think2ool

January 27, 2012

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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About

think2ool by scott pickard is a browse engine enabling the reader to wander from one topic to another at the speed of a click along the leading edge of new ideas:

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- powerful contextual search using CTRL+F video

- integration within a big picture context

- recommended good books and links to author bios

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- big ideas

Accountant

What is the trend for the last three years for total annual outside accounting fees as a percentage of revenues? Does the company and/or our accountant have access to comprehensive and up-to-date resources on all accounting and tax-related matters?

questions for accountants: How long have you been the accountant? How long has the lead individual been handling the annual audit? Can you verify the numbers in the audit on assets, sales, and profits? Are there any significant or material changes in the numbers set up by management and the financial audit? (a) inventory value; (b) quality of receivables; (c) work in progress; (d) cost of goods sold Did you issue a management letter? Are the company's books and records in good condition for an efficient audit, or do they need improvement? Are adequate controls in place to prevent misuse of funds? How would you evaluate the financial management team? How would you evaluate the CFO? Is the company having operating problems? Is management listening to your best advice?

The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister

Due Diligence Groups | Small Business

Financial Management

Accounts Receivable

What is the revenue recognition policy for recording revenues and establishing receivables? Is the distribution of aged receivables under control? Is there any one receivable that is 20% or greater of total receivables? How often are accounts receivable aging schedules prepared? Does the board audit this schedule from time to time? How long are accounts permitted to go unpaid before being considered delinquent? Are there accounts receivables that represent conditional sales? Are any receivables under dispute? What percentage of receivables is estimated to be written off at year-end? How is bad debt reserve computed? How is sales return reserve computed? What collection procedures does the company employ? Does marketing assist with accounts receivables collections? Which receivables are factored? Why? With whom and under what terms?

customer credit: What percentage of sales is on a credit basis? How does the credit approval process work? Who establishes the credit limits for customers? What percentage of sales were credit losses in previous years?

notes receivable: Is there a list of notes receivable indicating the terms? What is the company’s bad debt reserve policy? Is it adequate?

book: Accounts Receivable Management Best Practices by John G. Salek | credit reports: Dun & Bradstreet | credit risk management: approsystems, ebureau | bill by e-mail: transactis small business | factoring: ftrans, receivablesexchange

Cash Management | Financial Management | Retail

Production and Utilization of Wealth

Acquisitions

Does the company have an analysis of the tax basis of assets being acquired? Does the company have an estimate of the fair market value target of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed? What expense items can be added back to the income statement because the owner has been taking out excessive compensation? What is the estimated recapture tax liability, assuming that such is triggered? How does this compare to the present value of step-up benefits? Are there deferred inter-company gains or nondeductible write-offs that may result in additional taxes? What is the expected transaction effect on net operating loss and tax credit carryovers? What are the expected benefits of a taxable vs. nontaxable transaction? What is the performance of all operating entities that have been acquired in the past five years? Has the company made any bad acquisitions? What is being done to mitigate the adverse impacts? Can we maximize the salvage value of certain under-performing assets via a corporate barter transaction? (a)obsolete or excess inventory; (b)services; (c)underutilized plant capacity; (d)excess packaging; (e)short-dated products; (f)returns; (g)refurbished goods Will the seller be able to assume all debt not taken in an asset purchase? Are all assets appraised as to current market or liquidation value? What was the gain (loss) on all divestitures in the last five years? Are there deferred inter-company gains or nondeductible write-offs that may result in additional taxes?

mergers: Is there an outstanding contractual agreement to merge this company? Can the company be sold if it gets into trouble? Is there a ready buyer for the company? What strategic objectives will this merger accomplish? (a) obtain a leading position in an industry new to the company; (b) become the major player in an industry through merger with a competitor or otherwise; (c) realize high growth, especially in industries not experiencing rapid technological change. Which individuals are critical to making it happen? What organizational structure will best support it? Whose culture will dominate? Has the company developed an integration management plan for before, during, and after the acquisition? Has a lead integration manager been assigned to this project?

