[Originally published March 31, 2014, in Capital.] If you buy anything in Romania, then you already have – or at least have been offered – dozens and dozens of retail loyalty cards. You know, that piece of paper or plastic that supposedly means you’re a valued...
[Originally published February 24, 2014, in Capital.] If you want to see how some companies here seem blind to reality, take a look at the discounting business. There are plenty of examples. Indeed, it was just about two years ago when I was told by an industry...
[Originally published April 29, 2013, in Capital.] Because predictions are best left to economists and fools, once in a while I think it’s my turn. So here it is: Exceptional (well, maybe just good) customer service will increasingly become recognized as the...
[Originally published March 25, 2013, in Capital,] Years ago, when I worked at a very large bank, I was in a meeting. The CEO was there, the President, the CMO, several vice chairmen, and a few others, including me. The director of advertising was showing us a very...
[Originally published Jan. 28, 2013, in Capital.] A new restaurant opened recently in my residential neighborhood. It’s not a bad-looking restaurant. In fact, it’s rather fancy. It took months to build and I’m sure it cost a lot of money. And though it’s just around...
[Originally published Aug. 12, 2012, in Capital.] I’m finally convinced that businesses here have wasted a perfectly good crisis. What a shame. I walked into a toy store recently. The lights were glaring. The colors were too bright. It looked like a warehouse. The one...
[Originally published July 14, 2012, in Capital.] Politics in a democracy is like business in a free market. The winners in the end are the ones who know what they are doing. It sounds simple. It’s not. So as the time is now right in Romania for a new political party,...
[Originally published June 27, 2012, in Capital.] Bankers are funny people. For example, who didn’t have a good laugh recently when Jamie Dimon appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in Washington? He’s Chairman and CEO of...
[Originally published May 28, 2012, in Capital.] If you want a quick lesson on how not to do business, look at the news media here. There is no better example in Romania. I’m not suggesting that all the news companies here are failing. I’m only saying that, on the...
[Originally published May 10, 2012, in Capital.] In politics, there is a sense there can be no shame in winning. You cannot make the world pure and good (the thinking goes) until those who are wise and just win – at whatever the cost. I thought of this the other day...
[Originally published May 4, 2012, in Capital.] Sixteen years ago, while making an eye-opening transition from reporting about banks to working inside one, I was rushing to the CEO’s office to deliver a speech when my boss stopped me in the hallway. Had I remembered...