Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pictures That Move

Sometimes pictures say it in a way no words can. This was a candidate for Picture of The Year in 2009. You decide.





Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Best Company In The World To Work For


Fortune magazine released its annual list of “100 Best Companies To Work For” and there is a new king at the top of the list. North Carolina based software maker SAS tops the list this year with some impressive stats as well as some very unusual perks that no doubt make employee satisfaction a key component of why the company has made this list for the past 13 years and is now number 1. However, this begs the question what truly makes a company great to work for? We have all worked at good companies and bad companies at some point in our career. But only a few have worked at truly Great companies. What makes a company a great place to work?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Worrying Trend of Faking Numbers


Earlier this month Stanford University Economics Professor Michael J. Boskin wrote an article on the Wall Street Journal called “Don’t Like the Numbers? Change ‘Em.”  In it he discussed how lately, politicians and scientists who don't like what their data show have simply taken to changing the numbers. They believe that their end - socialism, global climate regulation, health-care legislation, repudiating debt commitments, la gloire française - justifies throwing out even minimum standards of accuracy. He further highlights that it appears no numbers are immune: not GDP, not inflation, not budget, not job or cost estimates, and certainly not temperature. A CEO or CFO issuing such massaged numbers would land in jail, Mr. Boskin concludes. While Boskin’s article is really well written, it highlights a worrying trend of people of influence, be it elected officials, scientists or figures of authority, fudging the numbers to show balance and order in their domain.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

God Bless America And Its People


I landed in New York this past weekend and was immediately hit with a barrage of television, radio, newspapers and people on street corners doing something for Haiti. I watched Vice President Joe Biden give a speech at an air force base, having just returned from Port-au-Prince. I usually find Biden hard to listen to, he is all charm and no substance in a way only American politicians can be, but today his words were armor piercing as he described the devastation in Haiti and what he saw on his short visit. President Obama has assembled the team of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to spearhead relief fund raising in the same way President Clinton and George H.W. Bush did for the Asian Tsunami several years back. Hollywood is doing its part too, with many Actors and Actresses donating large sums (notably Sandra Bullock committed $1m as did Bratt Pitt and Angelina Jolie) or spearheading fund raising for relief. Athletes are rallying behind the Caribbean nation, notably the NFL as it used its playoff weekend spotlight to help and announced the NFL Player’s Association will be donating $1m. So will the NBA. And there are unconfirmed reports of disgraced golfer Tiger Woods donating several million doillars to Haiti, demonstrating yet another act of humanity from America’s celebrities. Most notable however is the tens of millions of dollars the American public has raised for what is now known to be the worst natural disaster in the Western Hemisphere in decades – death toll 70,000 and rising. Everywhere I went from the moment my plane touched down there is evidence that America has mobilized in a way only it can and does when disasters like this hit.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

What Should Tiger Woods Do Now?

Much has been written and said about Tiger Woods and his woes, and many people have a view or opinion on what happened and what should happen going forward. But a great deal of this commentary ignores conventional wisdom on how to handle a mess like the one Tiger has got himself into. What is relevant to you and I is not to judge Tiger on what he did, but rather learn from his mistakes and how he ultimately handles them. Because you can count on one thing for sure, almost everyone will face some career-related setback or problem at some point in their lives, it is important to learn how to overcome career reversals.


Sunday, January 10, 2010

Managing Cost: Skate To Where The Puck Could Be, Not Where You Think It May Be


How would you change your business if your profits were cut by 50% overnight? That is a question a lot of companies are asking themselves as the global economic landscape continues to change in 2010. No one can really predict with any degree of accuracy what will happen to the economy, politics or the markets next year, but that doesn’t mean leaders and managers shouldn’t be thinking about their cost base now, especially as we go into the new year.


Wednesday, January 6, 2010

What the Heck Happened to British Airways?


I just completed 3 days of straight travel, originating in Brussels, flying through Munich, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, London and back to Edinburgh. It has been several years since I was flying British Airways regularly to and from the US. It was the highlight of my travels, experiencing BA’s wonderful customer service both on the plane and in the terminal lounges. As a Gold card member of their much coveted frequent flyer program, you got extra special service everywhere you went with British Airways. Everything about the experience set them apart from the competition, especially the poorly managed US airlines that have absolutely no customer service. Quality food, drinks, amenities, and most of all first rate customer service where staff actually took the time to look at your boarding card and address you by your name. And for this differentiated experience, we the road-warriors of travel were happy to pay a slight premium (2-5% on average) to fly British Airways.


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

In 2010 Go Seek And Venture

Harvard Business Review’s August issue focused on managing in the ‘New World’, a title for the post-recession world where Government Regulation, Risk, the ‘New’ Economy and Leadership will differ.