News & Events
March 4, 2010
The Worlds 30 Most Innovative Countries
The U.S. is number 8 on this list and Singapore is number 1. The way to become more innovative is collaboration, taking more risks, long term planning and innovation models that fit your company culture. However; your company must embrace a culture that enhances a natural creative spirit and culture of collaboration in order to drive innovation in the company.
Business Week Full Article
The 30 Most Innovation-Friendly Countries
By Bruce Einhorn
Which countries provide the most innovation-friendly climates for companies? That’s the question the Boston Consulting Group, working with the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Institute, set out to answer in its recent survey. BCG consultants, led by James P. Andrew, looked at both “inputs”—government policies supporting education, workforce quality, infrastructure, and trade—and “performance”—R&D results, business performance, employment growth, and other impacts of innovation. READ MORE or click through Countries.
March 1, 2010
Partners from PlazaBridge Group Lend Business and Development Expertise To Global Economic Discussions
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 1, 2010
Partners from PlazaBridge Group Lend Business and Development Expertise To Global Economic Discussions
Firm accelerates local and global business initiatives, receives industry recognition and increases revenue growth
(Raleigh, N.C.) – PlazaBridge Group, a leading business consulting firm specializing in corporate strategy, go-to-market implementation and sustainable revenue growth, today announced doubled revenue growth in 2009 over 2008. In addition, Teresa Spangler, Managing Partner, PlazaBridge Group, received the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award from Business Leader Magazine.
“Where other firms have slowed or stopped growing and hiring, PlazaBridge has actually accelerated. We’ve broken into new markets with key wins in retail analytics, drug safety and CROs,” said Richard Spangler, Managing Partner of PlazaBridge Group. “We’ve increased our focus on adding exceptional talent to our team and recently launched ‘Open Season on the Status Quo,’ a PlazaBridge initiative to provide thought leadership and ideation services for CEOs, decision makers and entrepreneurs.”
Managing Partners Richard Spangler and Teresa Spangler have also increased their involvement in area economic development efforts. Richard Spangler, a recognized problem solver whose expertise includes product strategy and management, mergers and acquisition and entrepreneurship analytics, recently moderated a panel on international expansion possibilities between North Carolina and Poland. The panel was hosted by the North Carolina World Trade Association and brought together officials from Polish Embassy and the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Teresa Spangler serves on the Board of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, is president of the North Carolina World Trade Association and is Chair of the non-profit arts organization, Night of Dreams. She will participate in the upcoming Global Business Development Program offered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce on March 16, 2010. This program is in collaboration with Counsel for Entrepreneurial Development, TiE and North Carolina Department of Commerce. Jean Davis, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Tom Kurke, COO, GeoMagic and Neil Bagchi of Incanus Advisors join Teresa in the presentations.
For more information on how PlazaBridge Group helps clients develop strategies
to create and capture new business growth, please see www.plazabridge.com.
About PlazaBridge
PlazaBridge Group, a leading business consulting firm, offers creative, innovative and effective programs, services and products to expand the possibilities of success for our clients. Our engagement methodology begins with a rapid understanding of the core values of our client’s business, leading to effective engagement with business functions, ensuring real impact, lasting change and accelerated results. This unique Fractal Approach™ to business leverages proprietary on-line reporting tools for executive sponsors to monitor critical progress. We are a group of experienced and highly educated change agents with intimate knowledge of how to apply entrepreneurial action to companies seeking help in navigating the changing business landscape. Our reputation is built on driving the financial and market growth of our clients. Started in 2007, the firm has impacted companies in Healthcare, Technology, Medical, Services, Government, Consumer and Web-enabled industries. Additional information can be found at www.PlazaBridge.com
Media Contact: Melissa London
PlazaBridge Group
919-621-0737
melissa@plazabridge.com
February 20, 2010
Teresa Spangler to Moderate Panel: CED’s Global Business Development Program
Teresa W. Spangler
Teresa Spangler, Managing Partner, PlazaBridge Group will join, Jean Davis, NC Department of Commerce, Tom Kurke, COO, GeoMagic, Neil Bagchi, Incanus Advisors in presentations and panel discussions at CED’s second annual Global Business Development Program.
The program is in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, International Trade Division, TiE Carolinas, World Trade Association and the North Carolina China Business Association, is hosting a program on international business development for North Carolina companies seeking to expand operations globally. For more information about this Entrepreneurs Only Workshop Click here details and registration.
