From the category archives:
Although not reported in any of the major media, I have it on good authority that the board of directors at Hewlett-Packard has finally made a decision that will more than compensate for the hiring gaffes they have made lately. They have decided to put a revolving door in the executive suite. Hewlett-Packard’s board met [...]
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The resignation of Steve Jobs from Apple marks a sad milestone for both technology and leadership excellence. In recent years, no other enterprise leader has been so successful. Many consider him both a genius and a technology guru who had the temerity to ignore market research and push bold new products ahead of the market and [...]
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Last year I became eligible for Tricare medical coverage. Good news. I had to actually sign up for the coverage. Bad news. I did all the usual things. I called everyone I could think to call, with no luck. The numbers on the Tricare website were no more helpful, but I called them anyway. No [...]
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Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart is in the midst of the worst U.S. sales slump ever, posting its second straight year of declining sales. How can this happen to America’s behemoth? They misstepped. To jumpstart lethargic growth and counter the rise of competitors, decision makers veered away from the winning-formula mission: “Saving People [...]
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Now that the news of Mark Hurd’s sudden departure from HP has settled, the company has begun the process of finding his successor — something, many believe, only a handful of people in the world are qualified to do. The significant number of recent CEO departures suggests something needs to change in the way companies [...]
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Companies that try to be all things to all people confuse customers and endanger their brands. No better examples exist than those in retail. On February 28, 2005, Federated acquired May Department Stores for $11 Billion, creating the nation’s second largest department store chain with $30 Billion in annual sales and more than 1,000 stores. On July [...]
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1. Two heads are better than one. Sometimes two heads are better than one, but it depends enormously on which two heads we’re talking about. 2. You don’t need to frame problems before you start solving them. A frame creates a mental border that encloses a particular aspect of a situation, to outline its key [...]
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Effective leaders need to do better than the soothsayers of old, but they need the basic skill set that defined the ones who weren’t tarred and feathered. Executives need to be sensitive to the currents and changes—to sense emerging trends before they actually surface. You won’t always know which way the wind will blow, but [...]
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In a recent interview for the publication for Air Tran Airways I worked with the writer to identify mission statements that worked and those that did not. I addressed some of the flawed ones in an earlier blog, but today the author wanted to talk more about what makes a good mission statement. So, she [...]
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When senior leaders consistently make good decisions, little else matters; when they make bad decisions, nothing else matters. Effective decision making stands at the center of executive leadership. As you climbed the stairs to your current position, others called on you to solve problems and occasionally to make decisions. But now you define most of [...]
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