Are we confusing leaders when we tell them to be both: Decisive and Collaborative? Confident and Humble? Strong and Empathetic? Analytical and Intuitive? Quick to Act and Thoughtful?  Firm and Flexible? In Jim Collins’ 2001 book, “Good to Great,” he described Level 5 Leadership as a paradoxical combination of two traits: 1) genuine personal humility…

As a man with young children, they do not like my “spikes” when I choose not to shave. I should be thankful that Gillette has invested $750 million in research for the Mach 3 razor, resulting in 50 patents. They followed this up with the Fusion razor, which has 70 patents.   Gillette’s market share…

Companies struggle with how to capture scale across borders, as they work through the additional complexity without sacrificing speed and agility. The multi-local approach provides different brands, products, services, price points, and supply chains per region to meet the needs of local customers. To effectively implement this approach, the company needs decentralized decision-making. This is…

Our planet’s population is hitting a plateau and shrinking in some areas, which will have broad impacts.  Countries currently enjoying strong growth could see that stop if labor supply does not keep up with demand.  These countries need to address these shortages through proactive tasks, such as:      a) Increase productivity through investment, innovation,…

Companies must conduct comprehensive business review (i.e., SWOT:  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) to address future business objectives. For this assessment to be effective, companies should:      1.  Collect competitive environment data, benchmarks and long term market trends      2. Engage a broad internal and external audience      3. Understand management’s beliefs and values  …

Corporate strategy has evolved:      ·  1960’s:  strategy = corporate planning      ·  1970’s:  diversification and portfolio planning      ·  1980’s:  economics of industry attractiveness and value chains      ·  1990’s:  core competencies      ·  2000’s:  rapid market and technological change, growing external risk, and big data      ·…

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”     – Western Union, internal memo, 1878 “Heavier-than-air machines are impossible.”     – Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895 “Everything that can be invented has been invented.”     – Charles Duell, Commissioner,…

Communication is 7% words, 38% vocal and 55% visual. So, if on the phone, you do not receive the 55% visual. If via email, you lose out on the visual and vocal, and only receive the 7% words. This leads to more room for misunderstanding, and humor becomes very challenging. Emails are transactional, not relational….

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns said, “If you don’t’ transform your company, you’re stuck.” Yet, 75% of transformations ultimately fail. How does a company transform for longevity? Obviously, Studebaker, Atari, Wang Laboratories, Kodak and SocialNet did not. Reid Hoffman started SocialNet in the 1990’s, which is a perfect name for today’s popular term “Social Networking.” It…

Half the revenues of American companies are coming from abroad.  As well, their products are increasingly coming from abroad. For example, the San Francisco/Oakland Bay bridge outsourced much of the work, including a mile-long cable that was manufactured in China. The overall savings were $400 million (Source: NPR.org). Another example is food manufacturers, who are…