Be right once

Mark Cuban has a good thought on success in business – You only have to be right once.

He talks about all the jobs had and businesses he owned. After some failures and a lot of hard work, he became rich. At that point, he was told how “lucky” he was.

Work hard and eventually you will get “lucky”.

Marketing thought of the day

If Doritos taste better now, did they taste worse before they were made ‘Nacho Cheesier’?

Lessons in fraud

Wendy’s CEO Jack Schuessler published an article in the Wall Street Journal on lessons his company learned from the false claim of a fingertip being found in their chili. Mr. Schuessler pointed out the hoax led to a 50% drop in revenue in San Jose (where the claim was made). He also wrote about how it affected workers.

There was only one part of the article I found disingenuous.

It might have been expedient to pay off the accuser in an attempt to end the media onslaught–after all, that is the preferred form of capitulation in this trial-lawyer-driven age; but we never considered this option.

Mr Shuessler also compliments his customers who “appreciate the fact that we protected our brand and didn’t simply try to “make it go away.”

In reality, Wendy’s did not have the option to buy their way out of it. Mr. Schuessler even explained why earlier in the article. “Within an hour [of the claim being made] the story was on TV news, and soon after, Wendy’s was fodder for Jay Leno.”

The news coverage was so massive that Wendy’s had no choice but to fight it. If Wendy’s had tried to pay off the woman making the accusation, the public would have taken that as an admission of guilt. The 50% drop in the San Jose area would have been nothing compared to the empty stores they would have had across the country.

Wendy’s did do the right thing by not caving, but they really had no choice. The woman committing the fraud underestimated the uproar her claim would cause. The scope of the news coverage worked against her. This became clear when she dropped her planned lawsuit.

It was too late for her though; the damage was already done. Wendy’s national reputation was hurt. At that point, the fight was not just to avoid a million dollar lawsuit. They were fighting for the life of their business. It wasn’t about a million dollars. It was about the three billion dollars in revenue they earn each year.

Yes, Wendy’s did the right thing in this case. I still wonder how many other lawsuits they settle instead of investigating.

Bathing suits and Bentleys

Paris Hilton is going to star in a Carl’s Jr. commercial. (Carl’s Jr. is a fast-food chain in the west). She’ll be in a bathing suit slopping soap suds on a Bentley trying to convince young men to go buy a new type of spicy burger.

Makes me want a Big Mac.

Xbox: The next generation

Microsoft revealed its next video game console today – Xbox 360.

While trying to appeal to video game enthusiasts, Microsoft also designed the product to become an entertainment hub. They hope we’ll be hooking up our stereo and playing our music through it as well.

The new Xbox is scheduled to be released this holiday season, way ahead of the next Playstation. Expect a $300 to $400 price tag.

Sony has been losing the edge on innovation in console games. Xbox may gain some more ground and even turn a profit with this one.

Fancy?

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Fancy?, originally uploaded by semperjase.

Now I eat at McDonald’s somewhat regularly. One thing I’ve noticed, you can’t find anything “fancy” at McDonald’s.

So why are they trying to claim their ketchup is fancy? What makes it different from, say, Wendy’s non-fancy ketchup?

More research is required into the mystery of the fancy ketchup.

Free game of the day

Here is a real game for you. You know, the kind of game people played before computers. No, really, you can actually play games without the computer. Just download this one from Cheapass Games. OK, you do need a computer for that part. Then print out rules and the cards (on some cardstock) and go play.

Here is the description:

Welcome to Sherwood Forest, where the Poor are getting richer. A lunatic named Robin Hood has taken it upon himself to rob the rich nobles of Merrie Olde England and redistribute their ill-gotten wealth to those who deserve it even less, the ubiquitous Poor.

You and your friends, a small band of wandering merchants, have taken it upon yourselves to relieve these simple peasants of their newfound wealth, with such desirable medieval amenities as fyne arte, olde milke and tropical fyshes.

Why, if it weren’t for you, they might not even manage to stay poor.

While you’re there, check out some of the other games they have for sale and buy some for stocking stuffers.*

This is an unpaid endorsement. Cheapass Games is not affiliated with Always Jason, Ltd., Inc. (a non-profit corporation – because there are no profits) or any of its employees (of which there are zero).