Survey: Apple Most Inspirational Brand

Read all about it.

The survey asked almost 2,000 readers in 107 countries which brand they would choose for 10 different categories. The group, 74 percent of which were in the marketing profession, voted Apple to the top in six of the 10 areas. Survey respondents placed Apple ahead of other companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, Google, Starbucks, McDonald's, and Microsoft, citing things like "beautiful products," ease of use, quality, and an overall love of Apple.

If Microsoft Marketed the iPod

When stakeholders think every detail is equally important, the result can be...well, see for yourself:

Get to the Heart of the Problem

The granite at the Jefferson Memorial was crumbling. However, none of the other memorials had the same problem. So the question was, "Why?"

Why is the granite crumbling? It is hosed off more than the other memorials.

Why is it hosed off more than the other memorials? It has more bird dung.

Why does it have more bird dung? It has more birds.

Why does it have more birds? There are more spiders to eat.

Why are there more spiders? It has more flying insects for spiders to eat.

Why are there more insects? The lights are turned on too soon at the Jefferson Memorial, thus attracting the insects.

Solution: The lights were turned on later and the granite stopped crumbling.

Sometimes solutions only seem unrelated to the problem and are simpler than we thought they would be.

The Machine is Us/ing Us