Top CEOs. Top business leaders. ANA Members.

ANA Marketing Maestros: Top CEOs. Top business leaders.

The Who's Who list of CEOs.

How to Be a Better CMO

ANA Marketing Maestros: How to Be a Better CMO

very interesting read!

You've got baggage....

It is funny when friends write to you about the reclusive Russian who declined the Field medal. Reminds you that no matter what you do today... you still have ties with the field you left behind.

Reclusive genius spurns math prize

these are kinds they make movies on...

Project Jill

That's Wife

The brand is in the name

Google wants people to stop googling from CNET News.com

Futuristic trends

CUSTOMER-MADE!

Institute of the Future

My dearest subject... INNOVATION

Fast Company Now: Innovation Start With the Customer!

Multi-tasking or food for ADHD?

Interesting article about Gen Y ladies: Girls Just Want to Be Plugged In -- to Everything from the Los Angeles Times.

Google Games

Fancy Games - Fast Company Now
from who else but Google.

Google As Napoleon

Interesting article from - Economist.com

The alliance against Google

Wealth of Knowledge!

The latest issue of http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ has some fantastic articles and books - must reads for the summer.

• Sustainability - Made to Break
• Design - Idealized Design
• Retirement - Principles of wealth management
• Five lessons from "Must-Win Battles" - Lessons from successful & failed journeys
• Success to failure - Three factors that can change success to failure
• The Omnivore's dilemma - Natural history of four meals

Is it privacy or the economics?

Interesting read...

Is it privacy or the economics? from Market Watch

Tasseomancy

Tasseomancy is the ancient art of reading tea leaves. The practice of drinking tea was associated with meditation in the East and the configuration of tea leaves in the cup after drinking reflected the state of the world at that particular moment. Anyway enough about the ancients, lets talk modern times. Management today is not much different from this age old art form. Reading hidden messages, understanding & interpreting body language, I can go on and on.

Nature is supreme; as such it is not strange we expect certain traits in individuals we hire for positions. A little gray hair, stern voice & a firm grip will go a long way. Although people are people, each of them speaks their very own unique lingo, they act different, they offer different responses to situations.

The task of reading and interpreting their behaviors can be daunting. Understanding when they need help, what kind of help, how to offer and approach them for help is an art. I have wondered if we couldn’t have a tasseomant in every office that read the tea leaves of every employee just to make the managers life easy. Do we call it performance review by any chance?

Squeezing the lemon

I think hiring is by far the most difficult task in ones career? In my personal experience I have found it to be more difficult than making multi million dollar and sometimes multi billion dollar choices for corporations. It is not just identifying the candidate, but asking them the right questions, evaluating their responses and finally making the critical ‘go’, ‘no go’ decisions on the right cultural fit, right skill set, the right attitude, the energy, passion and much more. Yet another element of challenge is the urge to satisfy a short term business need or developing a leader.

I remember hearing staggering statistics on investments organizations make in developing leaders that way too often result in a regretted loss to another organization worse yet to a competitor and yet that’s not the worst scenario… try inheriting a dysfunctional team and misfit individuals only to be told ‘it is what it is’, now work it out. I call it, ‘Squeezing the lemon’. Talk about tough calls!

Alls not lost though, there is hope. I have always believed, ‘until there is hope there is life’. Squeezing the lemon is tough, but with a positive attitude and a passion to succeed there is a way. Here is what I have found works.

• Partner at every level with the team/members and their bosses
• Train the team, even if they don’t see any immediate value
• Keep trying, trying, trying and trying to show them the light
• Provide specific solutions not constructs
• Communicate to build trust
• If nothing else works make a firm, decisive and clear impression by firing the trouble makers/misfits!

Tough choice for Europe - GMO or no GMO?

From the FastCompany briefing on biotech in batteries.

