There are a few pearls of wisdom in this WSJ article on the trials and tribulations of J. C. Penney. Here’s the best one:
Apple’s business practices work for Apple, which makes world-class products and designs that allow high margins. Penney’s bargain-hunters don’t want or need a Genius Bar. Similarly, just because high-speed rail is popular in Europe doesn’t mean Florida needs a bullet train between Tampa and Orlando. And one premise of the Affordable Care Act is that costs can be controlled if community hospitals are ordered to be more like the Mayo Clinic, as if that were possible.
Ignore the side-swipe on the PPACA. The point they’re making is critical. J. C. Penney replaced their CEO with an Apple exec, one largely responsible for Apple’s success in retail, who promptly fell on his face at J. C. Penney. There is no substitute for understanding what business you’re in and who your customers are.
I do think there is a political lesson here. We can learn from solutions that have worked in Germany or the United Kingdom or France or Canada or Denmark. But we should not expect those solutions, however well they worked in their home countries, to work here. The solutions we adopt to problems (if and when we adopt them) must conform to the expectations, needs, capabilities, etc. of the American people. The United States is not a small, compact, culturally and ethnically homogeneous country as so many European countries are. Luxembourg may be the wealthiest country in the world on a per capita basis but we’ll never be Luxembourg.
Furthermore, approaches that work in Maine might not work in California. Those that work in Washington might not work in Georgia. E pluribus unum, baby.
I thin kit’s important to ask two questions: What works, and why does it work? The second question is often forgotten and is at least as important as the first one. I think a lot of government programs do practically nothing to get ‘buy in’ from the public, so you get ‘debates’ on issues like gun control where you basically have one side arguing for us to be like Europe while the other says we never will so why try?
There are real things we can do to (e.g.) reduce gun violence, and some of those ideas will come from Europe (or Canada, or Australia). Translating them, though, is key.
To both the blogpost and comment…………wiser words have never been spoken.
There is no substitute for understanding what business you’re in and who your customers are.
That’s how Winn Dixie went from extremely profitable to broke in a few years – putting people in charge that didn’t understand the business.
I will agree with you. I dont see us adopting anything in its entirety from another country. That said, I dont think that means we cant learn from other countries.
Steve
Hey!! How ’bout that 18% Obama tax rate!!?
I bet Drew, er, “Red,” Michael, steve and Dave all paid higher. I’m off to the post office to send in my return, and I know for a fact that Drew, er, “Red,” paid higher.
Hey, sam……….where are you??
I’m here. So what?
“The President and First Lady also reported donating $150,034 – or about 24.6 percent of their adjusted gross income – to 33 different charities. The largest reported gift to charity was $103,871 to the Fisher House Foundation.”
Do you give 25% of your income to charity?
In addition to TimH’s , an important question is whether it should be tried out at the state level first.
I remain confused by the push for closing or partially closing the gun show loophole at the national level, when most states have not. To me, this is backwards. If relatively blue states like those in the Pacific Northwest, New Mexico, most of the Midwest, and the Northern New England states have weak gun control laws, then its not likely that a national policy will change much.
IMO, whether it’s a country, a business or even down to the microcosm of a ‘family,’ what works uniquely well for one oftentimes just doesn’t fit the particulars of another.
This is proving to be especially applicable for the troubled and now delayed implementation of the ACA. It’s being shown (but hardly admitted by proponents) that the act of throwing one huge cape of regulations and exchanges over 50 different states is hardly the way to go, if one still hopes to retain management flexibility and quality of care, while containing medical costs at the same time.
The largest reported gift to charity was $103,871 to the Fisher House Foundation.â€
I’m pleasantly surprised, as this is basically a military donation for comfort homes for vets and their families. A nice gesture on the part of the Obama’s.
sam
More. I’m at that age. Our daughter’s school, among others, shall we say, “have our phone number.”
I commend the Obama’s on their charitable giving. Wouldth that Biden and Gore had done the same. But sam, remember when Obama and the media, uh, “forgot,” (snicker) to report Romney’s charitable giving?
Of course you don’t.
But sam, remember when Obama and the media, uh, “forgot,†(snicker) to report Romney’s charitable giving?
Yeah, that’s right, I kindna forgot about the Romney’s charitable donations, as so little was made of it by the MSM. However, weren’t their contributions in the millions? And, then there were all those quiet gestures of kindness Romney and his sons did on their own, that got lost in the cracks of media omissions. That’s what happens, I guess, when you’re not a democrat — good deeds are ignored, while small flaws and financial success are hyped.
Red (that’s so wrong), don’t forget that they said that Romney was pretty much felonious for not paying more taxes, and that giving to charity was a total scam.
“The largest reported gift to charity was $103,871 to the Fisher House Foundation.â€
Great organization. We have donated to them for years. They rate highly according to the charity ratings groups. Since Romney is a church elder, nearly royalty really, a lot of his donations go to the church, so I dont think those carry as much weight. I am more impressed by the stories of his donating his time.
Steve
Funny, when he was running for President he was worse than Hitler, and all he wanted to do was exterminate entire nations. In fact, that’s what you were telling me last week, steve. Now he’s an okay guy. What the fuck ever….
Since Romney is a church elder, nearly royalty really, a lot of his donations go to the church, so I dont think those carry as much weight.
I think when you evaluate used items, such as Biden did, and then use them as charitable donation amounts to off-set a tax return, that doesn’t carry as much weight.
However, donating real money to your church, is still an expense taken out of one’s own pocket and given to someone else. If one wanted to be equally cynical of the Obama’s donation, it could be said that their Fisher House donation, was a gesture to curry more favor with the military, a service they have not had much rapport with in the past.
I am more impressed by the stories of his donating his time.
I just can’t resist digging up a lingering question I’ve had about Obama. Where have there been any stories given about Obama’s own generosity of time or non self-serving interest towards a single individual?
Even in the days of being a community organizer there was no one who appeared saying how much Barak Obama influenced their life. When he was a professor, he was considered ordinary, with no student recollections surfacing of being inspired or motivated by his teaching. In fact, no where in his life history has there percolated a kind image, a personal gesture that was apolitically-derived in it’s intent.
I have always found that odd, and somehow disconcerting, that Obama was such an abysmal blank slate of a person, having relatively no impact on anyone, until he crashed the political scene and became an instant icon.
Agree with PD on the gun issue. IMO the feds should focus efforts on guns crossing jurisdictions and help the states enforce their own laws (ie., provide the infrastructure for background checks, for example).
As far as the original post goes, I agree to an extent, but there also needs to be a balance. You definitely need people who understand the business and customers, but, at the same time, you don’t want people who are stuck in the past and unable to see opportunity and change.