Prof Bruce's definitions

Money wrangler

A money wrangler is a company, usually large, that has found myriad ways to fleece its clients.

My cell phone company provided me with an ‘all you can eat’ one price, all inclusive deal that turned out to have numerous exclusions. They sure know how to wrangle money out of their clients with service level agreements that no one but a lawyer understands. That firm is a money wrangler, for sure.

by Prof Bruce March 15, 2010

Negative Cost

A client when buying your product or service can experience a negative cost if the benefits from using your product or service are greater than its cost. A negative cost can also result from a reduction in their costs from the use of your product or service that is greater than the cost of buying the product or service from you or it may result from some combination of higher benefits and lower costs.

Negative cost selling is all about understanding your client’s business from their point of view and being able to measure the benefits you create and the cost reductions you cause.

“A minor soccer team organizer approaches a professional team for a donation to help with their upcoming tournament. Instead of just giving them money, the pro team gives them tickets at a discounted price (say $25 each) which they in turn sell at full retail price (say $45 each). They keep the difference. Their cost for each ticket is a negative cost, i.e., -$20. This also turns all the local minor sports teams, the players, their moms and dads, grandmothers and grandfathers into a new sales channel for the pro team which helps to fill their arena or stadium. It also teaches the kids about entrepreneurship and self-reliance and they come to understand the maxim: ‘Give a person in need a fishing rod, not a fish.’”

by Prof Bruce October 30, 2009

Twitterbug

Someone who spends a great deal of their time on micro blogging service, Twitter.

“Why are you spending so much of your time on Twitter? If you’re not careful, you’ll turn into a Twitterbug.”

by Prof Bruce November 9, 2009

anonymize

Today’s strict privacy laws require that you protect consumer information. For this and many other reasons, it is often necessary to anonymize a data set, a blog article, a media report or a case study. Anonomizing a story or a case study can also help protect a confidential source or informant.

“You are doing work for a private Foundation and you believe that their case would make interesting reading for your students. The only problem—you are under a confidentiality agreement. With their permission, you anonymize the information and data and write up their story on your blog—sans anything that can point back to the original.”

by Prof Bruce December 8, 2009

PAAS

You’ve heard of SAAS, Software as a Service, well make way for PAAS, Product as a Service. Customers are subscribing to services that regularly deliver products they need over and over again. This could create a whole new class of business models.

Instead of selling your product to one customer, once, you might be able to turn it into PAAS, ‘product as a service’—people would subscribe to your service and you would deliver the product to them, say, once a quarter. It could be anything people use over and over again— like hair gel, shaving cream, razor blades, perfume, face cream, hey, maybe even socks and underwear.

by Prof Bruce April 20, 2011

Startup Whisperer

A Startup Whisperer is a person who has a natural feel for what it takes to build a successful new enterprise.

“Thinking of starting a new business and not too sure what you need to do? Then call in the Startup Whisperer.”

by Prof Bruce September 13, 2010

Frigonomics

Every time you hear an economist utter yet another wrong or contradictory prediction, you can instantly feel better using this expletive. “If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion,” George Bernard Shaw.

“Economists have accurately predicted nine out of the past five recessions,” paraphrasing a supposed quip by Nobel economist Paul Samuelson about the stock market. If you are feeling frustrated by a lack of precision from economists, you can curse the profession by exclaiming: ‘Frigonomics’.

by Prof Bruce July 13, 2010