Matt Emmons, a world-champion marksman, competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. When the final round of the 50-meter, three position rifle competition, he had a significant lead. He aimed and fired three times – and hit the bull’s-eye on his three shots. However, the automatic scoring system scored him a 0. When…

All of us would probably agree that innovations are good, as they have improved our standard of living…transitioning from buggies to cars, from kerosene to light bulbs, and from typewriters to computers. However, with each one of these innovations, many jobs were eliminated. Yet, new jobs were created. That being said, change resistance is often…

The two highest GDP growth rates for the past 20 years are 10.1% for China and 6.7% for India. However, a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not include: household labor, parenting, community work and volunteering. Thus, this common economic measure of a country’s wealth does not translate into personal mental health.  Based on 90,000…

A while ago, I did some work in Scarborough, England…a quaint arcade facing a beach, it definitely had charm. When the jet lag hit early in the morning, I took a stroll on the boardwalk watching the sunrise. I arrived at a nice development with a large sign stating, “To be completed in Spring 2007.”…

In 1968, Ford decided to produce the Pinto, a car that weighed less than 2,000 pounds and cost less than $2,000. The Pinto promise was to take on the foreign imports, save jobs for Americans, and make profits for the shareholders. In order to realize this promise, they compressed the normal 3.5 year development process…

When you are a leader, you need to determine: 1.     Who you are; 2.     What you are committed to accomplishing; 3.     What is missing in your plan.   During this process, remember: ·       The goal is not to make a decision, it is to make sure the best decision is made o   Leaders…

In an increasingly dynamic and changing world, businesses must anticipate discontinuities. In addition to this, there is the ability to react to this volatility, where there are no perfect answers. In the mobile phone market, many leading manufacturers were caught off-guard with the iPhone and Android a decade ago; but Samsung used it to rise…

During financial downturns, countries tend to turn inward (protectionism) to shore up economies; vice versa, there is more trading (liberalization) during prosperity. China & India recently opened their economies to foreign trade and competition. They have robust exports, a vast population, a rapidly rising middle class, and infrastructure needs…all of which will impact the global…

Business acumen training is increasingly important, especially for non-finance employees, who need to understand the principles of value creation. Research shows that numerical thinking is a significant predictor of managers’ career potential (Source: University of Toronto, 2005). Business acumen training in high-potential future leaders broadens their functional knowledge to include a strong financial compass. This…

You are what you learn…whether that is engineering (machine), lawyer (competition), human resources, drug dealing, bullying, etc.…until you learn something else and gain a new knowledge base to shift your paradigm…you can learn your way out of your current situation. Reactive tendencies are leadership styles emphasizing caution over creating results, self-protection over productive engagement, and…