Forbes magazine showed a stunning picture in their new May 19, 2008 edition. It is a home in Mumbai, India built by Mukesh Ambani. You’ve never seen a home like this before . . . 27 stories (down from the original plan of 45 stories), 400,000 square feet – no, that’s not a typo – and a cost overrun from the original plan of $1 billion that is now approachinggetting near $2 billion according to Forbes. Can he afford it? Forbes ranks him the 5th richest man in the world at $43 billion. I guess the house is chump change for him. You can see the pictures here.
In today’s New York Times, there is an eye-catching picture that will make the nerdiest graphmeister weep. It’s a very unique graphical depiction of the Consumer Price Index. You may not know that the Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers 84,000 prices on 200 products every month to calculate the Consumer Price Index. See it here in living color.
Jack Welch doesn’t need kudos from me, but I appreciate his recent column (with his wife, Suzy), Keeping Morale Up in a Downturn, in the recent issue of Business Week. It focuses on 2 key characteristics that I think good leaders possess: 1] Transparency, referring to a willingness to talk openly and honestly with members of your team, including the good, bad and ugly; and 2] Differentiation, which refers to not only your leadership team – “take care of your best no matter what” – but also applying that same concept to expenditures and investment.
Leaders have a lot to consider in a struggling economy. When you can be easily bushwhacked with the latest industry gossip or monthly performance report, rigorously applying these characteristics will optimize your chances of keeping your team together, focused on a practical strategy to persevere and succeed in an unpredictable economy.
Forbes magazine ran a timeless article in their April 10 edition about critical errors made in the hiring process. In short – 1] ask well-considered questions to assess critical competences and 2] don’t be the only interviewer. Since the development of your leadership team is the most important step you can take to accelerate your growth and stimulate superior performance
For those of you who read the recent column in the April 14 edition of the North Bay Business Journal, entitled A cash crunch necessitates a trip to the bank for a loan, here is the extended version with a more complex borrowing calculation which takes into account the Minimum Cash Balance required. Please feel free to post any
For readers of my January 14th column entitled Small businesses lead economy, but often neglect their own needs, I promised to provide a copy of the 2007 Mass Mutual Family Business Survey.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lary Kirchenbauer is pleased to announce the formation of Exkalibur Advisors, Inc., a firm that will provide financial and strategic advisory services to family businesses and other middle market companies in the San Francisco Bay area. Exkalibur will help companies enhance their success by focusing on the leadership, strategy and financial capabilities required for accelerated growth. Exkalibur’s
Recently, I had the privilege of joining a distinguished panel of North Bay executives to participate in the second annual North Bay Innovation and Venture Forum sponsored by the City of Santa Rosa, the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce and Golden Capital Network. You can read about it in the North Bay Business Journal article entitled If it’s all about
Welcome to Exkalibur. I’m Lary Kirchenbauer, President of Exkalibur Advisors, Inc. Please take advantage of our resources to help you build your business ... and let me know what more we can do to serve you.
Read my latest column from the NY Times affiliate, the North Bay Business Journal.
We have a great management team that has built a very successful company. At an important crossroads, we needed more expertise on an expanded list of financial issues than we could provide ourselves. Lary brought that expertise, providing the depth of knowledge and experience that helped us develop and implement a practical solution.
Gary Imm, CEO (retired).
