Scattered Thoughts

Maybe you can blame this on my mind being a little scattered now that tax season is over.  I, however, will frame it as my mind is more open.

Either way, here is a little take on three news stories I saw earlier this week that I thought had lessons in them that were worth passing along.

First off, Pizza Hut’s original pan pizza is being remade. Whether or not there is then any value left then in the “original” moniker can be debated, but if the goal is to make a better product, that can’t be too bad, can it?

Beyond that, this CNN article was actually more interesting than I thought it would be, describing how Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Pizza Hut are in a tug-of-war competition to stay relevant, have new offerings, and embrace new technologies.

On the surface, it may seem like this is too much work for the companies. I mean those are three names that everyone knows, and everyone knows what they offer. It does, however, go to show that even when you reach a high level of success you cannot just rest on your laurels.

There is value in having a traditional offering. There can be greater value in realizing when your traditional offering needs to evolve if you want to continue holding your position (remember Kodak?). Be great at what you do - and we don’t have to get into a discussion here about what makes “great” pizza, these companies are still great at what they do - but also do not remain stuck in your ways. Only then can your famous name carry on.

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Speaking of iconic names …

The brand and intellectual property of Sports Illustrated was sold recently for $110 million to Authentic Brands Group. That sentence has to be framed like that because Meredith Corporation, the former owner, will continue to publish the magazine and website under the Sports Illustrated name. What this means is that Sports Illustrated brand is worth more than the magazine that began the brand.

Names can stand for something beyond your current work, so be sure you’re standing for the
right things.

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And speaking of standing for something …

MacKenzie Bezos joined the rank of the world’s wealthiest people following her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.  She recently committed to giving at least half of her estimated $36.6 billion worth to charity.

Do you read stories like that and think about how nice it would be to have that amount of money with which to do good? Then I urge you to still do what you can with what you have. When it comes to how you spend your money, there is value in the feeling you get from helping others that can outweigh the pleasure of purchasing goods.

With changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, making charitable donations became less of a tax issue for many, so I wanted to take the chance to close this week with that reminder that it’s still worth doing.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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