February 2011

About once a month, the partners at High Lantern Group gather a small list of interesting, provocative, and contrarian items that shed light on what makes great strategic positioning and thought leadership. We are happy to share them with you – and hear from you about ideas worth sharing.

Six Ideas That Made Us Think

Six Ideas That Made Us Think

1.Why You Didn’t Need to Go to Harvard

Yet more evidence that going to a better college doesn’t necessarily pay. Yes, graduates of elite colleges tend to earn more than graduates of less-celebrated schools.  But new research tells us that where you applied – not where you got accepted or attended – is a more important factor:

Someone who applies to Duke, Williams or Yale may be signaling that he or she is more confident and ambitious than someone with similar scores and grades who does not apply. ...A student with a 1,400 SAT score who went to Penn State but applied to Penn earned as much, on average, as a student with a 1,400 who went to Penn.

2.Why Time Fired Its CEO

Press watchers are abuzz over the decision of Time Inc. to fire its CEO, Jack Griffin, after so much hype about how he was to play the role of “change agent” inside the media giant.  In response,  Harvard Business Review offers a very amusing take on the management lessons of why those brought in to save an organization often fail.  Two of their takeaways:

1.  Avoid the term “change agent.” ...It’s insulting [and] casts veteran managers as part of the problem, not forces for positive change themselves.
2.  Arrive without a vision.  Reportedly, Griffin showed up on day one of his new job with a manifesto in hand.  ...Constituents want visions of the future that reflect their own aspirations.

3.How Can We Overturn America’s Lawyer Monopoly?

Very succinct review and summary of a new book on why the American legal system is biased toward creating ever-more lawyers and legal work.  But blogger Larry Ribstein suggests that the information revolution (see next item) may actually diminish the power of lawyers:

A new legal information industry is emerging that seems likely to replace or change big chunks of what lawyers now do.  This may significantly alter the political equilibrium.  ...It will create new interest groups, including some lawyers, who want to change the existing rules that lock traditional law practice in place.

4.Moore’s Law and Information

Long review of James Gleick’s book on the rise of information systems.  Touches everything from 19th century science to Moore’s Law.  Bottom line:  the sheer volume of available information has been transformative.  Making sense of it is more of a challenge.  Includes this astute observation about the paradox of too much information:

Among my friends and acquaintances, everybody distrusts Wikipedia and everybody uses it. Distrust and productive use are not incompatible. ...The information that it contains is totally unreliable and surprisingly accurate.

5.The Recording Industry Is in Bigger Trouble Than You Think

Exhaustively researched Business Insider post on how much money the recording industry has been losing since the age of illegal downloads and digital music.  It starts off by debunking a Bain & Company chart that purported to analyze the same data.  The conclusions are predictable but nonetheless ominous for the business:

Ten years ago the average American spent almost 3 times as much on recorded music products as they do today. Twenty-six years ago they spent almost twice as much as they do today. ...The recording industry makes almost all their money from full-length albums. Equally unsurprising, no one is buying full albums any more.

6.American Food Is More Affordable Than Ever

The food, beverage, and restaurant industries face what are likely the earliest stages of public health campaigns focused on whether these businesses contribute to unhealthy diets.  A significant part of that debate ought to be about the cost of food, something we take for granted.  In this blog post,  Mark Perry of the University of Michigan uses USDA data to show that the share of disposable income spent on food in America has dropped from 25% in 1933 to less than 10% today – an amazing economic achievement.  More interesting:  American households spend less on food as a percentage of all spending than any other country.  Some interesting international comparisons:

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