Middle Managers Have an Outsized Impact on Innovation

Middle Managers Have an Outsized Impact on Innovation

by Ethan Mollick  |   11:00 AM September 12, 2013

Just the mention of “middle managers” is enough to make people’s eyes roll back. But these supposedly boring cogs of the corporation, these objects of derision in Dilbertland, can have a profound impact on innovation and performance. Companies need to pay attention to them and reward their special talent at making the best of the restrictions and limitations of their positions — of making lemonade from lemons. For decades, researchers and businesspeople have assumed that in the thick of large organizations, what matters is process. Are the right resources available? Are incentives effective? If the organization isn’t being innovative, the solution must be structural. Read more of this post

Gianni Agnelli, the Godfather of Style; The Italian industrialist who ran Fiat during the jet-set age was one of the most stylish men of the 20th century. Many have copied his casually inventive look, but his elegance remains inimitable

September 12, 2013, 12:25 p.m. ET

Gianni Agnelli, the Godfather of Style

The Italian industrialist who ran Fiat during the jet-set age was one of the most stylish men of the 20th century. Many have copied his casually inventive look, but his elegance remains inimitable

RICH COHEN

STYLE ICON | Agnelli, whose nicknames included ‘L’avvocato’ (because he had a law degree) and the ‘Rake of the Riviera,’ photographed by Andy Warhol in 1972

IN THE END, when the money is lost and the records broken, only style remains—a handful of gestures that recall a life or an era. Napoleon is dust, but the men at a dinner party still wear buttons on their sleeves because the Little Corporal wanted to stop his soldiers from wiping their noses. Arnold Rothstein was buried ages ago, but wise guys still carry cash in a roll in their front pockets because the gangster rumored to have fixed the World Series wanted to get at his dough fast. True visionaries are imitated not only by those who knew them but by those who knew those who knew them—culture is people copying people they’ve never met. Over time, the names are forgotten, but a few habits survive. In the last half century, there was perhaps no man more imitated than the late Gianni Agnelli, the Italian industrialist, chairman of Fiat and playboy of playboys in the jet-set age. When you see a kid wearing his watch or tie just so, you might be seeing a copy of a copy of Gianni. Read more of this post

Crying Kids on Planes Spawn Childfree Zones to Nannies

Crying Kids on Planes Spawn Childfree Zones to Nannies

Andy Curr says her worst ever in-flight experience was brought on her by her own offspring. Curr, a web designer from Sydney, was traveling from London to Bangkok about three years ago when her second-youngest daughter, then 20 months, “screamed all the way,” she said. The wailing got her older children going, too. “Once one goes off, they all start,” said Curr, 41. Balancing the needs of customers wanting a peaceful trip with those of harried parents has become a major challenge for airlines trying to cater to both groups. Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SIA)’s budget carrier Scoot unveiled a childfree zone for passengers prepared to pay extra, following AirAsia X Bhd. and Malaysian Airline System Bhd, who also segregate kids. Seat-kicking and unruly children came ahead of drunken passengers, rude cabin crew, and lecherous neighbors as on-board annoyances in a July survey by British financial services comparison website Gocompare. Respondents said they’d be prepared to add 50 pounds ($78.6) to the cost of a return flight if they could sit in childfree zones. “People love their own kids, but they might not necessarily love someone else’s to the same extent,” said Scoot Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson. “Allowing someone the option of traveling with the assurance of not having young children around is simply one of the many choices you have.” Scoot charges an extra S$14.95 for 41 economy-class seats directly behind business class with three inches of extra legroom, where children under 12 aren’t allowed. Read more of this post

The Chinese vending machine full of live crabs

One more way China is out-innovating the US: with a vending machine full of live crabs

By Gwynn Guilford @sinoceros 3 hours ago

It’s that time of year again, when the people of China unite in tearing apart exoskeletons to suck up the flesh of hairy crabs. From August to October, the crabs—which get their name from the hair-like tendrils that grow on their claws—sell like hotcakes throughout China. Except, hotcakes don’t sell in vending machines. Live hairy crabs? Apparently, yes. On September 11, a vending machine stocked with live crabs appeared on a street in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. The machine, which is restocked daily, sells crabs for around 20 yuan ($3.27), along with the appropriate accoutrements (crab vinegar and two bags of ginger tea). Read more of this post

In Scotland’s borderland, enthusiasm for independence elusive

In Scotland’s borderland, enthusiasm for independence elusive

Thu, Sep 12 2013

By Hannah Vinter

COLDSTREAM (Reuters) – The old battlefields where Englishmen and Scotsmen once shed each other’s blood are a reminder of historic enmities in the border region. But with a year to go before Scotland votes on independence, enthusiasm for a break between the two countries is hard to find in its towns and farming communities. The 96-mile (154-km) border cuts across mainland Britain from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, through an area that was fought over and the scene of cross-border raids for centuries. The apparent lack of support for independence, gauged by conversations with borderers, suggests Scots here will not be swayed by old rivalries – something that the “Yes” campaign has tried to capitalize on. Read more of this post

