The April issue of the Harvard Business Review carried an article entitled Can You Say What Your Strategy Is? In short, the authors, David Collis and Michael Rukstad, describe a framework to create a sound statement of strategy that everyone in the company can internalize and use to guide their…
Pricing strategy is paramount these days as we face an unpredictable economy with limited future visibility. It’s part of a broader strategy, of course, but one of the first things that executives jump to when prices come under fire.
Note the different approach to this subject from an AP story carried in today’s SF Chronicle identified opposing trends for the entertainment juggernauts of Las Vegas and Disney. (more…)
I'm always intrigued by the application of revolutionary strategy concepts to established businesses and in the past few days, I've noticed several provocative reports that dramatize businesses seeking innovative ways - or not - to look at their business. The New York Times on Saturday carried an article about F.A.O.…
Once again, Jack Welch and I are communing about common business issues – in this case, the family business. In the May 19 edition of Business Week, Jack and Suzy Welch respond in their Welchway column to a question about the big concerns facing business over the next 10 years.
Jack is a legendary, corporate chieftain but with little experience with family businesses as far as I can tell. Yet, in his response to this question, he is “on the money” when he cites two “fault lines” underlying family business. Thanks, Jack. It’s good to see that you and I have some shared beliefs from our dramatically different vantage points
My experience with family businesses is that the struggle between funding growth and funding retirement is the most vexing and emotional challenge that family businesses face. Moreover, it is one of the big elephants in the room when you discover how few family businesses – less than 10% – make it past the third generation. (more…)
Like me - until now - you may have missed the recent Business Week article about family business and the value of a family "constitution" to spell out the Company's vision and set forth important guidelines for relationships, stock ownership, prerequisites, behavior and other attributes to create "rules of the…
Dennis Zeleny, an established HR professional and frequent contributor to Forbes magazine, contributes another POV in a growing list of articles about How to Lead in Tough Times. I think his key points are right on, and represent a compelling summary of key elements of leadership for all times:Communicate regularly…
If you wonder whether your facial hair, or where you part your hair, has any relevance to your success, you'll be glad to know that Fortune magazine has taken their journalistic razor to the strop! First, in an article about the technology world, they explore the whiskers of some of…
Most of you know Jim Collins as a result of his Good to Great bestseller, which catapulted metaphors like the "hedgehog" and "people on the bus" into the business vernacular. Writing in the current issue of Fortune magazine - the Fortune 500 edition - he discusses The Secret of Enduring…
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,…