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The Spark Partners Blog
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Check out some of our recent posts below!
Recognizing Trends and Innovatively Exploiting Them
Why Conventional Wisdom Can Lead to Big Business Problems
How You Can Succeed Like Microsoft
Spark Partners Blogs
December 22, 2020
Adam Hartung
Why Uber's Autonomous Car Project Flopped
On December 7, Uber announced it is spinning out its autonomous car development effort to a new company- Aurora. On December 8, NASA announced a large flare from the sun was going to produce auroras over the northern hemisphere. NASA’s solar flare fizzled and there was no light show. What about Uber’s Aurora?
Innovation, Investing, Strategy, Transportation, Trends
December 15, 2020
Adam Hartung
Disney and Uber - Using Trends To Great Success
In February, Disney appointed a new CEO from inside the company. I was not a fan. He came from the traditional,old Disney businesses – studio movies and theme parks. Both of those businesses are historical artifacts, not growing, and clobbered by the acceleration of trends due to the pandemic. But…… after crashing almost 50% shortly after changing CEOs (and the pandemic hitting the USA) the stock just reached a new all time high – recovering all those losses and pushing ahead an additional 16%.
Disney, Uber, Business Pivots, COVID-19 Coronvirus Pandemic, Food Delivery
November 3, 2020
Adam Hartung
How Tesla Killed Exxon's Valuation - Will you see Threats Coming?
In September, 2015 (5 years ago) I wrote that Tesla was going to change global oil demand. Why? Because Tesla had proven there was a market shift toward electric vehicles (EV’s). Yes, the market was small. But every major auto company had seen the trend emerge, and all had EV’s on the drawing tables. Simultaneously, this was showing a shift to “electrification” at the same time that solar energy costs were dropping in price similar to computer chips in the 1990s.
Finance, Investing, Strategy, Trends, Tesla, Exxon
September 1, 2020
Adam Hartung
DJIA Changes - Interesting, Yet Meaningless
On 8/31/20, the Dow Jones Industrial Average went through a change in composition. Out went Exxon, Pfizer and Raytheon. In came Salesforce.com, Amgen and Honeywell. This is the 8th time the Index components have changed this decade, the 13th time since 2000 and the 55th change since created in 1896. So changes are not uncommon. But, are they meaningful? Ask any academic and you’ll get a resounding “NO.” There is no stated criteria for selection, no metrics for inclusion, no breadth to the number of companies (which has changed significantly over time,) and not even a weighting for market capitalization! The DJIA has no relationship to “the market,” which could well be measured better by the S&P 500, or the Russell 3000. And it doesn’t even link to any specific industry! To academics, “the Dow” is just a random number that reflects nothing worth measuring!!
Finance, Investing, Strategy, Trends
August 25, 2020
Adam Hartung
California Legislators - Not Even You Can Stop A Trend
In 2019, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill, AB5 “The Gig Economy Law.” It redefined “employee” in an effort to try and dramatically reduce “contract workers.” This law is intended to force people who work to become ”employees” (of someone), and thereby receive more rights. Simultaneously it forces those who pay for work to become “employers” covering additional costs forced onto them by the legal definition of an “employee”. In other words, AB5 attempts to set back the advancement of the Gig Economy 30+ years. Last week, that law was put on hold by a California court, and California citizens will vote in November on whether requirements of AB5 should remain, or be repealed.
Economy, Innovation, Leadership, Regulations, Strategy, Trends
July 30, 2020
Adam Hartung
Will Kodak Successfully Pivot into Pharmaceuticals? I Doubt it.
Yesterday (7/28/20), President Trump surprised a LOT of people announcing that via the Defense Production Act (DPA) the US government is going to give Kodak $765 million to make pharmaceuticals. The tie to current COVID-19 pandemic issues, for which the Act was invoked, is at best tenuous. Somehow the announcement seems to be more about moving pharma production back to the USA. Which is why it left me, and a lot of others, asking “why would you pick Kodak?”
In the Whirlpool, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Strategy, Trends
July 22, 2020
Adam Hartung
Electric Cars are not a Fad, and they Matter
As the pandemic dropped on the USA with full force mid-April the price of oil dropped to less than $0. OK, it was something of a fluke. Demand dropped so fast that supply couldn’t fall fast enough, so oil was flowing into refineries and tanks and pipelines so fast that nobody knew where to put it – and that resulted in suppliers having to pay someone to take their oil.
Disruptions, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Trends
July 14, 2020
Adam Hartung
Ignominious Ends - Sears and Malls
TRENDS: Covid-19 has accelerated a lot of trends. Few more than retail. Oddly some people have taken the view that Covid-19 changed retail. Actually, it didn’t. The pandemic has merely accelerated trends that have been driving industry change for almost two decades.
Disruptions, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Real Estate, Retail, Trends
June 30, 2020
Adam Hartung
Cost of Ignoring Trends - Facebook's Fiasco
In my recent “Rebooting Business” on-line conference I was asked if Black Lives Mattered and other protests should affect strategy. I said “of course!!” These demonstrations clearly show a segment of the marketplace with unserved and under-served needs. Needs so badly served people have taken to the streets!
Culture, Leadership, Marketing, Politics, Web/Tech, Facebook Advertising Boycott
June 24, 2020
Adam Hartung
Scenario Planning Post Pandemic - What about the Dollar?
Americans take it for granted that all currencies are measured against the US Dollar. It’s been that way since WWII, so they just expect it will always be that way. But, things have a way of changing.
Finance, Manufacturing, Politics, Web/Tech, Pandemic, Coronavirus COVID-19, Scenario Planning, U.S. Dollar Value
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