He Doesn’t Need Convincing
No one ever accused Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner M. Redstone of failing to project confidence.
A little more than a month after he was widely criticized on Wall Street for firing Frank J. Biondi Jr. as chief executive of the entertainment giant--Redstone said Biondi was too laid- back--and taking the company’s reins himself, the 72-year- old executive answers some questions for the company’s in-house employee publication, Viacomments.
In the interview, Redstone notes that his obligation is to do what is right.
“That’s what I have always done--and my track record shows that I usually haven’t been too wrong,” Redstone said.
No Reinventing the Buzzword
No doubt one of the most overused terms in management business these days is “reinvent,” but few use it more liberally than management consultant Roy L. Harmon.
Harmon, an executive with Andersen Consulting, has a new book due out this month called ‘Reinventing the Business,” which includes such chapters as “Reinventing Retailing,” “Reinventing the Office,” “Reinventing Production and Logistics,” “Reinventing Computing” “Reinventing Health Care” and ‘Reinventing Financial Services.”
Not that Harmon is a stranger to the term.
His previous books include the titles “Reinventing the Factory,” “Reinventing the Factory II” and “Reinventing the Warehouse.”
It Hasn’t Been Disconnected
Old 800 numbers never die, they just evolve into another pitch.
Four years ago at this time, former Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. was repeating his toll-free campaign number every chance he got during his failed presidential quest.
The number still exists, but now callers hear a pitch for Brown’s “We the People” organization and his radio talk show.
In a recording, Brown asks for donations of up to $100 a year for the group, which he says is committed to “restoring the basic values of caring and respect in our community and honesty in public life.’
Callers can hear Brown instruct them to press 1 to receive more information, 2 to pay using a credit card and 3 to send a check. Brown further explains that Visa and MasterCard are accepted, adding that people paying with credit cards should leave a message that includes the name on the card, the credit card number and the all-important expiration date.
Annual [r]eport Time
Los Angeles home builder Kaufman & Broad just published its new annual report, one that almost seems as if it was inspired by one of those stark Nike ads.
The report comes with a black card with the word “[r]evolution” in white, with the same word similarly printed on each page of the body of the report.
Included are such statements as “Revolution vs. evolution--There is a big difference that extends well beyond the simple letter [r],” “[r]evolution is not a political statement” and “Revolution is active. Evolution is passive.”