Sample Session: 2:45 pm – 3:30 pm Finding international partners? Marketing, Sales and Distribution
- Teresa Spangler, Managing Partner, PlazaBridge LLP – Moderator
- Owen George, Owen George Communications
- Eric Wolff, US Commercial Service, China
- David Himebaugh, President, Blue Nano
February 6, 2010
6 New Insights On Media Usage
Partner
Posted by David Rose
6 New Insights on Media Usage
Posted by Daniel Flamberg on February 01, 2010 at 05:00 AM PDT
In a world of continuous, always-on media consumption and endless media hype, most marketers think they know what consumers like, what consumers use most and how often consumers are engaged with different media channels. Yet every-so-often new data challenges our assumptions.
That’s case with L.E.K. Consulting’s 2009 Media Consumption Survey, an online survey of 2000+ households, conducted in December 2009, that addressed media use in 28 media types. This study sought to identify changes in media consumption habits, find opportunities in new media and cast light on how the recession has affected media consumption. The data and the implications weren’t what I expected and made me think.
Here’s quick summary:
Channels Cross-Pollinate. Thirty-eight percent of consumers said they’d pay an extra fee to get content from cable channels on their computers or on their smart phones. This data validates the “content is king” notion and supports the business strategies driving Yahoo, Google and others. It also implies that marketers should orchestrate and integrate campaigns across channels and that video-to-go will soon become a common expectation which will dramatically increase demand for portable bandwidth.
Radio isn’t Dead It’s Gone Online. One third of respondents listen to Internet radio services for 5.8 hours each week; a third more than listen to satellite radio. Interestingly 83 percent still listen to traditional radio for an average of 8.1 hours each week. Neither TV, cable nor the Web killed the radio star which is a testament to its portability and targeted content offerings. Fifty-two percent of survey respondents listen to the radio and listening to music is second only to TV, ahead of the Internet, in terms of time allocated to media. Americans craft individual soundtracks to their lives and use music as a mood elevator.
E-Readers Are Heavy New Media Users. Not only do E-Reader owners drive the market for books but they consume significantly more new media than iPod owners and the general public. It’s probably not much of a stretch for educated literate readers to invest more disposable time and discretionary income using emerging media. E-Readers are four times more likely to see movies online, play more Web-based games and listen to more Internet radio than iPod Users, Facebook fanatics or the general public. Think of E-Readers as the vanguard of the digital proletariat.
50+ is the New Black. Don’t forget or ignore the power of the Boomers who still wield great numbers, great enthusiasm for new or revolutionary ideas and great wealth even as they age. The 50-64 year old age group uses new media almost twenty percent more than 25-39 year olds. Boomers do the most e-mail, play the most online games and pace every other age group in doing online tasks.
Everyone Multi-tasks. It’s no longer just teenagers who text and play online games with opponents in China while watching TV. One-third of consumers responding to the survey, watch TV and go online simultaneously. Nineteen percent listen to the radio while surfing the Web and eleven percent talk on the phone. Look for smart marketers to design campaigns to leverage and capitalize on this behavior in real time.
TV is Still Our Mass Medium. Online TV is just starting and in spite of the growth of DVRs and time shifting, TV represents the biggest gross audiences and the most time spent with media. The margin is big – 38 hours per week for TV versus 7.6 hours online. TV is still the place to launch new ideas and revitalize brands.
Read More
January 15, 2010
Forbes: Could S Corp Owners Be A Tax Target?
Taxes
Could S Corp Owners Be A Tax Target?
Janet Novack, 01.15.10, 10:00 AM EST
New GAO report, health bill, suggest more might be wrung from them.
A report released Thursday by Congress’ Government Accountability Office shows why owners of the nation’s four million S corporations might be a tempting target for politicians hunting for more revenue.
The report features new estimates of S corp finagling–estimates based on special in-depth “National Research Program” audits the Internal Revenue Service conducted on 2003 and 2004 S corp tax returns. Over those two years, the GAO estimates, 68% of S corps misreported their net income, understating their combined net profits by $85 billion.
January 14, 2010
Teresa Spangler Joins CED Panel to discuss: The 2010 Economic Forecast for Entrepreneurs
Event: The 2010 Economic Forecast for Entrepreneurs at Council For Entrepreneurial Development
Moderator: Don Seaquist, global business leader and former CFO of Embrex, will discuss with the three guest speakers financial trends that will impact entrepreneurial companies in the coming year.
Speakers include:
- Anika Khan, Vice President and Economist, Wells Fargo
- Jack Sheffield, Managing Director, Deutsche Bank, Greensboro-Winston-Salem
- Teresa Spangler, Managing Partner, PlazaBridge Group
When: January 20, 2010 Time: 12noon – 1:30pm
Where: CED’s Entrepreneurship Center (100 Capitola Dr, Ste. 106, Durham, NC 27713)
To join this CED member event, click here.
Fees: No Charge seating limited to the first 65 registrations. Please note: registration closes 2 days prior to the event
Attendance will be limited to the first 65 registrants to promote conversation and sharing of ideas.
