| OCR Text |
Show TheSaltLakeTribune BUSINESS @ MOTLEY FOOL E-2 M CHARLES JAFFE, E-3 Ml HUMBERTO CRUZ E-4 MAY7, 2000 Wells CEO:First Security a GoodFit BY LESLEY MITCHELL Compiled by Lisa Carricaburu THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Money Means SAN FRANCISCO — Richard Kovacevichhates to shop. Butit is not unusual to see Kovacevich, who earned more than $5 million last year as chief exec- weer Different Things To Blacks, Whites utive of Wells Fargo & Co., strolling down theaisles of discount retailers such as Wal-Mart or Target. Asurveyby Ariel Mutual Funds and Charles Schwabasked AfricanAmerican and white investors whether they agree with several statements about money, the stock market andthe financial-services industry. Kovacevich, 55, who will be CEOof Utah’s largest bank when Wells completes its acquisition of Here are the responses: Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune @ Stockbrokers andfinancial advisers are more interested in moneyfor themselves than in giving you good advice: whites, 45 percent; blacks, 58 percent. @ Overthepast several years, you © haye personally benefited from the strong stock market: whites, 68 percent; blacks, 51 percent. @ Youjust don’t trustthe stock First Security, believes banks can learn a lot studying the way these retailers operate. “Stores are not just transaction Richard Kovacevich, CEO of Wells Fargo Bank,says his banks said Kovacevich (prowill offer a variety of financial services. In background, Spencer centers,” nounced Koe-VAH-suh-vich). Eccles, CEO of First Security Bank. Wells Fargois in the pro- “They are sales centers. How cess of acquiring First Security in a deal announced in April. manyretailers do you knowthat wouldn’t want customers in their stores? Banks shouldlookatit the same way.” Since he was appointed Wells Fargo CEO in November 1998, Kovacevich has turned the company’s business model on its head. Just four years ago, Wells Fargo was focused on developing its Web page and saving money by devising ways to get customers to do most of their banking using automated teller machinesor the Internet rather than going to branch offices. When Wells Fargo acquired First Interstate Bank in 1996, for example, it sold six low- volume rural Utah branches in Logan,St. George, Cedar City and Coalville. The companyat one point even charged customersusing its free called the bank’s toll-free line to talk to a customer-service operator more than three times a month. “The people who ran the old Wells Fargo were techies,” said Kenneth Thomas, a finance lecturer with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School: Wells still is committed to technology. It operates one of the largest Internet banks and is expandingits network of ATMs and the services they can provide. Just this week, the company unveiled a new type of ATM that shows moviepreviews. But the company’snew focusis on the cross-selling strategy Ko- vacevich honed while CEO -of Norwest Corp. He believes customers should be encouraged ‘to checking account $1.50 if they See WELLS CEO,Page E-6 marketwith your money:whites,23 percent; blacks, 34 percent. @ You know more aboutinvesting and managing your financesthan your parents: whites, 69 percent; blacks, 78 percent. How Well Have You Branded Yourself in Your Career? Listed below are fifteen questions to determine how brand-savvy you are about your career: The more honest you are in your answers,the faster you can build your brand. Circle the letter that best describes your situation. — The Seattle Times Q A majority of women (53 percent) believe outearning their husbands would cause problems in the marriage, according to a studyof 851 randomly selected households by New York-based Prudential Securities. Just 34 percent of men responded similarly to the question. — Gannett News Service Utah authorexplains ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Will Yours Compare? Asurvey by the American Compensation Association found that companies’ average budgets for salaries aré expected to rise in the 4 percent can and will remain at thatlevelin 2001. ‘Thatmeansworkers’salariesaren’t percent surveyfound that nonunion workers time hours) and nonexemptsalaried workers can expect an average 4.2 percent salary increase this year and next. Exemptsalaried workers can expect a 4.4 percentraise each year, and officers and executives can expect a 4.6 percentsalaryincrease in 2000 and 4.7 percentraise in 2001. — The Associated Press Q | Just in Case Oneofthe best-keptcorporate secrets: Mostlarge companiesare in- | sured ifan employee is kidnapped. Sixty percentof Fortune 500 compa\ nies now carry kidnap-and-ransom ) ii nsurance, according to Rob Youare talented, educated, ambitious, eager. You arrive for work early, stay late, show up ‘smiling at the company picnic. So why does. the operator keep telling your callers, “There’s no one here by that name.” Whydoes the big boss breeze by Retirees Abroad America has its baby boom bulge of retirees ahead, but inadequate pen| sion plans and longerlife spans are far more serious problems forthe rest of the world. A studyrel it week by the U.N.