A college business professor once dazzled his class by reducing the world’s myriad businesses to a single sentence: “All companies do one of two things; they make or sell a product or service.”

For years, I thought this guy was a genius, until I started working in the financial sector. I realized right away that services are products, so I could shorten his statement to “All companies do one of two things; they make or sell a product.” ... (more)