Branding

The process of developing a brand or brand strategy for a product, service, or organization.  Read More

Brand

Often referred to as a promise or expectation, a brand is the collective market understanding or perspective of a company, product, or service (either from the perspective of customers, competitors, partners, or peers). A strong brand can have considerable value in the marketplace but this value is only derived in action and does not appear on a company’s balance sheet as an asset in many countries, such as the US. Brand value is difficult to measure... Read More

Bottom of the Pyramid

A term developed by Stuart Hart and C. K. Prahalad at the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and now popularized by Prahalad’s book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. It refers to the poorest people in the world. These people tend to pay more for the same food, products, and borrowing than rich people and are usually underserved by markets and services. Contrary to most expectations, because of their numbers, they still represent a huge market... Read More

Bootstrapping

A term derived from a German legend about Baron Münchhausen who pulled himself from a swamp by his own shoelaces or bootstraps. It refers to starting a business with limited capital and growing it based primarily on internally-generated profit instead of external investment.  Read More

Biosphere

Coined in 1875 by Eduard Suess, the biosphere is that part of a planet’s outer shell—including air, land, and water—within which life occurs, and which biotic processes alter or transform. From the broadest geophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere (rocks), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere... Read More

Biomimicry

Applying lessons learned from the study of natural methods and systems to the design of technology. Science writer Janine Benyus articulates nine principles in her 1997 book Biomimicry: 1. Nature runs on sunlight 2. Nature uses only the energy it needs 3. Nature fits form to function 4. Nature recycles everything 5. Nature rewards cooperation 6. Nature banks on diversity 7. Nature demands local expertise 8. Nature curbs excesses from within 9. Nature... Read More

Biodiversity

The biological diversity of life on Earth. As human influence spreads, there is concern over the reduction of the total number of species and its effect on economics, medicine, and the ability of ecosystems to remain viable. Some measures of biodiversity loss are the World Wildlife Fund’s Inventory, and the IUCN Red List. WEO Wilson (Harvard University) and Peter Raven (Missouri Botanical Gardens) are key leaders in tracking and understanding the... Read More

Balanced Scorecard

A process introduced by Robert S. Kaplan and David Norton in 1992 designed to give managers tools for measuring the performance of a business from a: • Financial perspective, • Customer perspective, • Business process perspective, and a • Learning and growth perspective  Read More

Assessment

A personal opinion or judgement, which can be made with or without a basis, or grounding, for the claim. Business people function more effectively when they are aware of their assessments and are open to readdressing them.  Read More

Assertion

A statement or claim, based on observable facts, which carries an implied promise to provide evidence (making them grounded assertions as opposed to ungrounded ones).  Read More