In 2000, 95% of the Fortune Global 500 were headquartered in developed economies. Today, large companies are based in the following cities (in order from most to least): Tokyo, NYC, London, Osaka, Paris, Beijing, Moscow, Seoul, Rhine-Ruhr, Chicago, Hong Kong, Taipei. Three-quarters of the world’s 8000 companies with annual revenues of $1B or more are…

In a popular HBR parable, not one person was willing to assume ultimate responsibility. Each person was willing to do his bit just as long as it was not too inconvenient (i.e., as long as it did not change their plans too much). Otherwise, they passed the buck to someone else. Can one discharge one’s…

Focused on their shareholder value, many companies are using cash for share buybacks instead of research and development. This step: Reassures investors that stock is attractive at that level Is viewed favorably, similar to dividend increases Reduces company’s outstanding share total, giving a lift to earnings per share This artificially bolsters the share prices to…

…Three important words that some leaders do not feel like they can say due to ego or pride. A leader must be secure enough to say, “I don’t know.” 40% of leaders are unprepared to meet the business issues they will face in the next 5 years (Source: Right Management). Surround yourself with smart and…

I toured Raytheon’s modernization and innovation center, where they are responsible for the integrated defense systems, including Israel’s “Iron Dome” and Patriot missiles. In order to be effective, they must balance execution and innovation. In addition, their increasing use of automation enables humans to focus more on value add activity, and the factory floor continuously…

Global leaders have more complexity than domestic leaders – to push the global agenda, establish global priorities, and align performance incentives. For example, the company vision must unify the employees across cultures. The operating model needs to be scalable to an optimized footprint, while mitigating risks. It is not sufficient to just expand the domestic…

Firms adhere to strict accounting rules with filing earnings. Yet, they also release “adjusted” numbers, designed to make bottom lines look more flattering. Usually, this indicates about 20% better profits. For many, corporate earnings seem to cause confusion amongst the fibbing. Yet, are the “adjustments” just distracting propaganda? (Source: The Economist) More than 1/3 of…

This book, by Caroline Webb, describes some corporate culture insights from behavioral scientists (umbrella for neuroscientists, psychologists, and economists) who look at why we behave the way we do. First, when companies try to improve their corporate culture, they usually attempt big-ticket interventions (i.e., CEO speech). However, the small items (i.e., how disagreements are handled)…

When you have a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) to accomplish, it is easier to divide it up into sub-goals.This enables progress monitoring, while making goal attainment more manageable and plausible. At NASA in the 1960’s, there were many employees who were far removed from the famous goal of landing a man on the moon….

An old investment adage is “the trend is your friend.” Industry and geographic trends contribute to business results, and some companies adapt better than others. With short-term gyrations becoming more significant, it is easy to lose sight of the long-term trends (Source: McKinsey). Of the 1955 Fortune 500, only 12% are still on the list…