Content about Punctuation

CINCINNATI — Crest and Oral-B Pro-Health have partnered with Luke Joeckel, offensive tackle from Texas A&M, to "Go Pro" with his oral care and to help others "Go Pro" in their careers, with a donation to the international non-profit organization Dress for Success.

AVON, Ohio — Duck Tape is heading to the runway this Thursday on Lifetime’s “Project Runway,” as season 11’s aspiring designers face the “Unconventional Materials Challenge,” a competition in every season that challenges them to create high-fashion clothing from something other than fabric.

CHICAGO — United Airlines on Friday announced the opening of the airline’s new employee health clinic at O’Hare International Airport. The clinic, managed by Walgreens, will serve a broad scope of employees’ health needs, such as urgent care for routine illness, travel and other immunizations including flu shots, prepackaged medications, job-related physical training and pre-employment physicals, at no cost to employees. 

The vast majority of product launches, reorganizations, mergers and improvement initiatives either fail or grossly disappoint. In all, roughly 90% of major projects violate their own schedule, budget or quality standards.

Obviously these performance gaps are not part of the plan. Companies that work together to create very concise business plans, supported by a constant rhythm of team meetings, are more apt to stay on course and execute their plans with precision.

Seems obvious, so why do most initiatives breakdown?

NEW YORK — Men’s grooming tools are all the buzz this holiday as men’s grooming appliances purchased for the holidays gained 34%, now representing 12% of dollar sales for the year, according to the NPD Group.

Recently, I had a brief conversation with a man I admire and respect very much, regarding the cover story of the Oct. 15 issue of DSN, “Building the ACO.”


“Eder, what’s an ACO?” the man asked.


I explained that it stands for accountable care organization; basically, it means providers from different practice settings working together to spread primary care responsibility across an integrated healthcare team. 


“You think that’s good?”


Oh, Canada. In some ways, you’re showing your much bigger neighbor in the south the way forward in taking pharmacy to a higher level of practice. And if we’re smart, we’ll pay attention to the results. I’m talking about last week’s announcement by the provincial government of Ontario to expand the role of pharmacists so they can offer services that were previously the exclusive turf of the province’s 25,000 doctors.

Warren Buffet once shared: “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you.”  Most people believe they operate with integrity and transparency, but the dirty little secret is that your customers may see you as biased or not as valuable as you think. 

“The dirty little secret is that the ‘how’ counts as much as the ‘what.’”

I recently interviewed a diverse group of retail executives concerning their needs and how they perceive the engagement style of their supplier partners. The comments shared were very telling and offer each of us an opportunity to look in the mirror. Are you truly being effective when you are presenting your companies innovations and business cases?

NEW YORK — Procter & Gamble, in partnership with Walmart.com, is targeting urban shoppers in New York and Chicago throughout the month of June to offer savings on limited-edition everyday essentials.

Through the promotion — which kicked off in Chicago on Wednesday and launched in New York on Thursday — P&G is bringing to life its “everyday needs delivered for free” message for consumables.

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble’s Head & Shoulders brand has unveiled "The Good Girlfriend Guide," an e-manual of positive girlfriend-to-girlfriend advice tackling everything from beauty faux pas to relationship hang-ups.

In July, Head & Shoulders’ girlfriend ambassador, Alyson Hannigan, joined the brand and encouraged women across the country to visit the Head & Shoulders for Women Facebook fan page to share their girlfriend wisdom.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — “[Charlie] never wanted the spotlight,” longtime friend and colleague Al Kraus noted in an online post, recalling a conversation with Charlie Bowlus over a drink one night in 1994, at the end of the very first ECRM show. “His first show had maybe 80 people. ... I asked him if he made any money on the show. He said, ‘I don’t know, but a lot of people did business, and it was a hell of a party.’”