in general: calendar | <due diligence>: duediligenceonline | model agreement | <news>: firstlist, themiddlemarket

buy-sell agreement: Are key components of the buy-sell agreement updated to reflect changing conditions? (a) objectives; (b) valuation process; (c) funding mechanism (cash flow or life insurance proceeds); (d) payment terms (upfront; amortized; interest-only + balloon)

poison pill: Has the company put in place antitakeover mechanisms? Has the board considered a chewable poison pill structured so that the pill's barrier to an unsolicited takeover disappears after an all-cash for all shares takeover offer of at least 25% more than the company's current stock price? Should the board consider rescinding its dead-hand poison pill?

books

Buy-Sell Agreement Handbook by Anthony Mancuso

Fools Rush In by Nina Munk hostile takeovers

Mergers and Acquisitions from A to Z by Andrew J. Sherman and Milledge A. Hart

The Art of M&A Due Diligence by Alexandra Reed Lajoux

The Buyout of America by Joshua Kosman

Organization of Production and Distribution

Advertising and Promotion

What percentage of revenues is required to competitively advertise and promote the company's products? What are the top seven most effective marketing and promotional strategies for an indepemdemt professional? How effectively does marketing solicit and integrate the advertising ideas from other divisions of the company? How does the company evaluate the effectiveness of advertising and promotional programs?

questions for advertising agency: How long have you been the advertising agency? What is the company's annual advertising budget? Does the company pay its bills on time? Have you ever had to contact the company for failing to pay? Is the company a good customer? Is management listening to your best advice?

local: singleplatform | www.yodle.com | classifieds: backpage, oodle

yellow pages: http://sfbay.craigslist.org | www.livedeal.com | www.yodle.com | self-management: yext

Political concepts, ideologies, and problems

Anarchism and Revolution

You say you want a revolution

Well, you know

We all want to change the world

Beatles

anarchists: Black Bloc | Lord’s Resistance Army

books

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp

The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom by Evgeny Morozov

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

History of Mankind

Ancient Asia, Africa, Europe

SW Asia, Egypt, the Aegean, and North Africa

Near Eastern, Aegean, N. African Civilizations

Mesopotamia and Iran to 1600 BC

River valley civilization in Egypt to 1600 BC

Syria, Palestine, Anatolia, Aegean to 1600 BC

Egyptian and Hittite empires, 1600-1050 BC

SW Asia; Iron Age, 1050-700 BC

Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, 746-250 BC

Parthian, Sasanian 250 BC-AD 651; Armenia

Nilotic Sudan, S. Arabia, Ethiopia AD 600

N. Africa until Roman conquest from 146 BC

Ancient Europe & Mediterranean to AD 395

Non-classical ancient Europe

Classical Greek civilization, 1200-323 BC

Hellenistic Age, 323-27 BC

Rise of Rome

Roman Empire, 31 BC-AD 395

books

ancient history sourcebook

Cartographies of Time by Anthony Grafton Visualization

The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer

TV: history channel | World Heritage List

Humanities | Lessons of History | Time

Apocalypse

about | Crisis planning: NISAC fields / critical infrastructure | doomsday groups millennialism | Religion

books

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

Art

Art in General

Theory & Classification | Experience & Criticism | Arts in Particular Cultures | books

How do you discover art? What categories interest you? What are your favorite styles? Which three artists would be in your dream collection? How often do you visit art galleries? What art events (fairs, auctions, etc.) did you attend in the last year?

