Episodes

Ed and Ron will explore the following insight from Thomas Sowell: After all, the caveman had the same natural resources at their disposal as we have today, and the difference between their standard of living and ours is a difference between the knowledge they could bring to bear on those resources and the knowledge used today. We will also discuss the five stages in human economic history, from hunter and gatherers to the Industrial Revolution, and now a knowledge economy; the differences betwee...

On our July 11th show we discussed The First Law of Marketing: The Value of Value. The Second Law of Marketing—that all prices are contextual—is just as critical to help your organization communicate value, and help convince your customers to pay for that value. Most customers are not price sensitive; they are value conscious. So how can you communicate value, rather than simply competing on low price? One of the most customer-centric strategies your company can deploy is to offer an array optio...

Adam Smith was confounded. One of the greatest economic and social thinkers in the history of ideas struggled with the so-called diamond-water paradox. None of us would be able to live beyond a couple of weeks without water, yet its price is relatively cheap compared to the frivolous diamond. Most people resolve this paradox by replying the supply of diamonds is scarce compared to water. But this theory lacks explanatory power. Ron and Ed will compare and contrast The Labor Theory of Value with ...

Ron and Ed discuss the Cult of Efficiency beginning with an explanation of Frederick Winslow Taylor the father of so called Scientific Management. Business aren’t paid to be efficient. There's nothing more useless than being efficient at doing the wrong things. Industries at peak efficiency are destined for obsolescence, think buggy whip manufacturers. Effectiveness trumps efficiency and creates true competitive advantage. Would you want an efficient or effective heart surgeon? This is why Walt ...