The Dilemma Doctors

Dr. Trompenaars, a 48-year-old Amsterdam-based consultant of French and Dutch descent, and Dr. Hampden-Turner, a 65-year-old British writer with a long history of social science research in America, are the two most prominent figures focusing on cultural diversity in business today. Their “dilemma theory,” as they call it, argues that we can never grow to become great business leaders until we actively strive to embrace … [ Read more ]

And the New Economy Winner Is…Europe

The European Union is emerging as a formidable competitor among world economies, thanks to an aptitude for cross-border management and an ease with cultural diversity.

Bring on the Super-CMO

Faster than a brand strategist, stronger than a line marketer – and in demand at companies worldwide.

The Myth of Customer Satisfaction

“Why are customers who say they’re satisfied not necessarily repeat customers? Because satisfaction is a measure of what people say, whereas loyalty is a measure of what they actually do. Many managers still don’t recognize this fundamental difference, so they use customer satisfaction and customer loyalty interchangeably, as though they were synonyms.”

John O. Boochever, Thomas Park, and James C. Weinb

It’s important for the CEO to view the parts of the CIO’s organization devoted to providing infrastructure services (e.g., company networking, systems management) differently than other “business-facing” departments. The former are not strategic activities – frankly, they’re more akin to utilities than core businesses – and it’s unfair to judge them on the basis of return on investment. They’re requirements and costs of doing business. … [ Read more ]

CEO vs. CIO: Can This Marriage Be Saved?

Improving organization and communication will help chief executives and chief technologists form a more perfect – and profitable – union.

How Snap-on Tools Ratchets Its Brand

The way to create a world-class brand is to give customers what they need, when they need it, and never let them out of your sight.

Inside Dell Computer Corporation: Managing Working Capital

The secret to excellence lies in doing many things well. It also requires staying focused on the goal even when tempted to do otherwise.

Editor’s Note: this article is from 1998 but for those not too familiar with Dell it will be of value.

The Barista Principle – Starbucks and the Rise of Relational Capital

How did a small Seattle company turn itself into a global synonym for java and joe? The answer, we believe, lies with an ingredient as central to Starbucks’s business as the premium coffee beans it roasts: Relationships.

Starbucks is not the only company that firmly believes that an emphasis on relationships should be more than simply management rhetoric. Nor is it the only company that … [ Read more ]

Capturing the Value of Supply Chain Management

Twenty one years after its development, Supply Chain Management, once deemed a promising new way for companies to manage operations, has failed to achieve its promise, according to a new survey of large companies worldwide by Booz Allen Hamilton. Although companies spend more than $19 billion annually on information technology systems to improve their supply chain performance, nearly half of the companies in this survey … [ Read more ]

Mark Klein and Arthur Einstein

Why are customers who say they’re satisfied not necessarily repeat customers? Because satisfaction is a measure of what people say, whereas loyalty is a measure of what they actually do. Many managers still don’t recognize this fundamental difference, so they use customer satisfaction and customer loyalty interchangeably, as though they were synonyms.

Noel M. Tichy

Noel Tichy is currently professor of organizational behavior and human resource management and director of the Global Leadership Program at the University of Michigan business school. Between 1985 and 1987, Dr. Tichy served as the GE’s manager of management education at its Leadership Development Center in Crotonville, N.Y.

What FreshDirect Learned from Dell

And what other e-tailers might learn from make-to-order pioneers.

Symantec’s Strategy-Based Transformation

How fresh leadership, serial acquisitions, and a new market made CEO John Thompson’s billion-dollar promise come true.

Core Group Therapy

“I have come to think that there are basically three universal factors that influence corporate culture. I have never seen an organization operate without them, but their characteristics vary dramatically from place to place. If you understand all three in a particular organization, you truly understand how to reinforce what the organization is doing right, or change its direction.”

Editor’s Note: you may want to … [ Read more ]