Theory & Classification of Arts

Philosophy of art: Alain Badiou activist art

Classification of the arts

Experience & Criticism of Art

Art appreciation: <museums> | <news>: artfixdaily, Paris Review

Criticism of works of art

Scholarship in the arts

Social, economic, and cultural institutions: Public Art League

Economics of art: culturaldata data

Training and work of the artist

<collaboration>: Indivisible by Four by Arnold Steinhardt

kickstarter philanthropy / funding

Preservation and dissemination of works of art

art fairs: friezeartfair

<digital>: digitisedart

Granta literature

online: vipartfair

Arts in Particular Cultures

Arts of the Stone Age peoples

Arts of the Western tradition

In antiquity

Middle ages

Renaissance to present in Europe & America

Arts of Asian peoples: Ai Weiwei innovation | East, Central, South, SE Asia

Arts of the Middle East and of the Islamic peoples

Arts of the African peoples

Arts of the Oceanic peoples

Arts of the American Indian peoples

Primitive, folk, and popular arts: <Popular Culture midwest>

Books

Art/Work by Heather Darcy Bhandari

Cream

The Art Book

The Gift by Lewis Hyde

The Story of Art

in general: affordable: art, 20x200 | online: artbase, urchinmovement | publishers: sequencepress | Social Networking: society6 | visual search: plinklart

Computer Science

Artificial Intelligence

What does it mean to think or to feel?

expert systems

frame-based systems

semanitc networks

robotics

What is the mind? Do minds really exist? To what extent are minds functionally dependent upon the physical structures with which they are associated? Might minds be able to exist quite independently of such structures? Or are they simply the functioning of appropriate kinds of physical structure? Is it necessary that the relevant structures be biological in nature (brains), or might minds equally well be associated with pieces of electronic equipment? Are minds subject to the laws of physics? What are the laws of physics?

Singularity big ideas: about | IBM Watson | moore’s law | Sensors | Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence singinst

Books and papers

Accelerando by Charles Stross

Man-Computer Symbiosis by J. C. R. Licklider crowd

The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose

The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil

Matter and Energy

Atoms

Structure and Properties of Atoms

intro

atomic nature of matter

atomic weights

atomic spectra

xrays/atomic structure

antimatter

physical constants

Atomic Nucleus and Particles

structure of atomic nucleus

isotopes

radioactive nuclei

neutron

reactions of atomic nuclei

fission

Fusion

subatomic elementary particles

passage of nuclear particles through matter

books

An Introduction to Nuclear Physics by W. N. Cottingham

The Ghost in the Atom by P. C. W. Davies

Elements of Technology

Automation

How much automation exists within each major manufacturing operation? How much additional automation (digital factory) can be implemented in the manufacturing operations? What would the capital requirements be? What would be the effects on production? (a) costs; (b) labor utilization; (c) labor content of costs; (d) production flexibility To what extent are finished products and components standardized?

B

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

about | big ideas | big picture | due diligence | twitter

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Philosophy

Balance

The perfect is the enemy of the good. Voltaire

in general: live within your means | moderation | one video

simplicity: less is more

books

Balance, the fundamental verity by Orlando J. Smith big ideas, ten books

Walden by Henry David Thoreau books

Equations & Algorithms | Issues | ThinkList | Values

Beauty

Do we think beauty, or do we feel it? Richard Seymour

Life on Earth

Behavior of Organisms

Behavioral Responses

about

Diverse conceptions of animal behavior

Patterns of stereotyped response

Hormonal and nervous control of behavior

Evolution of behavior

Behavioral Capacities

Basic behavioral activities of individuals

Higher behavioral characteristics of animals: Dog Whisperer

Behavior of animals in groups

Evolution of behavior

books

The Behavior of Organisms by B. F. Skinner

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans

Fields of Technology / transportation / wheeled vehicles

Bicycles

Green

Big Data

consultants: mu-sigma | Hadoop tools: karmasphere | machine data: splunk | online behavior: sociocast | papers: Detecting Novel Associations in Large Data Sets MINE

