Warren Buffett’s 4-Word Secret to Business Success


From Warren Buffett's annual shareholder letter, here's a gem:

“Buy commodities, sell brands” has long been a formula for business success. It has produced enormous and sustained profits for Coca-Cola since 1886 and Wrigley since 1891. On a smaller scale, we have enjoyed good fortune with this approach at See’s Candy since we purchased it 40 years ago.

It's that simple. Buy a cheap good, create a brand around it, sell it for more. Voila!

Via www.businessinsider.com

Innovation Excellence–Southwest Airlines Social Media Strategy

Social Media Takes People, but Not as Many as You Think

Southwest Airlines is huge online:

* 12 million monthly visits to its website

* 1 million Twitter followers

* 1.3 million Facebook likers

* 29,000 reviewers on its Travel Guide

So how many people does it take to handle that volume of activity?

Try five . . .

Via www.innovationexcellence.com

The 12 Most Transformational Business Insights from the Last 11 Months

In my work, I talk in depth with hundreds of business executives and thought leaders about how they’ve grown their businesses, even in a down turn economy. Here are some of the best insights I’ve gleaned.

Some of these are wise adages from veterans with years of experience who consult for a living. Others are from the front lines of those in the thick of it, learning the hard way. Some are tough lessons I learned on my own. Either way, these are great points to ponder that are certain to transform the way I do business in the coming year.

Via 12most.com

How Whole Foods Became the Luxury Brand for Millennials

Years ago, no one would have predicted a grocery chain would be the modern symbol of luxury.

But that's precisely what Whole Foods has become for millennials, as it's slowly replaced the designer labels and brand name stores favored by boomers, writes Michael Pavone, food and beverage marketing firm CEO, on Fast Co.Exist. . .

Via www.businessinsider.com

Is Going to College Worth the Investment?

We are experiencing something of a bubble in education…a bubble as pernicious as the bubbles we had in technology in the 1990s and in housing in the 2000s.
–PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel

In every study that's been done, the data are black and white. College greatly enhances the earnings potential.
–Educator and entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa

There's an entire middle ground. You want to provide the opportunity for people to make the choice that's right for them.
–Wharton marketing professor Eric Bradlow . . .

Via knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

Amazon Blows Walmart Out of the Water on Value: Survey

Low-income Internet shoppers vastly prefer the world's largest online retailer to the world's largest bricks-and-mortar chain, finds new research by BrandIndex.

Perceived as offering a better bang for their buck, adults 18+ earning $50,000 or less per year said they prefer Amazon's online convenience to Walmart's in-store experience, with its potential for free shipping and no sales tax. . .

Via www.businessinsider.com

MCDONALD’S HAMBURGER UNIVERSITY: Step Inside the Most Exclusive School in the World

McDonald's Hamburger University is called the Harvard of the fast food industry. In fact in China, the school's one percent acceptance rate leaves Harvard in the dust.

Today Hamburger University has campuses in Oak Brook, Ill., Tokyo, London, Sydney, Munich, São Paulo and Shanghai.

More than 275,000 franchise owners and managers have completed the intense week-long training program and now have Hamburgerology degrees. . .

Via www.businessinsider.com

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