The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Transformation Economy by THRESHOLD

Customers are best served and protected when they have many competitive alternatives. We don't like self-serving monopolies. Of course, as sellers we all want to be monopolies, with little competition, ability to charge high prices, bar entry to competitors, and not have to perform the difficult job of constant innovation where value is determined by customers, not industry standards, credentialism, or ineffective regulations. Heavily regulated industries aren't hot beds of innovation. The history of growth is the story of crackpots, cranks, and outsiders innovating new products that replace the existing infrastructure of industries. There are many routes to knowledge. Thomas Edison had little formal education and could not have been licensed as an engineer under today's guidelines. Likewise, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe would not qualify to sit for the architect's certifying exam. Join Ed and Ron as the discuss the deleterious consequences of occupational licensure laws.

Thousands of books are published each year. Some are worthless, fewer still have lasting value, but a handful possess the ability to transform your business (and possibly, your life). Yet with today's busy and demanding schedules, do you feel you don't devote enough time to reading and absorbing new ideas? Then this show is for you. Ed and Ron will explore the best books they read in 2018.

Ed and Ron will discuss some of their favorite shows and guests from 2018, comment on the notable people we lost, as well as some other topics.

The last Friday of every month Ed and Ron will do "Free-Rider Friday." Most of our shows are "topic" driven, where we dive deep into one subject. Free-Rider Fridays are designed to be "event" driven, whatever issues are in the news that we (or you) find worthy of commentary. In economics, free riding means reaping the benefits from the actions of others and consequently refusing to bear the full costs of those actions. This means Ed and Ron will free ride off of the news, and each other, with no advanced knowledge of the events either will bring up. If you'd like to call-in during the live show, the listener line is: 866-472-5790. You can also participate on Twitter at #ASKTSOE, @asktsoe, or email us at asktsoe@verasage.com

The Subscription Economy: The idea is to turn customers into subscribers. As the world moves from experiences to access and transformations over ownership and deliverables, customization, not standardization, and constant improvement, not planned obsolescence, will be the new normal. McKinsey reports that the subscription ecommerce market has grown by more than 100% a year for the past 5 years. Subscription-based companies are currently growing eight times faster than the S&P 500 (17.6% vs. 2.2%), and five times more than US retail sales (17.6% vs. 3.6%). Join Ed and Ron as they continue their exploration of this business model and its implications for organizations across industries, including professional firms.

Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1898 – May 21, 1983) was an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that The Ordeal of Change (1963) was his finest work. Hoffer was born in 1898 in The Bronx, New York, to Knut and Elsa (Goebel) Hoffer. His parents were immigrants from Alsace, then part of Imperial Germany. When he was five, his mother fell down the stairs with him in her arms. He recalled, I lost my sight at the age of seven. Two years before, my mother and I fell down a flight of stairs. She didn't recover and died in that second year after the fall. I lost my sight and, for a time, my memory. His eyesight inexplicably returned when he was 15. Join Ed and Ron for a look at Eric Hoffer's body of work and legacy.

The last Friday of every month Ed and Ron will do "Free-Rider Friday." Most of our shows are "topic" driven, where we dive deep into one subject. Free-Rider Fridays are designed to be "event" driven, whatever issues are in the news that we (or you) find worthy of commentary. In economics, free riding means reaping the benefits from the actions of others and consequently refusing to bear the full costs of those actions. This means Ed and Ron will free ride off of the news, and each other, with no advanced knowledge of the events either will bring up. If you'd like to call-in during the live show, the listener line is: 866-472-5790. You can also participate on Twitter at #ASKTSOE, @asktsoe, or email us at asktsoe@verasage.com.

Ron and Ed are excited to have on economist and blogger Warren Meyer. Warren runs a large small business, by which he means that it seems to require a tremendous amount of work for the money it makes. His company runs parks and campgrounds under concession contracts with public recreation authorities. Before becoming an entrepreneur he worked from other people in companies as large as Exxon and as small as 3-person Internet startups. He has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a mechanical engineering degree from Princeton University. But we are going to speak with him about his blogging activities including his work at CoyoteBlog.com and Climate-Skeptic.com He also has written a novel called BMOC and several books and videos on climate change.

The Subscription Economy: The idea is to turn customers into subscribers. As the world moves from experiences to access and transformations over ownership and deliverables, customization, not standardization, and constant improvement, not planned obsolescence, will be the new normal. McKinsey reports that the subscription ecommerce market has grown by more than 100% a year for the past 5 years. Subscription-based companies are currently growing eight times faster than the S&P 500 (17.6% vs. 2.2%), and five times more than US retail sales (17.6% vs. 3.6%). Join Ed and Ron as they discuss this new business model and its implications for organizations across industries, including professional firms.

Ed and Ron are honored to interview Dr. Walter Williams. He has made scores of radio and television appearances which include "Nightline," "Firing Line," "Face the Nation," Milton Friedman's "Free To Choose," "Crossfire," "MacNeil/Lehrer," "Wall Street Week" and was a regular commentator for "Nightly Business Report." He is also occasional substitute host for the "Rush Limbaugh" show. In addition Dr. Williams writes a nationally syndicated weekly column that is carried by approximately 140 newspapers and several web sites. His most recent documentary is "Suffer No Fools," shown on PBS stations Fall/Spring 2014/2015, based on his book, Up from the Projects: An Autobiography. Join us for what is sure to be a fascinating discussion.