Weekend Digest: The To-do List Edition

For our weekend business and political readers:

THE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL TO-DO LISTS
How do some of the world’s most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs manage their to-do lists? Fast Company compiles a number of tips from names you know and respect.

Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Co.:

Each morning I keep myself on track by writing down three to five of my must-do items for the day on a Post-It note. (I used to use a small notepad but when I spilled beer on it, I wiped out a bunch of pages. If I wipe out one Post-it, it’s easy to grab another one.)

Read more on the subject (and scratch this read off your to-do list) at this link.

BIG DATA AND THE PERSONAL TOUCH
What does “big data” offer that will revolutionize the customer experience? For starters, the ability to personalize offers to shoppers based on their preferences.

You may find a customer motivated by 20% discounts or one who is more inclined to be the first in line to buy a new product with no discount needed. Without seeing a customer in person to be able to gauge the right sales pitch, big data allows for that customization in online or mobile transactions.

In a traditional bazaar a seller might charge a well-dressed buyer twice as much as another based on visual clues or accents. Big data allows for a far more scientific approach to selling at different prices, depending on an individual’s willingness to pay.

“Historically, first-degree price discrimination has been very difficult to implement, mostly for logistical reasons,” said Harvard Business School professor John Gourville. “With advances in technology and collecting of big data, then it may be that it will become easier to do. However, very quickly you start eliciting complaints about ‘fairness.’?”

Could companies suffer negative publicity by offering differential pricing?  It’s a risk, but as this Forbes article suggests, it may be a risk retailers are willing to take.

ACXIOM CEO ON BIG DATA AND PRIVACY
While on the subject of big data, Acxiom’s CEO Scott Howe has been on a media tour lately offering his take on the possible regulation of his data collection and marketing industry.

Howe has been telling trade industry audiences that he supports tougher privacy regulations, just not vague ones like those suggested by a Senate committee that’s been exploring the subject.

The CEO of Acxiom is not, however, a fan of the current bill being put forth in Congress and, speaking to a crowd at the Rutberg Global Summit in Atlanta today, said the outcome if the bill sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V. passes will be worse than the worst part of the Affordable Care Act.

“If you think about the worst part of the ACA, welcome to the data bills,” he said.

What does Howe view as more realistic for regulating his industry? Read more in this AdAge interview.

CAN BLACKBERRY REBOUND?
The question has been posed a thousand times. New CEO John Chen provided hints at the mobile tech company’s future in a recent analyst call after disclosing the latest quarterly loss of $573 million. What has Chen done so far in his short tenure?

Since becoming president and chief executive of BlackBerry in November, John S. Chen has revamped the company’s executive ranks, accelerated layoffs, farmed out some phone development, cut costs and sold real estate.

Now he is turning his attention to the troubled company’s future, and it is one in which its once-popular smartphones will play a much less important role.

What might Blackberry seek to capitalize on in the near-term and long-term future? Read more of Chen’s comments from this New York Times article.

IT’S NOT THE ECONOMY, STUPID
The Washington Post examines the mid-term prospects for Democrats for holding the U.S. Senate, including how a tough economy may force messaging in a different direction.

Senate Democrats’ latest effort in that regard is a 10-point plan for legislation they intend to bring to the floor over the spring and summer. The issues are familiar ones for Democrats, and poll well among Americans generally.

What are some of these potential legislative items and how might they move key Democratic constituencies to the polls this November? Read more at this link.

SWEARING JOHN BOEHNER
The Hill.com compiles a choice list of House Speaker John Boehner’s best cussing moments. The leader of the House majority has a selective way – publicly and privately – of driving home the point he’s trying to make. Expletives and blunt speech are a key part of his strategy and, apparently, his natural demeanor.

The Speaker has dropped the F-bomb on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), called multiple Republicans “assholes” and raised “hell” about countless Obama administration proposals and decisions.

In public, Boehner’s obscenities tend to be in the PG-13 vein, rather than rated R.

Boehner is bipartisan in his application of salty language. Read the full R-rated version of the story at this link.

THE PRESIDENT AND THE POPE
Politico recounts President Obama’s trip to the Vatican this past week where Obama met for a private meeting with Pope Francis.

The meeting clearly held symbolic importance for Obama — aides described it as a personal highlight of his trip through Europe. Senior officials said the president, once a community organizer who worked in Catholic churches in Chicago, was taken by the pope’s message on poverty and charisma, just like millions of others around the world. He feels a certain kinship with the pope, one adviser said.

For 52 minutes — longer than expected — the pope and the president talked alone in the papal library, absent the dozens of handlers, security personnel and senior staff that shadow Obama’s every move. The one-on-one meeting is unheard of on foreign visits, though routine for audiences with the pope.

There was an air of mystery Thursday night, even among senior staff, of what exactly the two men discussed.  Read the political gospel at this link.

ANTHONY WEINER BECOMES A STRAIGHT-UP COLUMNIST
Disgraced former Congressman and New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner is re-inventing himself as a columnist for Business Insider.

The Washington Post says Weiner may become the “most popular Internet columnist of all time.” How so?

Finding and keeping a readership is an essential part of being a good Internet columnist. Besides talking about hot topics like Silicon Valley and Elon Musk and Chris Christie, Weiner also talks about swinging dead cats in Washington. Which is apparently something that people have thought a lot about in our nation’s history.

Read more about Weiner’s recent travails in the column world at this link.

THE MAN IN BLACK RETURNS
Arkansas native Johnny Cash is one of the legends of American music. This week, a never-before-released 1980’s album from Cash made its way to the public. Cash’s son, John Carter, opened up about his father by telling several stories related to Bob Dylan and the Cash’s favorite foods.

Could there be more Cash music coming years after his death? Read more from Rolling Stone at this link.

FROM PARIS, IT’S FLANNERY O’CONNOR
One of the South’s greatest writers, Flannery O’Connor remains a mystic figure. Author of two novels and a multitude of short stories, O’Connor was very influential in the 20th century American literature scene.

The Paris Review has assembled a collection of interviews and notes on O’Connor’s life from those who knew her and some who were influenced by her writings. If you are a fan, you’ll want to check out this link.