by Bruce | June 9, 2017 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Strategy
Much chatter lately has been devoted to, “Whither Uber?” Is its famous unicorn valuation justified and defensible? If it can’t, or shouldn’t, continue to give its middle finger to regulatory authorities on every major continent, will its growth...
by Bruce | June 5, 2017 | Adam Smith Himself, Articles
Adam Smith’s 294th birthday. An alternate calendar convention puts his birthday on June 16, 1723; the difference has to do with whether you do (June 16) or do not (June 5) adjust his birthday to reconcile it with the adoption of the Gregorian (Continental)...
by Bruce | June 2, 2017 | About the Site, Articles, Compensation
With this column we inaugurate a new and, we hope, long-running feature on Adam Smith, Esq.: A question of the month. Questions will vary, widely we suspect, and we invite readers’ suggestions for suitable future questions. We prefer them to be–and will...
by Bruce | May 31, 2017 | About the Site, Articles, Book Reviews
With pleasure I can announce that Tomorrowland: Scenarios for law firms beyond the horizon is now available as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. For those of you who might appreciate this format, it’s a little shy of a seven-hour “read,”...
by Bruce | May 28, 2017 | Articles
by Bruce | May 25, 2017 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
Returning from nearly a full week in Prague–delivering the keynote at the second annual 2017 Innovation Legal Services Forum and meeting with firms there–a few reflections. A very few cities in the world are truly global centers: You can count them on the...
by Bruce | May 24, 2017 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Globalization
Belatedly, a quick look at an article published last week in the equivlent of the Czech “Financial Times,” which occupied the entire back page of the issue. Hospodarske Noviny is a five day/week newspaper circulated widely among the Prague and Czech...
by Bruce | May 16, 2017 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Globalization, Leadership
We’re in Prague for most of this week meeting with some firms and delivering the keynote at Ecoomia.cz’s annual Innovative Legal Services Forum. Thanks to our lead host, Jaroslav Kramer. The leading Czech business newspaper was kind enough to print an article about us...
by Bruce | May 12, 2017 | Articles, Business Models, Globalization, Leadership, Marketing, Strategy, Technology strategy
One may fervently hope that regular readers have come to expect certain recurring customs here at Adam Smith, Esq., and today we honor that expectation with our usual “Letter from _____,” when we’ve just returned from a significant trip and have some...
by Bruce | April 17, 2017 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Strategy
Are you, like me, beginning to feel sorry for the traditional retail industry? Lately, the litany of bad-news stories has become relentless. (Yes, I just wrote about this from a different angle; today I have a different theme.) The latest synchrony of doom and gloom...
