The trials and tribulations of Dare Foods, along with its well-drafted shareholders’ agreement, show how good corporate governance reinforces the ability of courts to defer to directors’ business judgment.

Since the mid-1990s, management-metaphor boutique Serendipity Associates (SA) has been offering clients sizzling similes and snappy sound bites. But the head of SA, Barton Brady, gets word that someone is now poaching in his territory. It's the low-rent operation Tropes R Us, which has started offshoring production to Ireland and will soon flood the market with high-quality, low-cost metaphors. Does this move confirm Brady's fear that the U.S. is losing its competitive edge in right-brain work? Four experts comment on this fictional case study in R0809A and R0809Z. Daniel H. Pink, an author and consultant, says SA should move to higher ground--to find new ways to differentiate itself on the basis of right-brain capabilities that will be difficult to offshore. Doing this, he writes, requires an education system that nurtures creativity. John Chuang, CEO of talent consulting firm Aquent, writes that Brady could rally U.S. citizens to protest the country's current immigration policy, which makes it difficult for companies to import top talent. Brady should also broaden the definition of SA's business. Richard Phelps, a human resource executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers, argues that contrary to the prevailing view of many in the West, workers in emerging economies are equal to the demands of creative work. SA should assemble the best right brains on the planet and either hire them or contract with them to represent the SA brand. Charlie Wrench, the CEO of brand and design consulting firm Landor Associates, advises Brady not to worry about his country--which Wrench believes will continue to attract a disproportionate share of the world's creative talent--but about his multinational clients, who need service providers to display a powerful combination of right-brain and left-brain skills.

Since the mid-1990s, management-metaphor boutique Serendipity Associates (SA) has been offering clients sizzling similes and snappy sound bites. But the head of SA, Barton Brady, gets word that someone is now poaching in his territory. It's the low-rent operation Tropes R Us, which has started offshoring production to Ireland and will soon flood the market with high-quality, low-cost metaphors. Does this move confirm Brady's fear that the U.S. is losing its competitive edge in right-brain work? Four experts comment on this fictional case study in R0809A and R0809Z. Daniel H. Pink, an author and consultant, says SA should move to higher ground--to find new ways to differentiate itself on the basis of right-brain capabilities that will be difficult to offshore. Doing this, he writes, requires an education system that nurtures creativity. John Chuang, CEO of talent consulting firm Aquent, writes that Brady could rally U.S. citizens to protest the country's current immigration policy, which makes it difficult for companies to import top talent. Brady should also broaden the definition of SA's business. Richard Phelps, a human resource executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers, argues that contrary to the prevailing view of many in the West, workers in emerging economies are equal to the demands of creative work. SA should assemble the best right brains on the planet and either hire them or contract with them to represent the SA brand. Charlie Wrench, the CEO of brand and design consulting firm Landor Associates, advises Brady not to worry about his country--which Wrench believes will continue to attract a disproportionate share of the world's creative talent--but about his multinational clients, who need service providers to display a powerful combination of right-brain and left-brain skills.

Since the mid-1990s, management-metaphor boutique Serendipity Associates (SA) has been offering clients sizzling similes and snappy sound bites. But the head of SA, Barton Brady, gets word that someone is now poaching in his territory. It's the low-rent operation Tropes R Us, which has started offshoring production to Ireland and will soon flood the market with high-quality, low-cost metaphors. Does this move confirm Brady's fear that the U.S. is losing its competitive edge in right-brain work? Four experts comment on this fictional case study in R0809A and R0809Z. Daniel H. Pink, an author and consultant, says SA should move to higher ground--to find new ways to differentiate itself on the basis of right-brain capabilities that will be difficult to offshore. Doing this, he writes, requires an education system that nurtures creativity. John Chuang, CEO of talent consulting firm Aquent, writes that Brady could rally U.S. citizens to protest the country's current immigration policy, which makes it difficult for companies to import top talent. Brady should also broaden the definition of SA's business. Richard Phelps, a human resource executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers, argues that contrary to the prevailing view of many in the West, workers in emerging economies are equal to the demands of creative work. SA should assemble the best right brains on the planet and either hire them or contract with them to represent the SA brand. Charlie Wrench, the CEO of brand and design consulting firm Landor Associates, advises Brady not to worry about his country--which Wrench believes will continue to attract a disproportionate share of the world's creative talent--but about his multinational clients, who need service providers to display a powerful combination of right-brain and left-brain skills.

Services dominate the world's established economies (such as those of the US, Germany, and Finland) and are becoming increasingly important in developing economies, including those of China and India. Yet most companies, national governments, and universities do not put much energy into service research, innovation, or education. This ironic juxtaposition of facts has led us, along with others, to promote a focus on service research and service innovation across companies and institutions. We call this the "service imperative." In this article, we present our view of the service imperative as a burning platform that is giving birth to many hopeful directions for the future of the global economy. We believe that companies and nations which embrace the service imperative will prosper and benefit, as will individuals who do the same. We also contend that widespread embracing of the service imperative can lead to improved quality of life for people worldwide.

How do you market to marketing-savvy consumers? According to this professor, today's consumers, ironically enough, appreciate the authenticity of the old-fashioned, up-front sales pitch.

Mainstream marketing has become so obsessed with rigor, quantification, and scientific rectitude that it has lost sight of the importance of magic, mystery, and imagination. We need to restore the balance somewhat, and the way to do that is to take a look at the boy wizard who has captivated the hearts and minds of readers the world over--and turned marketing on its head. Close examination reveals that Harry Potter is more than a mere passing marketing fad. Harry is different because the books are as much about marketing as the outcome of marketing. They deal with marketing matters, they are full of marketing artifacts, they contain analyses of marketplace phenomena, and they provide insights into the contemporary marketing condition. The books refer to almost every element of the marketing mix, as well as aspects of buyer behavior, environmental conditions, and marketing research. Harry Potter unknowingly has the power to transform the modern marketing paradigm from the positivistic trappings of modern marketing into the magical, mysterious, imaginative substance of postmodern marketing.

In the past decade, marketing gurus have called for customer care, customer focus, even--shudder--customer centricity. But according to marketing professor Stephen Brown, the customer craze has gone too far. In this article, he makes the case for "retromarketing"--a return to the days when marketing succeeded by tormenting customers rather than pandering to them. Using vivid examples, Brown shows that many recent consumer marketing coups have decidedly not been customer driven. They've relied instead on five basic retromarketing principles: First, exclusivity. Retromarketing eschews the modern marketing proposition of "Here it is, there's plenty for everyone" by holding back supplies and delaying gratification. You want it? Can't have it. Try again later, pal. Second, secrecy. Whereas modern marketing is up-front and transparent, retromarketing revels in mystery, intrigue, and covert operations. (Consider the classic "secret" recipes that have helped to purvey all sorts of comestibles.) The key is to make sure the existence of a secret is never kept secret. Third, amplification. In a world of incessant commercial chatter, amplification is vital, and it can be induced in many ways, from mystery to affront to surprise. Fourth, entertainment. Marketing must divert, engage, and amuse. The lack of entertainment is modern marketing's greatest failure. Fifth, tricksterism. Customers love to be teased. The tricks don't have to be elaborate to be effective; they can come cheap. But the rewards can be great if the brand is embraced, even briefly, by the in crowd. Managers may be dismayed by the thought of deliberately thwarting consumers. But if marketers were really customer oriented, they'd give their customers what they want: old-style, gratuitously provocative marketing.