Data Mining | Decision Making | Enterprise Systems

Big Ideas

prezi

Big Picture

Matter and Energy

Atoms

Energy, States, & Transformation of Matter

Universe

Earth

Earth’s Properties

Earth’s Envelope

Earth’s Surface Features

Earth’s History

Life on Earth

Nature & Diversity of Life

Vital Processes

Structure and Function of Organisms

Behavior of Organisms

Biosphere

Human Life

Stages of Development

Health and Disease

Human Behavior

Human Society

Social Groups

Social Organization and Change

Production and Utilization of Wealth

Politics and Government

Law

Education

Art

Art in General

Particular Arts

Technology

Development of Technology

Elements of Technology

Fields of Technology

Religion

Religion in General

Particular Religions

History of Mankind

Ancient Asia, Africa, Europe

Medieval Europe, Africa, Asia

East, Central, South, SE Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa to 1885

Pre-Columbian America (1540)

Modern World to 1920

World Since 1920

Knowledge Creation

Logic

Mathematics

Science

History and the Humanities

Philosophy

Preservation of Knowledge

books aStore

About Looking by John Berger art

National Geographic earth

On The Shoulders Of Giants by Stephen Hawking matter & energy

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn

discovermagazine

ThinkList

Life on Earth

Biosphere

You protect what you love. Yvon Chouinard

Features | Biological populations | Disease & death | Ecosystems | Human impact

Basic Features of Biosphere

Extent of the biosphere: The Earth's Biosphere by Vaclav Smil

The ecosystem

Biodiversity

Balance

Nature & Diversity of Life

Natural Capital big ideas: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity TEEB

Every day, we use materials from the earth without thinking, for free. But what if we had to pay for their true value: would it make us more careful about what we use and what we waste?

Biological Populations & Communities

Biological Populations

Biotic interactions

Biological communities

Biosphere Disease and Death

Disease and death

Plant diseases

Animal diseases

Human diseases

Ecosystems

Terrestrial ecosystems

Land environment

Major life forms

Productivity

Aquatic ecosystems

rivers

distribution of organisms

floras and faunas

Earth’s Envelope

forest land management: imagetreecorp | tree canopy height

Humans in the Biosphere

Qualities that set humans apart in the biosphere

Human impact on the biosphere

I human impact = P population x A affluence x T technology

Utilization of organisms by humans

Conservation of natural resources

Extinction: A Naturalist and Other Beasts by George B. Schaller

organizations: Millenium Alliance for Humanity & the Biosphere sustainability

Balance inequality/diversity | Books ten books | Earth’s Surface Features | Green | Issues

Fields of Technology

Biotechnology

clinical trials and research: enrollment: inclinix | research: gobalto | software: cytel

stem cells: banking big ideas: Neostem china | bioethics | dental: store-a-tooth banking | skin: skin gun science / medicine, ulthera ultrasound

Black Box

Gaming

Board Games

Family | Toys and Games | Visuospatial

Business Organization

Board of Directors

Agenda and Minutes

Does the CEO effectively integrate the agenda items of all board members? On both a macro (1-2 year) and micro (meeting-to-meeting) basis? How are agenda items prioritized? Has the board tried using a consent agenda to improve the efficiency of meetings? Is the agenda focused on strategic issues that will determine the company’s longer-term positioning; or is it delving too deeply into operational details? As a policy, does the board recommend the destruction of directors' meeting notes once minutes have been officially adopted? Are all board minutes archived at company headquarters and accessible by directors? What target is set for turnaround of board minutes? board forms

AuditCommittee

Is the audit committee about failing to perform its job properly because members are either unqualified or are too close (related) to the management of the company? Does the committee fully understand and comply with all required SEC reporting requirements? Do audit committee members meet the tests for independence necessary to meet SEC guidelines? (a) they, their spouses or children do not currently work or have worked at the company or its affiliates within the past five years; (b) they have not received compensation from the company or its affiliates for work other than board service; (c) they are not partners, shareholders or officers of a business with which the corporation is dealing. Does at least one audit committee member have an accounting or finance background? When was the last financial audit performed by an outside third party? For what reason?

book: Audit Committee Essentials by Curtis C. Verschoor | Institute of Internal Auditors | sample charter

