Handbook of Business Strategy: Volume 5 Issue 1
Table of contents
Boardroom myths: reconciling prescription and research guidance
Catherine M. Daily, Dan R. DaltonNot since the passage of the Securities and Exchange Commission Act of 1934 have matters of corporate governance received such concentrated attention. The failures of a series of…
Road map to peace (in the boardroom)
Michael RosenbaumThe shift in powers and responsibilities of public company boards is likely to change the relationship of management and directors at privately held and non‐profit organizations…
Return on directors: maximizing return on investment in the board room
Marilyn Seymann, Brian KleinhanziIt’s relatively easy to measure the output of a light bulb. Simply flip the switch and see whether it lights up. For greater accuracy, use a light meter. Even the dimmest bulb can…
The new risk imperative – an enterprise‐wide approach
James DeLoachCEOs face many challenges. They must focus and motivate their organizations to capitalize on emerging opportunities. They must continually invest scarce resources in the pursuit…
After Sarbanes‐Oxley – what next?
James DeLoachSarbanes‐Oxley has commanded headlines ever since President Bush signed it into law. Public companies have had to take a closer look at many of their governance processes…
Meritocracy: responding to the myth
Mike HyterIn my consulting practice, I spend a great deal of time talking with senior level executives about their organization’s human resource practices. One theme I hear consistently is…
CEO leadership in improving corporate governance: the significance of CEO support to the effectiveness of the audit committee
Richard Corgel, John Geron, John RileyThe impact of recent corporate scandals has been serious and far‐reaching. The popular news coverage has been unequalled by any other business issue. The result is that the…
The leadership journey: becoming an enlightened leader
Phil HolbertonLeaders need to go beyond knowing the answers to seeking the answers. How can I become a more effective leader? What steps can I take to enhance my leadership skills? Every…
Putting your leaders where it counts
Alan Bird, Robin Buchanan, Paul Rogers, Marcia BlenkoCompanies that systematically and continuously put the right leaders in the right jobs outperform companies that don’t – by a wide margin. In this article, the authors argue that…
Not taught in business schools: cultivating creativity
Michael H. ShenkmanGwen, an executive that I mentor, was in the process of carving out a business of her own. We met in an outdoor café, on a beautiful spring day in Albuquerque. I like to meet my…
CEOs hit the road: speaking as a brand‐building tool
Vickie SullivanBy keynoting at association conferences, CEOs and other top executives use speaking as a platform to introduce their companies’ brands into new markets and solidly position them…
The making of a manager
Jorge E. FernandezPeople can be taught certain managerial technologies, but not the fundamental human traits that convert the employment of those technologies into organizational results. An…
The enlightening leader and effective learning strategy
David R. PrestonHow can a leader accelerate evolution? How can one create radical change that enables people to solve problems, seize opportunities and apply theoretical principles to real‐time…
Closing the communication gap
Max MessmerThe fast and efficient exchange of information is undeniably a competitive advantage in business. And in a fluctuating economic environment, it’s paramount. Unfortunately, in the…
Authentic communication: motivate by aligning thought and action
Elaine CrowleyCynicism is the most pervasive, destructive disease in organizations today. At its most public, it brings down companies and their leaders. A high‐profile CEO encourages employees…
Communication with cojones[1]
Lud RomanoThe role of internal communications has become a pinnacle for the modern‐day office, where political correctness and contemporary management techniques claim to put employees in…
Thresholds of attention
Michael UtvichAt the very heart of business strategy is the relationship between the company and its customer. The active core that allows the company to transmit its value to its customer is…
Service with a smile: a new perspective on internal communications
Candy WallaceDevising an internal communications strategy is probably the easy bit. Delivering it, especially in a service organization, is the hard part. Of course, it shouldn’t be that…
Strategy gone bad: doing the wrong thing
Sydney Finkelstein, Scott BorgWhat is strategy? Countless books, MBA programs, executive education initiatives, and consultants are available to answer this question in excruciating detail. But let’s cut to…
Build better decisions: strategies for reducing risk and avoiding surprises
Seena SharpDid you ever make a business decision without all the facts? Did you learn something after you implemented your decision that you would have changed had you known it sooner? If…
Build a talent strategy to achieve your desired business results
Carol BergeronSuccessful companies make their talent strategy part of their strategic planning process and integrate it into daily operations. They strive for the alignment of their talent with…
Managing health care costs: back to basics
Mark A. Abate, J. Michael DeneenThe cost of employer‐sponsored health‐care benefits continues to increase at an alarming rate. In its 2002 Annual Survey of Employer Health Benefits, the Kaiser Family Foundation…
Strategic reframing in view of a business upturn
Willy A. SusslandThe economic cycles are like the weather, largely unpredictable. After an extended period of rain, most likely the sun will shine again. After a long and damaging downturn, some…
Why good strategies fail
Roger Wery, Marc WacoFrom lack of focus to competency gaps and other causes, good strategies can be saved with preventive actions. The business news is filled with stories of corporate failure. From…
Changing the corporate mindset: focus on the external, not the internal
Deborah HouseProfit margins are easily destroyed when companies focus on internal issues versus the external conditions that affect customers. Revenue comes from the outside, from customers…
Surviving the great “benefits planning earthquake”: pension management in light of recent economic and corporate upheavals
Dan CassidyFor some years now, there has been a huge crisis developing for companies around how to effectively manage their pension plans. The gist of the crisis is this: pension plans have…
Getting everybody on the same page
Craig R. StokelyThink of a company or organization that you really respect. Chances are that the firm you choose is particularly effective in its communication with all of its constituents …
Ten steps for surviving a disaster!
