Fortune magazine recently published the 100 fastest growing companies. (1) Analyzing this year's list:
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Tony D'Onofrio
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"Emotion is contagious" (1) is a quote from the book "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. On the book cover, the author added the
subtitle "How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference". The premise of the book is that social epidemics have a tipping point, a moment where they go from negligible unseen trends to the next intense wave of popularity.
As one of my favorite books, the concept of a "tipping point" has been a key driver of my life, both personally and professionally. In business, truly lasting success is built on incremental relationship improvements that over time increase the level of contagious emotion. At its most basic element, business is about people relationships.
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Earlier this year Frost & Sullivan published a presentation titled "Bricks & Clicks: Next Generation Retailing" which highlighted the 
following retail industry trends for the year 2025:
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"We are witnessing the birth of a new breed of shopper. They float seamlessly across mobile, online, and real-world platforms as they
travel up and down the purchase path and in doing so, exert tremendous influence over the ways that brands may interact with them and their peer groups. The ways in which they consume information, discover goods and make purchases has forced retailers to contemplate a new mix of transactional, behavioral, and social behaviors to remain competitive." (1) – Pier Fawkes, PSFK
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"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other 
people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." - Steve Jobs
According to a just published study by the Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, human happiness peaks at age 23, hits its low point at
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"James Nesmeth...was an average golfer consistently shooting in the mid-90's, until he developed a unique way of improving his golf 
game. It came while he spent seven years in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war. During those tortuous seven years, Nesmeth lived in a solitary confinement....To keep from losing all hope, he realized that he needed to do something to occupy his mind. So every day he played 18 holes of golf in his mind. He imagined everything in vivid detail...the country club...the smell of the fresh cut grass...the grip of the clubs...practice his swing many times until he perfected it....Upon returning to the actual golf course, he found that he had shaved 20 strokes off his game! By visualizing a perfect game every day for seven years he literally brought his score down to a 74." (1)
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Around the world RFID continues to be piloted in hundreds of retailers. By far the vast majority of the activity is centered in the specialty
soft lines verticals. A handful of major retailers primarily in Europe and North America are post the pilot phase and in full deployment. Retail RFID industry adoption had multiple starts and it is finally coalescing around item level visibility as the foundation to transformational onmichannel retailing. For all the activities and discussions, much more needs to be done to speed up the adoption of this high potential retail technology.
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Being a student of successful global business models and motivational wisdom, this week want to highlight my baker's dozen quotes for 
success.
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This week a video from the IHL Group and a couple of IT posts sparked some thoughts on the evolution of retail as it is accelerating on a
technology shoestring budget.
According to the latest 2013 "State of the CIO" survey from CIO Magazine, the average IT budget as a percentage of revenue is 5.2%, and it was up from 4.7% the previous year. Contrast this to the retail industry where according to Jerry Sheldon from the IHL group, the average IT spend as a percentage of total sales ranged from 1.1% to 1.2%.
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The latest BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands survey has insightful data for both technology companies and the retail 
industry.
For the retail industry, the brand value data projects continued economic recovery especially in the United States and in luxury brands.
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It is a Small World
“What I love most of this crazy life is the adventure of it.” – Juliette Binoche
Continuing the journey to learn something new, we explore the Matterhorn in Zermatt Switzerland. Believed to be 50 to 60 million years old, this world-famous mountain was formed when the African crashed into the European tectonic plate.
The Matterhorn, in Italian known as Monte Cervino and French as Mont Cervin, is the 10th highest mountain in Switzerland at 14,692 feet (4,478 meters). The summit was first reached on July 14, 1865 by a team led by Edward Whymper. During the descent, four members of the team fell to their death. The Matterhorn is one of the most dangerous mountains to climb in the Alps with over 500 deaths to date.
The Matterhorn first appeared on the famous Toblerone chocolate in 1960. Look closely at the mountain on the packaging and you will see a bear. This is a reference to the city of Bern, where Theodor Tobler first invented the chocolate bar.
The town of Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn bans cars to preserve the Alpine environment. The Theodul glacier which you can access from Zermatt is located at 3883 meters (12,740 feet) and offers the highest elevation ski area in Europe.
Being in nature is my go-to motivational escape to clear my mind and prioritize life priorities. Mountains are an amazing inspirational mental canvas because their massive scale makes everything around you, including your worries, feel small. The raw beauty and quiet wilderness provide perspective.
Find your special natural wonder. Enjoy its beauty. Remember that you are here for a short time, and what is around you will live on. Take chances. Setbacks are miniscule, compared to the possibilities of reaching your peak life nirvana. In the lyrics from the Sound of Music, "climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, 'till you find your dream"
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Brilliant Research
What’s Next for Retail in 2026: An Industry Perspective
Confidence in physical retail remains solid this year. More than 55% of survey respondents said they feel confident or very confident about brick-and-mortar performance in 2026, while only around 20% expressed concern. - From Place AI Read more
Smart Infographic
Mapped: The Happiest Countries in the World
The Number 1 country continued lead reinforces a broader trend: countries with strong institutions, high trust, and robust social safety nets consistently rank highest in life satisfaction. - From Visual Capitalist
