Author name: jasonalleger

How Wine, a Spider, and a Special Wooden Bridge Saved France: Why the Small Things Matter in Business

When Good Food > Big Armies In 1475, Edward IV, King of England, landed on the coast of France with an army of 13,000 men. His single objective: to seize the crown of France for himself and end the Hundred Years War. Edward had every reason to be confident. He was already renowned as a brilliant military

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6 Essential Steps of an Info Interview + A Walkthrough to Use on Your Next One

I was just starting an MBA program and had a goal to do 10 info interviews per week. An info interview is an informational interview you have with someone at a company you’re interested in working at, with the intent to learn more and ask to be referred into an open position. Back then I

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The Diderot Effect: When New Things Can (Accidentally) Make Us Unhappy

When a Red Robe Leads to Trouble… In 1765, the renowned French philosopher Denis Diderot had a serious problem: His daughter was about to be married. Normally this would be something for celebration, but Diderot had a shameful, and not well-kept secret. Despite an incredibly successful career as a philosopher, art critic, and writer (best known for

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How Starbucks Dominated the Market with Completely Mediocre Coffee

“At all costs, avoid competing in an industry where your product is just a commodity”. Those words (or variants of them) are spoken in nearly every business school in the world. Would-be entrepreneurs and executives are regularly warned about the perils of creating a business with an undifferentiated product (e.g., a product or service that

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