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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/00251749110136136. When citing the article, please cite: John O. Burdett, (1991), “A Model for Customer-Supplier Alliances”, Management Decision, Vol. 29 Iss 5.

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/13620430110389766. When citing the article, please cite: John O. Burdett, (2001), “Death of a salesman”, Career Development International, Vol. 6 Iss: 3, pp. 176 - 182.

Changing organisations is not only challenging but all too often a time when the newly hired manager has a high propensity to fail. One critical dimension of success in a new job ‐the relationship with the boss – is explored, outlining five critical aspects of building this relationship.

Managers and executives joining an organisation represent a significant investment, yet few organisations have developed processes that help an executive move successfully into the new role. Why allocating resources to integrating a newly hired executive is imperative is explored, together with key steps in the integration process; and a series of critical questions on which newly hired executives should reflect. Also a comprehensive model of the executive integration process is outlined. The latter covers the three basic stages in the integration: reality testing; building rapport; and defining success, as well as the critical constituencies; boss, team, organ‐isation, and wider community. The author′s experience of working with senior executives, initially as a consultant and currently as Vice President, Management Development, for the Lawson Mardon Group, a billion‐dollar international printing and packaging conglomerate based in Toronto, Canada is also drawn upon.

Reviews the process of change and learning undertaken in mining equipment company Tamrock Africa, using as a backcloth a portrait of life and evolution in Mabula, South Africa, in the game park which provides the setting for the senior management meeting to build account plans for the company’s key customers; uses the analogy of the imminent extinction of the black rhino to chart the demise of old‐style selling. Stresses the importance of a new partnering relationship, with customers’ needs paramount, and traces the cause of the learning achieved at the Mabula workshops.

Suggests that building a network of business contacts can help achieve managerial success. Focuses on counterparts in other organisations, informal relations with customers and meeting with superstars in the industry. Comments on how to identify and approach potential contacts including friends, social organisations and via personal presentations. Concludes that networking effectively may not guarantee success, but it can certainly help.

This article is the second in a two‐part series. The first outlined why coaching is an imperative, the forces that create complexity, and the need to identify the behaviour that has to change as a critical first step in the coaching process. Part 2 explores the need for a coaching model; respect as a factor in the basic coaching relationship, the difference between counselling, tutoring, mentoring and performance improvement; the relationship between coaching and control; and the importance of setting the context if coaching interventions are to succeed. The material and the concepts behind the ideas explored are drawn from experience within the Lawson Mardon Group, a major international printing and packaging conglomerate with more than 40 businesses spread throughout six countries.

The rate of change in the business environment is making managerial work more complex. Complexity not only changes the way managers think but invariably demands enhanced managerial skills in developing subordinates such that they are able to deal with the new realities. Coaching initiatives and steps taken within a large organisation to generate higher levels of coaching skills are described. The two‐part article explores a number of conceptual models and outlines in Part 1 why coaching is an imperative; the forces that create complexity; the need to identify the factors involved if coaching is to succeed; and how to identify the specific behaviour that has to change. Part 2 reviews respect as a critical factor in the basic coaching relationship; the difference between counselling, tutoring, mentoring, and performance improvement; the interrelationship between coaching and control; and the importance of setting the context if coaching interventions are to be effective.

Building on a metaphor first coined by Lynch and Kordis, outlines the roles enacted during organizational change. Overlays the roles of “shark”, “carp” and “dolphin” against a unique change model, the power of which resides in alignments between underlying responsiveness, organizational learning, and behavioural assumptions. The insights go a long way towards explaining the difficulties involved in building internal synergies and why, for example, TQM fails.

Imagine the scene. A manager at a blue‐chip company has a heart‐to‐heart with his staff. They talk openly and freely, even admitting personal weaknesses and failings in the workplace. They develop such a rapport that before they know it they have unanimously agreed on suitable working practices and performance targets for the year. The result? At the year’s end they have doubled the company’s growth rate. This impressive story is an example of a growing number of extraordinary turnarounds facilitated by professional coaching.