Internal Audit

Board Makeup

What criteria/objectives are set to establish the makeup of the board? Is the size of the board appropriately scaled to the size and scope of the company’s operations? What are the director profiles needed to compose the board? Is the number of inside vs. outside directors balanced? What can the board learn from the composition of competitors’ boards? Does each director have a personal economic stake in the company? Is it appropriate and feasible for the board to have directors from other countries? What are the independence requirements for directors? How many directors should we have? How do we select the Chair? Do we need a lead director? What committees should we have? What specific skills do we need on the Board? Do directors need to have experience in our industry? What personal qualities should directors have? What behavioural skills should directors have? Should directors have previous board experience? What are the best sources of directors? How should we approach prospective directors? What is the director’s job description? What commitments do we expect individual directors to make? What compensation should we offer to directors? How long should we expect directors to serve? What other questions should we expect from prospective directors? How should we interview prospective directors? How should we do background checks? Does the Nominating Committee have the time and resources to conduct an effective search? What is the mandatory retirement age for directors? What is the term limit for directors?

Directors Database: www.boardmember.com/member_directory/brief.shtml | executive search firms: www.boardmember.com/network/index.pl?section=1066&show=index | removing a director: www.boardseat.com/Articles.asp?AID=26 ]

Board Management

What percentage of time does the CEO spend on board-related activities? Is it reasonable? Is the board careful to not get involved in micro-managing the operations of the company? Do the CEO and directors effectively address, utilize, and resolve conflict in the boardroom? Is the board rendered dysfunctional due to directors who don't communicate effectively with each other, have difficulty reaching consensus on important issues, and find it impossible to work as a team? Instead of hard-copy briefing books, has the board considered an on-demand collaboration space for all board activities and information? (a) minutes; (b) orientation of outside directors; (c) agendas; (d) financials; (e) committees

on-demand board portal: boardvantage, directorsdesk

Board Prerogatives

Do the board and management clearly understand and agree to those decisions and rights the board chooses to reserve to itself? (a) strategic plan approval; (b) deal size limits; (c) sale of company assets; (d) reporting of buyer inquiries; (e) opinion letter; (f) takeover defense; (g) other deal-related issues; (h) acceptable dilution ratios; (i) valuation methods; (j) limits on investment banking fees; (k)requirements for post-deal audits Has the board specified a transaction level or size which requires board review and approval? What is the board’s policy on the use of stock for mergers and acquisitions? How far can management proceed with the exploration of the sale of assets without board approval? What is the board’s policy on management’s obligation to promptly report all inquiries concerning significant transactions? Do employees know how to respond to unsolicited inquiries? What is the board’s policy on when an opinion letter should be required? What transaction size? Who will sign off on valuation? Who will approve letters of intent? Who will approve investment banking fees? Who will approve deal structuring?

Corporate Governance

Chairperson

Should the Chairman and CEO be one or two people? Has the chairperson taken the lead role in key issue development? (a) board development strategy; (b) board committee structure and function; (c) board committee assignments; (d) board policies, procedures, by-laws Has the chairperson provided adequate opportunities for full and frank discussions of key issues and questions raised? Is the chair too dominant? Does s/he lack some essential leadership qualities needed for efficiency in reaching soundly reasoned decisions? How do you rate the interaction among the chair, the CEO, and the management team? Are board decisions being adversely affected by the chair’s leadership style or content? Chairman of the Board: A Practical Guide by Brian Lechem

Committees

What are the board’s policies for director committee service? (a) compensation; (b) number of committees at one time; (c) minimum time requirements; (d) tenure on each committee What are the functioning committees of the board?

