’s? How did they rise to be among the top three grocery stores in surveys of nearly 13,000 customers? Of the best grocery stores ranked in 2017 on attributes like best value, fastest service and cleanliness by Market Force...
The History There are few brands as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola. The original product was invented in 1886 by John Stith Pemberton, an Atlanta-based pharmacist (and morphine addict). He was looking for an alternative to morphine, which he’d become addicted to after...
From ancient warfare to maverick retail, the idea of a “hat” integrated with near-obsessive efficiency has been a crucible for productivity and has changed society itself. In his essay of July 1, 1965, titled “HATS, THE REASON FOR,” L. Ron Hubbard defined the...
Whether you’re playing the same three chords or are a seasoned virtuoso, if you’re a musician, chances are you have strong, even fanatical opinions about your gear. One Chicago company was listening. In his article of 19 March 1982, “EXECUTIVE SUCCESS,” L. Ron Hubbard...
The journey of Edward Marc Chocolatier is one of teamwork, ingenuity, adaptability and, above all, family. Towering over the corporate landscape are monolithic corporations—perceived sometimes as omnipresent, omnipotent and ominous. There’s absolutely nothing wrong...
We live in what has been termed the friction-free economy—where labor, information and money move around easily, cheaply and almost instantly. Overhead is at its lowest. Uber is the world’s largest car service but doesn’t own cars. Facebook is now a monolith of news...