-affiliated International Labor Organization 90 percentofthe global workforce lacks pensionplans capable of pro adequate retirement income. Colin Gillion, directorof the labor organizat jal securi ment, said the U.S. ‘agheuach ial | peregin eenby eager. | jamalots to follow, las Morning News ‘a. | love my job. My skills and personality fit myjob perfectly. b. Myjobis OK. What | am relly good at and what the job requires don't exactly ‘match up. . am just passing the time until Your boss!(or cients) favorite color? (es No Your boss’ or cients) favorite restaurant or food? Yes No ‘Sports or otheractivities your boss (or client) likes? “The last thing you want to be in to- Yes Haskins says, The Salt Lake City native has made a careerof distinguishing the nondescript. AtProctor & Gamble, he created brands for products such as Sure deodorant (Raise Your Hand If You’re Sure) and Vidal Sassoonhair-care products (If You Don’t Look Good, We Don’t Look Good). Haskins spent16 years as a P&G brand manager and as vice president of marketing at Walt Disney Co. Over time, he arrived at a realization that would launch No 5, Do you have a written plan of where you want {to be in your careerthree years from now (circle one): Yes No 6. If you were fired tomorrow (or dropped by an important client), do you know your industry well enough to know where you would find your next {ob (circle one): ‘Skill your boss (client) is looking for in an employee? (circle one): Yes No 14. If you answered yes to question 13, name the most important skill your boss (client) is looking for: . eee Yes No 7. When was the last time you asked your boss Pen or abilities were necessary him on newcreative quest as an author something | really want to do comes along. 13 . Do you know what the most important your industry? (circle Yes to succeed in your job? és Scoring Sa ae ener pa on ne ee as the right. ee Give yourself two points for every "Yes" 4. less than six months ago b. Six months to a year c. Never ~ answer and zero points for every "No." Give yourself two points for every “a” answer, 8, How important is your personality in successfully Haskins,a graduateof Salt Lake City’s Qa 12. How would you describe the way you 4. {i Vl an (etc one: day’s competitive work force is generic,” No feel about yourjob? ‘8. Within the last six months special. State University, co-authored a book with | fresh energy and new ideas,” said Julie Biber, Chicago-based recruitment managerfor Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, which has 1,700 | employeesin 38 offices. Last November, Edelman instituted a companywide Welcome Back Club as a human-resource initiative. So far, 12 | people have been re-recruited bystaff recommendations, word ofmouth, networking and keeping in touch with past employees. — The Chicago Tribune d. Never promotion, and the one before that, and Boomerang Workers cruitmenttool, butit is confined only to those who left in good graces and were excellent employees thefirst Yes the skill you would advertise: Jearn new skills for your job? the one before that? Your problem, according to marketer Rick Haskins,is that you probably arejust little too generic. Basic blackand white. Nofrills. Passable, perhaps, but nothing No. 11. If you answered yes to question 10, name a. At least once a week bb.Atleast once a month c. Once a while Why were you passed over for the last andcareer consultant: “Theprinciples of branding apply universally,” he says. “They can be used with the sameeffectiveness whether you're dealing with a tube of toothpaste, a computer chip or a person.” They say you can’t go homeagain, but today’s tight labor market means going back to workfor a former employeriisa real possibility: 2. How often do you read trade papers or trade magazines to keep up with what is going on in your industry? 3, When was the last time you attended ‘a. class to either brush up on yourskills or youin the hallway withoutbatting an eye? writer at Hiscox Group, an arm of Lloyds. Sales are growing among smaller companies as well, he said. — USA Today Davies, senior special risks under- Yes 10. If you were given a million dollars to do a TV commercial that advertises your most valuable skill, do you know what that skill ‘would be? (circle one): ‘else who has myjob . Not really the skis! need for my job. yourself for success Q the job market? (circle one): ‘@. Unique and unlike anyone else's in my company or field, b. Pretty much like the skills of everyone how to brand, market BY LISA CARRICABURU 9. Do you know how valuable you are in 1. The skills | bring to my job are: LX Moneyvs. Marriage ‘carrying outyour job? Highland High School and Logan’s Utah 8. Very important. My personaly fits perfectly fellow marketer and career consultant David Andrusia. Published in January, Brand Yourself: How to Create an Identity Sor a Brilliant Career (Ballantine Books, $14),is a guide to developing,refining and communicating unique skills to achieve Give yourself one point each if you answered questions 11 and 14. with my jb. — . 