Target

After years of pretending it didn't need to keep pace, Target has embraced the latest technical trends and platforms. It's also done a great job of attracting and retaining (for now) some of the best technical talent in the Twin Cities. Most everybody that's anybody closed out the decade there.

It's difficult to successfully launch anything new or innovative unless it's a directive from the C-level. The old guard is so concerned about their "personal brand" and how they'll be perceived by their peers and bosses that they'd rather look busy for months and deliver nothing.

Taking a risk and potentially failing is too much to ask. There's also an unhealthy obsession with "being better than Amazon." They should focus more on their strengths (store experience) and less on selling products online. They're too far behind from a logistics standpoint to effectively compete.

Get your act together vis-à-vis contractors and vendors. Whoever thought that the smaller shops were the problem is delusional.

If anything, it was Target's relationship with the bigger, Indian-based vendors that was the biggest money suck. Offering decent full-time positions is fine and good, but it's not going to work out the way Target expects over the long-term.