Gears allow planthopper to super jump in the right direction, report says

Gears allow planthopper to super jump in the right direction, report says

By Meeri Kim, Friday, September 13, 1:59 AM

A jumping insect has gears, scientists discovered, a rare instance in which man and nature independently converged on the same idea. It was not easy to verify. The planthopper (Issus coleoptratus) is tiny, just a bit larger than a flea. And it jumps extremely fast — with an acceleration of 200 Gs, a level close to the highest ever survived by a human. But neurobiologist Malcolm Burrows and engineer Gregory P. Sutton, both of the University of Cambridge, used a high-speed camera attached to a microscope to capture the bugs in action. They put the tiny test subjects on their backs on sticky wax and gently rubbed their bellies to provoke them to move their hind legs as if jumping. Read more of this post

James Grant: Jay-Z Rapping About Warhol Is Evidence Of An Art Bubble

JIM GRANT: Jay-Z Rapping About Warhol Is Evidence Of An Art Bubble

ROBERT FRANK, CNBC SEP. 11, 2013, 6:25 PM 2,285 9

Plenty of economists, art dealers and collectors have warned of an art bubble over the past year. But there is one sure sign that the art market is overdone: Jay Z is now rapping about Warhol, Basquiat and Art Basel.

“It ain’t hard to tell 
I’m the new Jean-Michel
Surrounded by Warhols
My whole team ball
Twin Bugattis outside
Art Basel”

Market guru James Grant quotes Jay Z’s “Picasso Baby” in his latest Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, arguing that prices in the contemporary art market may not be justified by long-term value. While well-hyped artists like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Jean-Michel Basquiat are fetching eight-digit prices, it’s unclear whether their work will withstand the test of time, art critics and museums. Read more of this post

Korea Will Soon Be Home To The World’s First ‘Invisible’ Skyscraper

Korea Will Soon Be Home To The World’s First ‘Invisible’ Skyscraper

MEGAN WILLETT SEP. 11, 2013, 5:39 PM 18,721 12

The world will soon have its first “invisible” skyscraper. There’s no construction date yet for the planned 1,476-foot tower, called Tower Infinity. But its architects have just been granted a construction permit to begin building outside of Seoul, South Korea near Incheon International Airport. The visionaries behind the project, GDS Architects, will make the tower appear “invisible” using an LED facade system with optical cameras to display what’s directly behind the building. When turned on, the “reflective skin” of the building will give the illusion that Tower Infinity is blending in with the skyline. The building’s projections may also be used for broadcasting special events, or for advertising purposes, according to GDS Architects.

Read more of this post

Ex-RBS Bond Trader Gets 50 Months in Hong Kong Jail for Fraud in trying to hide losses of 19.5 million pounds ($30.8 million)

Ex-RBS Trader Gets 50 Months in Hong Kong Jail for Fraud

Shirlina Tsang, a former Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) trader who pleaded guilty in Hong Kong to fraud for trying to hide losses of 19.5 million pounds ($30.8 million), was sentenced to 50 months in jail. Tsang, 43, created false records of her bond trading from mid-2010 until Oct. 14, 2011 to make it appear she was generating profit at the Edinburgh-based bank, according to the prosecution’s charge sheet. RBS said it discovered the fraud two years ago after an internal review, notified the authorities and fired her.

“This is an extremely serious offense,” District Court Judge Garry Tallentire said today. Tsang could’ve been jailed for as long as seven years.

Tsang was remorseful, admitted her mistake to RBS and repaid the bank her bonus, her lawyer Edwin Choy told the judge today. Tsang’s “colossal misjudgment” was due to work stress and depression caused by her brother’s death, he said in his mitigation plea.

Anita Chow, another of Tsang’s lawyers, declined to comment on her sentence after the hearing.

“RBS takes any matter of this nature very seriously,” said Yuk Min Hui, a spokeswoman for the bank in Hong Kong. “We have been cooperating fully with all relevant authorities.”

RBS, Britain’s biggest publicly owned lender after a record 45.5 billion pound bailout in 2008, reported net income of 535 million pounds in the first half, compared with a 2 billion-pound loss in the year earlier period.

The case is Hong Kong SAR v Tsang Pui-Yu, Shirlina, DCCC326/2013, Hong Kong District Court.

To contact the reporter on this story: Douglas Wong in Hong Kong at dwong19@bloomberg.net

Why Fraudsters Should Applaud the SEC

Why Fraudsters Should Applaud the SEC

Mary Jo White began her tenure as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission this year with a promise: The agency would require more fraudsters to confess what they did, as opposed to the SEC’s usual practice of letting them pay fines without admitting anything. Judging from the case of Ebrahim Shabudin, the fulfillment of that pledge is off to a poor start. Shabudin, 65, is one of the few high-ranking bankers to be indicted over conduct related to the financial crisis. The San Francisco lender where he served as chief operating officer and chief credit officer, United Commercial Bank, failed in 2009, costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. about $1.2 billion. Shabudin held the same positions at the bank’s publicly traded parent company, UCBH Holdings Inc. The government says he and other senior executives deliberately delayed recognizing loan losses. Read more of this post