Future Column Topics

 

  1. Dimensions of business success for individuals
    1. Personal career planning/Fitting your career to your passions and capabilities and market demand
    2. Growing and investing in yourself
    3. Leadership through people skills
    4. Your first 90 days in a new job
  2. Strategy development
    1. Solutions and Strategies (vs. commodities, branded products and services)
    2. Importance of a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal)
    3. Gaining and maintaining clear market leadership
    4. Industry consolidation strategies
    5. When does diversification make sense?
    6. Focus on business segments in which you can be #1 or #2
    7. Focusing on 3 to 5 Key Moves
  3. Strategy implementation
    1. Departmental plans and bottom-up involvement
    2. Performance measures and incentives
  4. People strategy
    1. Importance of high standards
    2. Diversity goals and strategies
    3. Getting everyone to think like an owner (Jack Stack of Springfield, MO: Open-Book Management)
    4. Capability & commitment: Results-Based Leadership by Dave Ulrich et al.
    5. Compensation: Pay for person vs. pay for position
  5. Innovation
    1. Successful launch of new products
    2. Creativity and process
  6. Governance
    1. CEO succession planning
    2. Maximizing the value of your Board
  7. Finance
    1. Economic Value Added
    2. Vertical integration
    3. Partnering and joint ventures
    4. Managing maturity and divestment (Ralston and Earthgrains)
  8. Marketing
    1. Building brand equity
    2. Developing a new marketing strategy
    3. The new marketing
    4. Global marketing
    5. Pricing
    6. Sales strategy for big ticket items
    7. Hiring sales people
  9. Top management strategy
    1. Leading change
    2. Succession planning
    3. Global strategy for low cost in US and international sales
    4. Teamwork at the top
    5. Ethics and integrity
  10. Not-for-profits and government
    1. Effective leadership in local government
    2. Strategic fundraising for nonprofits
    3. Taking a professional association from good to great
  11. Nature and importance of "The Rules"...
    1. Where there aren't clear Rules ‚ and the benefit of identifying them
    2. Which Rules have changed in the last year
    3. The biggest breakthroughs come from knowing The Rules so well you know when and how to change them (Oakland A's and Harrah's)
  12. Other topics
    1. Avoiding family problems in family-owned businesses
    2. Quantitative analysis for strategic decisions
    3. Getting value from information technology