Eric Lowitt's Blog

The United States dedicates a larger portion of its GDP to healthcare than its developed country brethren. Yet our population suffers from disease more frequently

Late last week severalpunditsforecast thedemiseof Whole Foods. Earlier last week I wrote aboutthe one questionthat will predict whether youwill thrive or fail in the future.

This past weekend, three clients emailed me the same question. Theywanted my thoughts on Whole Foods’ future as seen through my ‘one question’ lens. Here’s my response.

My 2013book,The Collaboration Economy, included insights from interviews with several CEOs, includingWalter Robb, Whole Foods’ co-CEO. Walter is a down-to...

Getting ahead in life today is increasingly difficult.

For you and me – professionals seeking a meaningful career that pays the bills and more – today’s jobs just aren’t cutting it. Raises in compensation are few and far between. When you do receive a raise, it is underwhelming. There are jobs available for those in the market, but these jobs tend to be the lower paying, part-time kind of labor. Housing prices are continuing to increase – good news if you’re a homeowner who is not looking to...

Google’s announcementto restructure is 11 years in the making. In reality, it’s more like decades in the making. Yes, the ethos of Google’s split is far older than Google itself.

Alphabet, the company that will serve as Google’s parent, is about one thing: volatility. Alphabet specifically and volatility more generally matters to us all.Individuals, companies, governments, non-profit organizations, activist organizations, communities: we’re all affected by today’s news.

First let me provide c...

I’m about to describe many companies. Be alarmed ifyour working experience sounds similar to this:

A woman checks into a hotel in New York City that is part of a prominent chain of hotels. The hotel employee at the registration desk politely welcomes her then casually asks why she’s in town for the week. The guest tells the employee that a family member just passed away; she and her family will be in the hotel for the week for the funeral and to settle the person’s affairs. To which the emplo...

Earth Day is coming next month and I have to get this off my chest: Earth Day irks me! It should irk you, too, especially if you think we should be working toward a worldwide state of sustainable development. For so many companies, Earth Day has become an opportunity for press releases, cause marketing efforts, and special-edition, minimally reduced product packages. And that is all fine. But “fine” doesn’t do it if we’re truly invested in preserving our planet while simultaneously kick-start...

Last week I wrote about how companies no longer own their brands. My inbox quickly filled up. Almost 70 percent of these emails were from C-level executives, primarily marketing heads. The vast majority agreed, though one vehemently disagreed. Here’s the abridged version with the most important points:

“Steve Jobs didn’t have social media like it is today when he turned Apple around. Consensus is he was an a**. He was also Apple’s face, and the decade’s most well known CEO. Now the company is...

Companies that try to control their destiny will experience frustration and financial ruin. That is the core thesis of my next book,Fractured,which I’m currently developing. Over the coming weeks and months I’ll share insights from the research, including surprising thoughts and lessons learned from CEOs of small-, mid-, and large-sized companies.

Here’s one surprising insight from the research:Companies no longer own their brands

Indeed ownership of brands has been a hotly debated topic during...

Do you remember the first time you went swimming in a pool? Momentary excitement disappeared as the reality of your new surroundings sank in. You couldn’t touch the bottom of the pool while keeping your head above water. Eventually you found the edge of the pool and held on until you could calm down. Once you knew where the boundaries were, you ventured again into the water. Knowing the rules of the game gave you great comfort and you learned how to swim.

The Discomfort of No Boundaries

Senior...

My article was originally published by MISC, one of the most compelling quarterly periodicals that cover a broad range of provocative issues

Zero sum competition – “I grow by taking market share from you” – has served as the basis for competitive strategy since the dawn of capitalism. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company became the first, and largest, chartered company to trade spices in East Asia. Competition arrived in the form of the English East India Company’s second voyage to the area i...