A virus with a charge

Harnessing the power of genetically modified viruses.

http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2005/06/europes-gmo-trap.html
http://www.gmofree-europe.org/
http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/Index.htm
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/ESRG.php

Career elasticity of growth & movement

As a marketer and strategist I often look at elasticities of my brands. In order to time events for the greatest impact, and improve my ROI, I juggle many balls, advertising, promotions, partnerships, equity alliances, etc.

During a recent review I noticed similarities between the elasticity of demand curve and careers. As marketers we never price brands on the inelastic part of the curve, because it would be stupid to leave money on the table. We are taught to be sensitive to thresholds where consumers question the benefit and price of the brand (the value). Lastly we learn to pay special attention to the gap between our price and that of our closest competitors.

I decided to apply the same principles to my career and mapped the career elasticity of growth!

 

The gift of risk

Only from FastCompany

Leading Ideas: The gift of risk

Interesting article.

what goes around comes around

Interesting article on the wisdom of crowds.

Workers, place your bets from Business Week.

If you remember my posting "Some of my interesting bookmarks" from June 2006

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you – What about CANDOR?

I have always tried hard & practiced treating others the way I wish to be treated by them. Only recently I noticed something strange when a project with little merit received unanimous support, then again every project received kudos. I stopped to think what was really going on? It really struck a cord when I realized it was a case of you scratch my back and I scratch yours. BUT WHAT ABOUT OPEN HONEST TALK?

Most people are smart and intelligent but sometimes too intelligent for their own good. That’s when things back fire, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”; if you say good things about my project I will say great things about yours! Is this a cultural thing? Can our corporate cultures fix what our religious, societal cultures have indoctrinated us with? I certainly think so! The legendary Jack Welch of GE said it once reward people and behaviors that align with objectives and values and punish the ones that don’t. This applies as much to the top performers as the bottom dwellers in every organization.

In Search of Courage

Who else by John McCain - Some of these reprinted FastCompany articles are amazing! In Search of Courage: "John McCain"

WSJ-New-Media Power List

Fast Company Now: "New-Media Power List"

Organization & controls

I have always believed sound organizations need - internal discipline; resulting in strong brands, great people and social responsibility & and external control for strategy and objectivity; board of directors, PR people and investors. Together they go a long way! I consider myself an organization (of one) an institution (with brands ME, principles, values & purpose), so why not emulate? In my effort to get started I made the following list.

Internal control:

BRANDING (equity, quality & packaging) – First & Second moment of truth!
o What is my equity? How would someone describe me? & Competition
o How do people perceive me? What is my image like? & Competition
o How do I project myself? & Competition
o My messages, how I speak, the people I associate with, how I look, what I wear? & Competition

SKILL, TALENT & GENIUS
o How I lead & develop my team? & Competition
o How are my results I deliver & my communication? & Competition
o Capabilities I possess? & Competition
o Capacity I have? & Competition
o Time I manage, work I prioritize? & Competition

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
o How I lead & develop my team? & Competition
o My commitment to my people, my community, my fraternity? & Competition

External control:

OBJECTIVITY
o Mentors as my board of directors
o Strong partners, coaches as my investors & bankers

Let’s get cracking!

Built to Flip

Jim Collins is great! -
Built to Flip: "author of 'Built to Last: Success"

bad PR... you think?

This month's ANA had a full page ad and I could not resist but blog it.

A little extreme but effective career/personal espionage.

That Girl Emily

Manager Tools

Fastinating blog and an equally interesting podcast! Manager Tools

Conversations… conversations… conversations…

I learn more from talking to people then from anything else. Last weekend I met some one; he asked me what I did for a living. I blurted “Management”, I thought for a second… that’s my first. I typically respond with more specific about what I do or who I work for, etc. Interesting response must have been subconscious… This individual asked me what I meant by “Management”? Now I needed to respond with something that fit with my previous answer. I responded "I am in the business of leadership and people". That was the most apt answer I could think of at the time. Certainly very true! My role is all about my people, leading them, setting direction & managing change.