Vin D’AmicoIf a critical part of your business was knocked out of commission for a few days, would your business survive? What would you do during that time? Close the doors? Take orders by…
Making breakthrough improvements in closing the books: a six‐step system
Brian Swayne, John WatsonRegulators and the investment community are demanding that closings become faster and more accurate. Most organizations are not equipped to meet these requirements, however. Many…
Cognitive excellence: our people are our most important asset
George ElliottI once heard an employee say: “If this company would only treat me as well as they do their machine tools, I would be a happy camper. They are constantly spending money on…
Closing the performance gap: five simple tools can help
Bill EvansUnhappy customers, uninformed employees, mounting chaos: sound familiar? If any or all of these debilitating elements are in play in your company, you have been experiencing the…
Effective management commitment enhances six sigma success
Charles ThevninThis article examines the approach in incorporating the six sigma quality concepts into the day‐to‐day business operations. The primary emphasis is not on the positive financial…
The journey to steps to six sigma …
George ElliottSix sigma means less than four (3.4) defects or errors experienced for every 1 million transactions – that is, only one out of every 250,000 parts produced would not fully meet…
Creating “insatiable demand” – leverage the demand chain to expand your customer base and your revenue
Curtis N. BinghamUmbrellas always sell well when it is raining. After a major hurricane hit Miami last year, Home Depot shipped in plywood from nearly every store in the southeast and still…
Understanding brand’s value: advancing brand equity tracking to brand equity management
Michael LeiserOnce strictly the purview of the marketing department, savvy organizations now see the value in using brand as a focal point for their overall business strategies. Many are using…
Seven ways to hold fast to your customers
Mike PeglerIt’s a fact – customer retention boosts the bottom line. Here’s how to keep them happy, even in tough economic times. Want to nearly double your company’s profitability without…
Data strategy: a critical component of marketing success
Richard HochhauserCompanies spend millions of dollars toward the compilation of data, and that doesn’t even include human capital costs. But to what end? Do companies truly make the best use of…
Why “sales force effectiveness” isn’t
Mary Larson, Romney ResneyIs there a management team that hasn’t been seduced by the revenue‐boosting, cost‐slashing mantra “sales force effectiveness”? The phrase, used broadly to encompass both a wide…
Marketing failed us again
Karin K. Schaff‐Glazier“Oh no! The new marketing campaign had a lower‐than‐expected return. I guess marketing did not do its job! No more monies for that campaign, or perhaps others for that matter …”…
Creating the brand‐driven business: it’s the CEO who must lead the way
Michael Dunn, Scott DavisGE, Sony, Hallmark, Intel, Xerox, Procter & Gamble, IBM, some of these corporations dominate the business‐to‐consumer space. Others, business‐to‐business. What they have in common…
Corporate taxonomies can open up the big picture
Brant CruzWhat separates companies that survive from ones in overdrive? One answer is a corporate taxonomy. This new twist on the practice of strategic segmentation helps a diverse company…
Want to accelerate organic growth? Retool your marketing factory!
Bob LurieIn 1980 at the Ford Motor Company, quality wasn’t job one; survival was. Buffeted by stagnant product lines, hidebound management practices and nimbler Japanese competitors, the…
People, power and profits: linking strategy to business growth
Deborah HouseOne of the most effective instruments in a CEO’s toolkit is a realistic, actionable strategic plan that is implemented effectively. Unfortunately, many companies spend millions of…
Successfully launching your product: getting it right
Ameeta Soni, Harriet CohenEvery company wants to launch the “right” products in the market quickly and retain loyal customers for a long time. So why is this so difficult for most companies? Often, product…
Product development: five keys to increasing speed and predictability
John CovingtonThe dream scenario for thousands of businesses would be to gain the ability to get their products to market faster, and to know with some certainty that their product‐development…
IT imperatives beyond strategic alignment: enterprise architecture flexibility and IT delivery efficiency
Jacob Varghese, Priya KurienWhile researchers across the board have identified significant productivity improvements, and substantial improvements in consumer surplus using information technology in…
Should you be practicing “predictive information integration”?
John NisbetABC, Inc. is taking current concepts of business process analysis to a new level. The company is intentionally building a database of business rules and related information in…
Technology for marketing: new solutions that deliver top and bottom line benefits
Christine SmithIn most organizations, the marketing department is one of the last areas to embrace enterprise technology. Tools and desktop applications have dominated the environment, but with…
Information technology strategy – managing the dark side
Jerald M. SavinA strategy is a plan or method for achieving a set of goals. Sounds simple enough, but when it comes to information technology (IT), that’s not always the case. Why? Because the…
Should the system do this? An introduction to real‐world information ethics
David H. GleasonYou can’t unscramble an egg. You break it into a bowl, mix it, cook it, and eat something very different from what you started with. But if the shell were to fall in at step one…