Business Insight Zone

Earlier today I had a chance to talk over some recent executive-suite changes with Liz Claman of FOX Business. Here’s the video:

(If the embedded video doesn’t work, just click here to view it on the FOX Business site.)

Companies in the spotlight:

• Sara Lee
• Xerox
• Whole Foods
• Papa John’s

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And hiring steadily, I might add. If you or someone you know is looking for a great opportunity, make a point of bookmarking our jobs site. Here’s what you do:

1. Click here to go to the job site of our parent company, D&B.
2. In the Keywords field, type “hoovers” (yes, without the apostrophe).
3. Check out the results list at the bottom of the page and click through to the job descriptions that interest you.
   (Alternately, you can use the geographical drop-down menus to pinpoint Austin or someplace else where we do business.)

Current examples of the awesomeness that awaits you there:

• Director of Editorial Content
• Advertising Sales Manager (This one’s in New York.)
• Account Services Sales Manager
• Data Strategist

Do we have great employee benefits? Oh, yeah.

Is Austin an amazing place to live? This 20-year resident says yes.

Should you take a look at these job listings, then pass them along to your excellent job-seeking friends? By all means!

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Photo by TheTruthAbout…, used under a CC-Share Alike license.

Don’t get me wrong, because I like Kevin Cho’s story on Samsung Electronics from Bloomberg Businessweek:

Samsung May Be ‘Uncatchable’ With $15.7 Billion Spending Plan

I have a particular soft spot for Samsung Electronics because I covered them for several years as Hoover’s primary writer on semiconductors. (That role is now performed by my friend Jeff Dorsch, who has forgotten more about the chip business than I will ever know.) They’ve made a lot of smart decisions over the years, and now they’re using their financial advantages to increase their lead over their memory-chip rivals.

But no one is “uncatchable,” ever.

In some cases — General Motors comes to mind — the hunt takes decades. In others — Netscape, anyone? — it’s much quicker than that. And, yes, there are a few companies (Intel, Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola) whose market position seems unassailable . . . for now. But business history is littered with examples like Ford (it was inconceivable in 1920 that GM could catch up to them), A&P (the biggest grocer around when Wal-Mart hadn’t even been founded), and Burroughs (which had clear advantages in computing once upon a time).

To put it another way, I once flew to Hawaii on Pan Am.

So, yes, Samsung Electronics is in the catbird seat for computer memory. They’ve earned that perch. But no one has that kind of success without drawing the attention of many would-be competitors, some of whom might be clever enough to figure out an entirely new way of doing computer memory — one that completely sidesteps Samsung’s advantages. It wouldn’t be the first time.

But maybe you disagree. Do you think any companies today are truly “uncatchable”?

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Photo by twm1340, used under a Creative Commons Share Alike license.

Frank Reed of the Marketing Pilgrim blog was nice enough to solicit my thoughts on the state of social media marketing for B2B companies. This post is the result:

Social Media in the B2B World: A Talk with Hoover’s Tim Walker

Now, my personal favorite line from the Q&A is “You can’t expect to sell business information the same way you’d sell lipstick”

. . . but you tell me yours, okay? I’d love to have your thoughts on the Q&A, either here or (even better) in the Marketing Pilgrim comment thread.

Thanks!

Continuing our series of polls on the place of social media in business, we’d love to have your opinion on this . . .

When we get enough responses (via this blog, Facebook, and our home page), we’ll share the results and open up the floor for discussion.

(If the poll doesn’t render correctly, please follow this link.)

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Earlier polls:

• Do you use social media to generate business leads?
• How pro-Twitter is your company?

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