Op-Ed Contributor - Wedgwood Is Going Bankrupt Because It Forgot the Lessons of Its Founder - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributor - Wedgwood Is Going Bankrupt Because It Forgot the Lessons of Its Founder - NYTimes.com: "Josiah was an unlikely hero. He was the 13th child of an impoverished potter; a childhood case of smallpox left Josiah with a bad leg that was later amputated, making it impossible for him to turn a potter’s wheel. But if he could not physically throw a pot, he could — and did — find new ways to get goods to market. He threw himself into various schemes to improve roads and canals. And, more fundamentally, he developed new ways of selling. Most, if not all, of the common techniques in 20th-century sales — direct mail, money-back guarantees, traveling salesmen, self-service, free delivery, buy one get one free, illustrated catalogues — came from Josiah Wedgwood."