problem | The Barefoot Spirit

Product Development Starts with Demand and Access, Not the Product

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog, Interview

“But all my friends thought it was so cool.” That’s the usual lament we hear from the producers of failed products. Why? They fell in love with their product, so much so that they actually thought success was based on the product itself. Probably the most important...

Acknowledgement, Confirmation, and Status Reporting Demonstrate Responsibility

JUST OWN IT!

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

A Classic Case of a Lack of Acknowledgement & Confirmation Our friend recently graduated with an advanced degree in Nursing. To celebrate, we invited her and her friends over for a party. A week before the party, we went to our friendly neighborhood grocery store...

Best Source of Good Ideas Are Your Employees

NEED TO KNOW OR KNOW THE NEED

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

Most companies, in their attempt to present the image of stability and security to their employees, will deliberately prevent them from knowing about the challenges the company faces. They fear their people will jump ship if they know that the company is facing...

Student Debt is Everyone’s Problem

WE CAN’T AFFORD IT!

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

What if you gave a back-to-school sale and nobody came? That’s what retailers are facing this year as many college students and grads face the frugal realities of their college debt. In the last recession we saw how interrelated the various elements of the economy...

Pretending To Understand Can Be Costly

“GOT IT!” – NOT!

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog, Education

We live in a world that expects us to know and understand increasing complex technologies. Our allocated time to digest new information has been cut to a fraction of what it once was. In a world of Tweets, posts, quick starts, and “Just tell me the one thing…,” it’s...