Blog
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Blog / ChangeThis
Living in a Bubble: How Speculative Mania in Home Mortgages Underwrote the Great Recession
By Roger Lowenstein
"The bubble began at the dawn of the 21st century, and fed off the elixir of ultra-low interest rates. Low rates had been orchestrated by the Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, with the steadfast support of his then-fellow Fed governor, Ben Bernanke. With credit cheap, Americans flocked to refinance their homes and to bid up the prices of new ones. This much was predictable. But the mortgage boom of the early 2000s was unlike others. A wave of unorthodox lenders sought to lure customers whose credit was judged to be less than prime—that is, subprime. These eager lenders were hailed as suburban Johnny Appleseeds, planting a mortgage in every backyard. Instead of a mere boom, they incited a social upheaval, much as did the dot.com promoters a decade earlier."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Power of Passionate Creatives
By John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, Lang Davison
"We all have passions. Some of us have been fortunate enough to pursue our passions as our professions. Most of us have not. [...] But all too often those who are passionate about their work are frustrated with their employers and bosses. They are not satisfied. Far from it. They want to do more, but they feel held back. This manifesto is for them—the "passionate creatives" of the world. Together passionate creatives have more power than they realize. But that power comes from a surprising place."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Renting the Dream: Housing in America After the Great Reset
By Richard Florida
"We've reached the limits of what George W. Bush used to call the 'ownership society. ' Owning your own home made sense when people could hope to hold a job for most or all of their lives. But in an economy that revolves around mobility and flexibility, a house that can't be sold becomes an economic trap, preventing people from moving freely to economic opportunity. Not only has that piece of the American Dream grown dark, but it's also clear that financial excess in the housing sector was one of the central causes of the economic crisis. Housing sucked up far too much of the nation's and the world's capital, and too many people—already overextended by the purchase of outsized houses—used those homes like virtual ATMs to finance carefree consumption. Every Great Reset has seen our system of housing change, and this one is no different. The rate of home ownership has been on the decline for some time now. Many of those who still choose to buy homes will choose smaller ones, while many more will opt for rental housing.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Being Open Without Giving Away the Store: The Secret Is a Sandbox Covenant
By Charlene Li
"What's often missing when leaders try to decide how open they should be is a coherent open strategy, something I call 'open-driven objectives.' With an open strategy, decision shifts from if you should be open—because social technology demands a certain amount of openness—to how open you need to be to accomplish your overall strategic goals. In today's world, organizations and their leaders must be open or suffer the consequences—distrust, leaks, resentment, and institutional sclerosis."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Interested in the Quickest Route to New Profits and Growth? Focus on Your Pricing
By Rafi Mohammed
"There is a fundamental 'profit disconnect' in business today. Companies work to bring a product to market by investing significant effort and money in research and development, distribution, and marketing strategies. But when it comes to setting a price - how businesses get compensated for their hard work and financial risk - most companies drop the ball. Critical pricing decisions are often made using arbitrary 'this is the way we've always done it' methods. Companies are shortchanging themselves every day."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / News & Opinion
Brains
By Porchlight
Any healthy person with a brain has the capacity to get through each day, think many interesting things, remember things, accomplish various tasks, and plan for the future. But of course, some people do these things differently (and much better). Are they or their brains different than others?
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Getting Back to Work
By Porchlight
There are many people who lost their jobs last year, and unfortunately, many of them are still looking for work. For those in this situation, after so long, the frustration and desperation likely only increases. You send out resume after resume every day, and no results.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
"A fine commute accompaniment."
By Sally Haldorson
Every month, Penguin/Portfolio posts a new free podcast that you can download from iTunes or listen to on their site called The Business Beat. It was exciting news to hear that The Business Beat was featured in USA TODAY’s “Watch, Listen and Read” column today--it’s on 6B of the Money section, if you have a paper copy on hand--, not only because we love the work that Portfolio does with its business books, but because at the end of every program, Jack reviews a classic business book in his Just Jack! section.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
The Business Book Bestseller List
By Porchlight
As mentioned in a previous post, we've formed a partnership with Inc. Magazine to launch The Business Book Bestseller List. Compiled from our raw sales data, the list appears on Inc.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Joy Panos Stauber is a Cool Friend
By Porchlight
If you've looked at anything our company has produced in the past five or six years, whether it's our website, a ChangeThis manifesto, In The Books, The 100 Best, or an invitation to our book awards, you have witnessed the wonderful work Joy Panos Stauber does. She is not officially employed by 800-CEO-READ, but has been a part of our team for many years now, creating our visual identity and helping us communicate with you more effectively. She has also been helping the great crew over at tompeters!
Categories: news-opinion