board advisory services | sample charter

Compensation Committee

Is the compensation committee responsible for CEO succession, or has a special committee been formed for this function? Is the committee using performance-based compensation programs for executives tied to specific goals? Is the committee using all equity-based compensation packages in a reasonable and cost-effective manner? Is the committee ensuring that compensation policies encourage a meaningful financial stake in the corporation through long-term “acquire and hold” practices by key executives and directors? Is the committee basing compensation decisions on the effectiveness of various forms of compensation to achieve company goals, rather than simply on their accounting treatment? Does the committee give shareholders control over potential equity dilution resulting from compensation practices? Does the committee serve shareholder and market interests through transparent and readily understandable disclosure of executive compensation and the economic impact of such compensation?

www.equilar.com | Sample charter

Director Compensation | Executive Compensation

Director Training

Does the board consider it appropriate for outside directors to seek independent legal advice to prepare for certain board issues/meetings? Will the company reimburse the director for those charges? How effective is the board’s new director orientation program towards teaching directors the basics of the business? (a) corporate governance briefing by the corporate secretary and general counsel; (b) an introduction to the company, its mission, and values by the CEO and other senior officers; (c) stockholder communications, accountability and disclosure documents, and access to key analysts who have covered the company; (d) financial performance and comparative industry data by the CFO; (e) strategy and operations at each division or department level; (f) human resources; (g) succession planning; (h) legal and ethical environment of the business. Does the board have a regular schedule of manager presentations designed to orient outside directors as much as possible to the company? Does the company sponsor memberships for the board in key associations providing training and resources for directors?

board development: www.change-leaders.com | directory: www.asaecenter.org | management systems: www.arcsolutionsinc.com

Executive Education | Training

Directors and Officers Insurance (D&O)

Does the company need to carry D&O Liability Insurance? Is the global D&O insurance coverage aligned with local regulations that address the complex licensing and foreign premium tax requirements? Does the company need to carry Health, Life, or Disability insurance for directors? Does the company have life insurance on its key officers? Disability insurance? Does the company have any outstanding COLI policies in force? When was the last audit?

<CEO Succession> | kidnap/ransom insurance & response: www.asiglobalresponse.com

Nominating Committee

Does the board use an executive recruiter heidrick to search, screen, and select new director candidates? Is the nominating committee applying the rule of “least conflicts and the most information” when evaluating top director candidates? Is the company carrying adequate directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance? How has this affected the attraction and retention of high-quality directors to the board?

Director Search: www.boardsearchpartners.com | Sample charter: www.synopsys.com/corporate/governance/corp_gov_committee.html

Outside Directors

Do all directors meet the test for independence? As an outside director, have you achieved the proper balance of focus and accountability in your relationship with the CEO? Does the board clearly recognize a lead outside director? Does the board have an appropriate balance of inside to outside directors? Are outside directors holding separate executive sessions as required? Are outside directors given unrestricted access to auditors, counsel, and senior management? Are the audit, nominating, and compensation committees composed of the appropriate number of outside directors? Have outside directors been given primary responsibility for overseeing CEO succession? On key committees such as audit, are all of the directors independent? Is the company considering separating the positions of CEO and chairman? Could this best be accomplished at the next leadership transition? If not, has a lead outside director been considered to chair board meetings www.jnj.com/contact_us/corporate_gov/#question03 without the presence of management?

Directorial Liability: www.borisfeldman.com/directors.html

Performance Evaluation

How is board performance measured? How often? Does the board perform a self-evaluation boardevals on an annual basis? Does management evaluate the board? Based on the most recent evaluation, does the board contain the right individuals to provide effective oversight for the current and future needs of the company?

advisers: directorsnetwork | book: Board Self-Assessment by John Carver | online tools: governancepro on-demand

Decision Making | Small Business

Major Systems of Communication

Books & Book Publishing

Books are alive to those who know how to use these sources of inspiration & power.

