Subway Reading

Here are the highlights from the usual reading on the journey to work -- rag that killed the time: BusinessWeek Dec. 13, 2004 issue.

Carly's Challenge -- Carly Fiorina has been at HP's helm for five years now, and the lustre may be wearing off on her stay. She set out to build HP into a huge firm with offerings in just about every technology area. She acquired Compaq for US$19 billion in 2002, and has since then, doubled HP's sales. Yet, HP may be spread too thin and unable to manage its many diverse businesses. Printing remains HP's most profitable business, and is being used to shore up the under performance of other businesses. In the PC business for example, 2004 operating margin is 0.9% -- way behind industry leader Dell's 8.8%. In corporate computing products, HP's 2004 operating margin is 3% -- way behind industry leader IBM's 11%. That's causing investors to suggest radical changes for the company -- like break it apart. On their own, the parts would be valued more than the whole -- about US$15 billion to US$27 billion according to some estimates.

Lawyer-CEOs -- how do CEOs who are lawyers fair? I was surprised by the number of lawyers that are leading some fairly large companies. American Express, Time-Warner, Citigroup and Viacom are all headed by lawyers. In our litigious times, is having a lawyer at the helm insurance? In some cases it is -- not just for their risk aversion, but sometimes as well, for who they know.

Cirque du Soleil -- Cirque do Soleil continues to mint money, and not just on their tours, but also their productions that are in residence at Las Vegas Casinos and resorts. Cirque's latest in residence production is at the MGM Grand. Kà cost US$165 million to create and stage -- the expected payback however is astounding: US$2 million per week. In just one year, Cirque and MGM will be able to recoup their investments -- after that, let the profits flow.

Working Class Military -- one way to get ahead in the US is to join the military. It's risky, but if you serve in a conflict, get promoted up the ranks, your personal investment could be worth a hefty paycheck. Businesses are learning the value of hiring reservists. They come back with leadership shills, ability to manage stress, etc. If you survive the risks however.

Physics of Colour -- This article looks at Xerox's investment in colour technology, in hopes of increasing profits. The interesting bit however, was the physics behind colour printing. Colour in the printing industry is all about perception. Matching a colour that you see on the screen with what gets printed out on paper isn't easy. The colours on your screen are luminous -- you can change it by increasing or decreasing light intensity. On paper however, colour is changed by adding or removing black to darken or lighten an image. Perception of a colour depends on what colour is near it. Being able to trick the eye into perceiving is one thing -- being able to accurately reproduce a specific colour is another. Toner is made up of tiny particles -- but if those particles aren't uniform in size and shape, the colours produced by them can be off. Xerox is work on building toner particles molecule by molecule, that way they can ensure uniform size and shape, and consequently, accurate color reproduction.