I am always amazed at the lack of action I see in companies that are in the midst of crisis. Problems abound and people generally know what they are but everyone seems to tolerate them for some reason or another. …
I know this sounds ridiculous but October seemed to be the month where retailers were determined to drive business away. Maybe it is just me but with third quarter economic growth just 2%, I’d think more businesses would be doing …
Most businesses think that strategic planning is something that only Fortune 500 companies need to worry about. The truth is that all businesses need to think about their strategic direction. While the time devoted to the strategic planning process differs …
Companies are sold for a variety of reasons. The driving issue can be strategic fit, capital needs, succession planning (especially in the case of family held businesses), duration (in the case of private equity firms) or others. Regardless of …
The difference in company performance between one with an effective Board of Directors and one that is not effective can be dramatic. In the short run, it may seem like it is easier to have a lax board but in …
It is important to strongly advocate your position. I don’t suggest arguing just to be argumentative (we all know people who do that). Rather, be a strong advocate for your position and beliefs. This was brought home to me recently …
Last month, I talked about the critical skills needed for an effective C-Suite. In addition to a broad cross section of domain expertise and well rounded individuals, I believe every executive needs to bring Seven Critical Business Skills to the …
I believe there are three things every C-Suite executive needs and these hold true whether one is operating in a very small or very large company. While the bar is much higher at the top of Fortune 500 organizations than …
Business is based upon facts. Or at least it should be. Anecdotal evidence is fine in order to add some color commentary and improve the depth of understanding but it is no substitute for dealing with the cold hard facts. …
I was in a meeting last year as the new/acitng/interim/fractional CFO for a company. Truthfully, I am not sure how best to describe the role. Major investors had asked me to step in and basically informed management that I was …