'b. Somewhat important. But | could do my job Bonus:Give yourself three points if the answers to questions 11 and 14 were the same. just as well with a different personality. . Not important at all. try to separate my personality from my job. Grand Total: Please total up the results here. ——- careergoals. Scoring evaluation on Page E:5 MikeMiller/TheSalt Lake Tribune See UTAH AUTHOR,Page E-5 Easy Access to Internet Won AOL Big Market Shareof Cyberspace BY PAULA FELPS ‘THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS DALLAS -- Today’s virtual landscape bears little resemblance to the Internet of 15 years ago. Back then, the Internet was uncharted territory; checking mail still involved actually walking to a mailbox; and the Startup company America Online was behind its competitors, Prodigy and CompuServe. These days, AOL is the undisputed king of the Internet mountain, with more than 22 million subscribers and arguably the most recognized name among Internet service providers (ISPs). AOL, which acquired CompuServe to use as a low-cost service provider, has stayed on top even as lower-cost competitors have grown. Despite busy signals and booting customers off after so many inactive minutes, AOL customers continue to shell out $21.95 a month for unlimited service. ce company, which operates: a jomer-service center in Ogden, attributes its popularity to a wide range of features and services. Butultimately the secretofits success rests in a simple philosophy,it says. “The one thing wefocused on from Day One was the consumer.It has always been about how to makeit easiest for the consumerto use,” says Tricia Primrose, an AOL spokeswoman. “We madeit very easy and convenient for them to load it up and plug it in. The software provides them with easy naviga- tion around the Internet.It’s a very intuitive wayto get around.” But AOL has endured some gaffes, most notably when it moved from charging by the hourto unlimited Internet usage fora flat fee in 1997,Its servers were so overloaded that manyusers couldn't connect to AOL, and many quit the service in favor of other providers. New York's attorney general even threatened to sue AOL if its service didn’t improve. Although customers may occasionally get busy signals during peak t: the ability to connect to the service has improved. Today, AOLers can enter through one of 19 channels and go directly to an area of interest, such as news,sports, health and @ Pros and cons of AOL E-8 personal finance. The channels are easy to enter, easy to use and even the novice user feels at home. Staying on the bleeding edgeof technology already has made AOLa pioneerin areas such as buddylists, instant messaging and chat room Games such as Slingo, an AOL-only combining bingo and slot machineplay, are among its most popular downloads, and Primrose says features suchas parental controls, which can limit usage by younger members ofthe household, are part of AOL'sprofitable charm. “We havea lot ofhouseholds with kids, and things like instant messaging and online chat are wildly popular with them,” Primrose says. “At the same time, we have programs that allow parents to customize them so peAPontea are for those users. Forexample,if you've got a teen-age girl, you can put her on the Mature Teen subchannel and allow her to have instant messaging, but maybe you set up an aproved list of who she gets e-mail from. Cach of the kids in a house can havetheir own ID, and parents can tailor the use for eachone.” For Alexandra Charles, 13, that has made AOLsomething of lifeline. AOL's buddylists allow users to customize thet list of family andfriends. When those “buddies”are online, the user sees their names on a window, and they can chatthrough Instant Messenger, Charles says her ey list includes about 150 names, many of them friends from school. “T use it every day, right when I a homefrom school,” says the Irving, Tex as, middle school student. “As soon as.wé get home,we start chatting.It's like tale ing on the phone, only it’s easier becairse you can talk to several people at cory Usually we have about 12 people at sametime.” Their main topics are gossip and boys, and she says she spends about 10 to ea hours a week chatting with people fforn her buddylist. She says she has met néw people through the chats, beaineee to know classmates better, w |
