brand-as-business bit:  Carol Roth wrote a ChangeThis manifesto that challenged some of the conventional myths about entrepreneurship. She took on the “follow your passion” movement, which suggests that you should earn a living from your greatest life passion. Roth points out: “Zappos.com is a business where passion followed opportunity but wasn’t the starting point. I […]

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For the retail industry, the Great Recession has become the Great Malaise. Last week, Karen Talley reported in the Wall Street Journal that most retailers missed expectations for May. While there were some bright spots, the 25 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters posted 4.9% growth in May same-store sales, instead of the expected 5.4% gain. […]