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Ditching the Corner Office for Good
A year ago, Fortune Magazine published my reflections on my rise to the corner office, my life as a CEO and how I coped with the years that followed my exit from the corporate throne. In the sub-head...
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Are Great CEOs Always Great Leaders?
In my mind, the best CEOs are usually the ones who are in a race to the future – they’re obsessed with defining the future because they can’t stomach the thought of reacting to a future created by...
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The World of the 21st Century CEO
Last week I identified the successful 21st century CEO as someone who is constantly thinking about the future. History has shown us that the best performers were those who made the right strategic...
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Learn to Teach. Teach to Learn
When I retired, I thought I was through with business. And I was, until the social network came along and enticed me to blog. Like most bloggers, I write about what I know; that’s strategy, leadership...
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The Power of an Enemy
I’m an extremely competitive person. As a kid in sports, I played my heart out, hated my opponents and cried when I lost. Admonished by my mother and father for unsportsmanlike behavior, I eventually...
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The Gulf Spill: BP Still Doesn’t Get It
(First published in Forbes.com, April 20, 2012) Two years have now passed since the explosion at BP’s deep-water rig in the Gulf of Mexico. In the aftershock, the world watched BP and its chief...
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Inspiration from The Daffodil Principle
Today I received an e-mail of The Daffodil Principle. I’d read it a number of years ago but had forgotton the important message. Spend a couple of minutes reading Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards’ beautiful...
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Linds Redding’s Short Lesson in Perspective
Last week, Mathew Creamer of Advertising Age said Linds Redding’s ‘Short Lesson in Perspective’ was the best piece of advertising writing you’ll ever read. As an ex-ad man and a lifelong aficionado of...
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In Praise of Average Joes
This website was created to share my views and experiences with the next generation of business leaders. That meant reflecting on past situations and determining the factors that were critical to the...
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A Canadian’s Tribute to US Thanksgiving
Last year, I came out of retirement to take a temporary assignment in southern California. This meant moving to Ventura from British Columbia for the better part of a year. I happened to be there for...
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Is Political Correctness Coming to a Brand near You?
Earls Restaurants is a very popular casual dining chain with 64 outlets in Canada, Arizona, Washington and Colorado. Twenty-five years ago, they launched a whimsical brand of beer called Albino Rhino....
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The Latest in Corporate Bail Outs – Women
When I left corporate life, the glass in the ceiling suppressing the advancement of women to the C-suite was beginning to show cracks. Today, there’s a venerable list of female executives who have...
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Retired? 7 Insights on Getting Back in the Game
Twenty years have passed since I sat in the corner office of a multinational consumer goods organization. Five years ago I removed my consulting shingle from the home office wall. Am I happy in the CEO...
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What’s Holding YOU Back?
“What is holding you back?” is the fundamental question everyone should answer BEFORE setting goals, objectives and resolutions for the New Year. This applies to your personal life and your...
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Talent without Leadership doesn’t count for Diddly-Squat
Every company wants TALENT. But not every company is bestowed with the LEADERSHIP that unleashes talent’s power. Talent without leadership is as good as spitting into a gale-force wind. I learned...
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LA Clippers: A Sterling Silver Case of Brand Crisis
Call it a hiccup or a long-term slump; large or small, every brand faces a crisis. The crisis can be brought on by a direct competitor (Blockbuster trumped by Netflix), a sudden shift in consumer...
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The Best Things in Business are Free
Negotiating for a lower price or something extra is the modus operandi of every antique retailer, real estate broker, flea market merchant and automobile dealer. Everyone is looking for a good deal, a...
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The Moral of Workplace Morale
When it comes to workplace morale, there is no shortage of articles suggesting the ways and means to build and/or enhance cultures that motivate employees to deliver the goods. Beyond their intent to...
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The Power of Strategic Sacrifice in a Complex World
Do Less Better isn’t the first book on focus, nor will it be the last. But the element that separates this book from the others is the “how” – how one finds focus in a business world that is more...
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Why Leaders Believe that Tomorrow is a Better Place
To every one of us, the future is important. Maybe it’s because the future is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives. Or could it be something more, something about the human spirit that has...
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