In my 35+ years, I have not seen a more dramatic day on Wall Street and the financial markets. Fundamental restructuring of the nation's leading investment banks leaves only two standing - Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The nation's largest broker, Merrill Lynch, is swept up by Bank of America.…
Here is the newspaper ad that has been running weekly in the North Bay Business Journal to announce the upcoming event of The Leadership Forum. I will be moderating the event as well as serving as a contributing member of the panel.In addition to the very practical strategies relating to…
Fortune Magazine’s most recent issue challenged a wide variety of business and government leaders to share the The Best Advice I Ever Got. I think that’s a great challenge and encourage readers to share those that have been meaningful in their life.
One in particular always comes to mind for me.Back in the Stone Age during my formative years, the Chairman of the first company I joined in private industry was an irascible and tough disciplinarian.
(A few years earlier, in boot camp, I think I saw his alter ego wearing a Smokey Bear hat.)
Anyway, he summoned me into his office one day and asked me “What would you do if you didn’t get your check on payday?” Fortunately, before I fumbled around with something like “I dunno”, he answered his own question. (more…)
Saturday's NY Times carried an interview with Alan J. Fuerstman, CEO of Montage Hotels and Resorts. His view of customer service and the incredible value of staff training and retention, offers several insightful observations about how to serve with "grace and humility" and to successfully put the customer first.
A recent book published by A.G Lafley, the CEO of Proctor & Gamble and Ram Charan, the globe-trotting uber consultant, called The Game Changer is all about the turnaround at consumer giant Proctor & Gamble. Fortune carried an excerpt about it in their "America's Most Admired Companies" edition, which argues…
Have you ever thought about quitting? Did you ever think it might be the best choice? The New York Times carried an article summarizing some of the latest theories and scientific studies discussing our obsession with perseverance. There's something to be said, as some of us may have surmised, for…
The NY Times recently published an article entitled “If You’re Open to Growth, You Tend to Grow“, a summary of research completed by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck and published in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Her mission was to try to better understand why certain people achieve their business potential while others fall short.
After thirty years of careful research, she concluded (more…)
Hang in there, CEO's. The world isn't coming to an end quite yet. According to a blurb in the NY Times on Sunday, CEO's don't think the economy is in a tailspin. In fact, while 30% expect their U.S. employment to decline, 28% expect it will grow and the remaining…
In our search for the quintessence of leadership, we've quoted many CEO's about the qualities of great leaders. Following the maxim that if failure doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management and founder of the non-profit Chief Executive Leadership Institute,…