January 12, 2010
Forbes: The Way To Innovate To Beat Radical Discontinuity
Managing
The Way To Innovate To Beat Radical Discontinuity
Mark W. Johnson, 01.11.10, 03:38 PM EST
There’s a basic secret to being able to look forward rather than back.
In the early 19th century most people lit their homes with lamps that burned whale oil. In mid-century a Canadian physician and geologist named Abraham Gesner developed kerosene, a cleaner-burning alternative made from a newly plentiful resource, crude oil, and founded what became the modern petroleum industry. Whaling, which had been a major world industry, ceased. Then Thomas Edison threw a light switch, and the world changed again. No one wanted the foul smell and dangerous flame of kerosene lanterns in their homes when they could have clean and easy electric light. Demand for fossil fuels plummeted, and they rose again only when Henry Ford came along and made the new technology of automobiles affordable for the masses. Today the ramifications of global warming threaten the automobile, electric power and oil industries. Full Story
January 11, 2010
Forbes: Get A Head Start In The Coming War For Talent
It is hard to imagine a war on talent with so many people out of work and layoffs continuing but this article puts this war in perspective as companies begin to build for growth, learn they must do a better job at selling value and that customer service will be a make or break revenue growth deal breaker! Those companies that invest in people, invest in growth and invest in their customers will be the real winners of this century ( and certainly for 2010).
Leadership
Get A Head Start In The Coming War For Talent
Lori Rosenwasser, 09.25.09, 04:40 PM EDT
Four steps to take so you can keep your best employees when jobs elsewhere start opening up again.
| Lori Rosenwasser |
You might imagine that with recession upon us, the war for talent has ended. Just a year and a half ago, companies were spending frantically to try to come up with ways to beat their competitors at recruiting the best and brightest new workers. There were amazing stories.
One pharmaceutical company predicted that it would need to hire tens of thousands over the next few years. It was going to have to look far outside the sciences, hiring people in information technology and marketing, so it was going to be up against companies like Google and L’Oréal for talent.Then the crisis hit. Staffs were slashed in industries everyone had thought were rock solid. The tide turned, and it became a buyer’s market for talent. Not only are most companies not actively recruiting, many don’t seem much concerned about retention. They figure most employees are holding on to their jobs for dear life. FULL STORY
January 7, 2010
Great Article on “Design Thinking” (a PlazaBridge Group core compentancy):
Christopher Steiner On Innovation
12.30.09, 06:00 AM EST
There is always a better way to do things–and that brings hope for the year ahead.
The Big Trend
“Design thinking”–that is, innovating via a structured analysis of specific challenges in a particular process or industry. Five books hit the market this year on the subject. Change by Design, by Tim Brown, chief executive of design firm IDEO, may be the best. “The core of great entrepreneurship is bringing people what they need–and there’s always a better way to do it,” says Brown. “That’s what design thinking helps us figure out.” Full Article
December 30, 2009
Those with clout, flout
Those with clout, flout
By Sharon Jayson
USA TODAY
The moral compass of some public figures clearly went awry in 2009. Now new research better explains why some in the public eye don’t think like the rest of us.
Power increases “moral hypocrisy,” says Adam Galinsky, a behavioral psychologist at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and co-author of a study published today in the journal Psychological Science.
Power does indeed go to your head, making those in the limelight such as celebrities, politicians, CEOs and athletes more prone to a double standard: They’re stricter in their moral judgment of others but are more lenient about their own behavior, the study suggests. READ FULL ARTICLE
December 7, 2009
Are We Addicted To Giving Our Own Opinions
Are We Addicted To Giving Our Own Opinions
November 12, 2009 · Interesting Question Posted by Chris Brogan.
The tools we use for social media have empowered us to be steady-flow commentators. Watch Twitter or Facebook during any event, and you’ll see our added commentary rolling along in time with the experience. At times, such as the US Presidential election, it was exciting to feel that experience, of everyone participating all across the world in an event. There are many more times where it feels like that.
In blog comments, on Twitter, all over Facebook, Yelp, YouTube, and several other sites, we’ve been groomed to give our opinion. We spit it out everywhere. We share, rate, criticize, deride, praise, and everything in between. Forrester’s Ladder graphic suggests that critics are second on the content ladder, just below creators. FULL STORY
December 5, 2009
Eight Ways to Ruin Your Social-Media Strategy
Eight Ways to Ruin Your Social-Media Strategy
by Catharine P. Taylor
Tags: Facebook, Conversation, Customer Service, Dell Computer Corp., Twitter Inc.…
So you’ve set up a company fan page on Facebook and you’re letting your employees fire off messages to the world via Twitter — or you’re at least thinking about it. Well, congratulations! You’re part of the social-media revolution, which can offer unparalleled access to word-of-mouth buzz among those you most want to reach: your customers, current and future. FULL STORY