December 8, 1812: Henry Varnum Poor was born on this day and would lay the groundwork for the business information industry. As the editor of the American Railroad Journal, he became aware of the ways that businesses across states were becoming increasingly interconnected. Managers found a lot of value in information about companies and economics in partnering Read More …
November 20, 1923: Patent #1,475,024 was granted to inventor Garrett Augustus Morgan for his automatic traffic signal. Morgan, who had a deep interest in public safety, was inspired to invent a device to control traffic after a tragic collision between an automobile and horse and carriage in his hometown of Cleveland. He sold the manufacturing rights to General Read More …
November 19, 1909: Peter Drucker, widely considered the inventor of of management, was born on this day in 1909. He described himself as a “social ecologist,” and wrote 39 books and numerous articles on how humans interact and communicate with each other. In 2002, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Source: The Drucker Institute Read More …
November 18, 1931: Roberto C. Goizueta is born in Havana, Cuba. He studied chemical engineering at Yale University and after graduating in 1953, returned to Cuba where he started out in an entry-level chemist position at The Coca-Cola Company. He and his family left Cuba after Fidel Castro’s rise to power and relocated in Miami, where Read More …
October 31, 1837: Two European immigrants, William Procter and James Gamble, happened to marry sisters Olivia and Elizabeth Norris in Cincinnati in the early 19th century. Their father-in-law Alexander Norris convinced Procter, a candle maker, and Gamble, a soap maker, to join their businesses since they used common raw ingredients. Starting with total assets of just Read More …
Recently, Deloitte made headlines after having to issue a partial refund to a client for a report riddled with errors. Commissioned to propose solutions for one of the Albanese government’s welfare IT systems, the report contained several major flaws: its recommendations didn’t align with existing legislation, it made unfounded assumptions about how people would use Read More …
October 1, 1908: Also known as the Tin Lizzie, the Leaping Lena, and the “flivver,” the Model T was designed to be an accessible automobile for the masses. Inventor Henry Ford innovated the car making process by implementing assembly line production (as opposed to handcrafting), making the cars more affordable for the middle class and Read More …
September 24, 1936: Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, was born in Greenville, Mississippi. His passion for puppets started in high school, and he would go on to create lovable characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Bert & Ernie, and Oscar the Grouch. His organizations The Jim Henson Company and the Jim Henson Read More …
September 15, 2008: After arduous but unsuccessful negotiations with the federal government and the leading investment banks of the world, Lehman Brothers files for the largest bankruptcy in American history. The company was originally founded in Montgomery, AL in 1850, and moved to New York City in 1869. The bankruptcy blindsided the American economy, leading Read More …
August 22, 1966: In St. Paul, Minnesota, a small store called Sound of Music opened its doors to customers in late August of 1966. Fifty years later, Best Buy (the company changed its name in 1983) is a multinational retailer with nearly $40 billion in annual revenue. Source: Company Website Read more from the Goizueta Read More …