Edmund Janes James

in general: aStore | classics: Great Books of the Western World by Encyclopedia Britannica | e-readers: kobo, <lifetime learning>, www.plasticlogic.com, subtext social | free: kindle store, gutenberg eBooks | printg press: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Elizabeth L. Eisenstein | pop-ups: The Modern Architecture Pop-Up Book by Anton Radevsky, www.popupbooks.com | read harcopy & pass on: potential-energy | sony | read ebooks online: bookglutton, readbookonline | posters | reader for the blind: Intel Reader, KNFB Mobile Reader | second-hand books: hay-on-wye | speed reading: spreeder | textbooks: bookrenter, chegg cloud, inkling ipad, kno, textbooks | try before buy: trialpay | visual arts: phaidon | who’s reading what: goodreads

encyclopedias: online: www.wikipedia.org | peer reviewed: www.citizendium.org, www.scholarpedia.org | women fashion / berg

ten books astore thinklist

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand capitalism

Dune by Frank Herbert science fiction

Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway art in general

Lord of the Flies by William Golding survival

Lost Horizon by James Hilton utopia

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl war

Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence modern world to 1920 / SW Asia, N. & Sub-Saharan Africa

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson biosphere

Walden by Henry David Thoreau balance

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig big ideas, truth

Advertising and Promotion

Brand Identity and Loyalty

What systems are in place to gain real-time insight into our brand positioning and strength? What is the degree of brand loyalty among customers? How does the company measure brand loyalty? What strategies are employed to “lock-in” brand loyalty badges & stickers? What would be required to persuade users of competitive products to switch? What are the costs to the customer to switch? Are we using online brand monitoring tools that can deliver TV video clips of our broadcast mentions to the desktop within 1 minute of airing? What does the company do to insure a consistent corporate image? (a) marketing; (b) advertising; (c) sales; (d)products

in general: beauty industry: http://ibinc.com | build a loyalty program: punchtab small business | celebrity endorsement: dbireport CRM/influencer marketing | centralized marketing: swayonline | conversion and retention: www.instorecard.com, www.webloyalty.com | coolhuntng: EXP | customer engagement at point-of-experience: fizzback | customer reviews: powerreviews, yelp | enterprise social media: www.awarenessnetworks.com | http://telligent.com | interactive customer collaboration: www.thinkpassenger.com, www.vitrue.com | localized online marketing: balihoo, netsertive | logos: logogarden DIY, logoworks Knowledge Management / crowd | match content to brands: www.musicmakesitbetter.com music, skyword | mobile phones: cellfire | protection: markmonitor | relationship building: www.closerlook.com, www.prospero.com | reward & discount programs: www.chockstone.com, clovrmedia card-linked offers (CLO)| social media monitoring: attentio, filtrbox, radian6, tweetriver aggregate twitter streams | strategy: thoughtmotor

books

BrandSimple by Allen P. Adamson

Buyology by Martin Lindstrom

Managing Customers for Profit by V. Kumar

private label: debit cards: www.mavericknetworksolutions.com, wines: www.wineryexchange.com

Financial Management

Budgeting

You can’t (shouldn’t) spend what you don’t have.

What is the budgeting process at the company? How often are budgets assembled? How are corporate objectives integrated with the budgeting process? Is the budgeting process an interactive one that allows for feedback and coordination between top management and line managers? How does the company integrate the individual forecasts of all functional departments into the overall sales forecasting process? How has historical performance compared with past budgets? How often is performance measured relative to budget? How is overall coordination between budgeted goals and operations achieved? What kind of accountability procedures does the company employ? Does the company have a contingency plan in the event actual results vary significantly from the budget? Has management considered transitioning to rolling forecasts rather than annual budgets? Are the enterprise systems in place to accomplish this? Are corporate objectives linked to the individual actions that support them? Are we identifying gaps between strategic goals and planned financial results before they occur? Are we managing financial budgets to properly impact strategic plans? Are we developing strategic budgeting techniques to add more value to our enterprise-wide budgeting processes? Are we using driver-based planning to enable operational managers to focus on key business issues and measures? Are we making budgeting information more relevant to key audiences such as senior management, board of directors, and operational managers?

enterprise budgeting: www.centage.com, xlerant | on-demand: www.adaptiveplanning.com

Financial Statements | Planning