Published Articles
The Great Logistics Crunch
Over the past 30 years, the winning formula for U.S. manufacturing firms has been simple: outsource as much production as possible to low-cost centers in Asia and ship the goods across the Pacific.
That model had a good run, but the u...
Total Recall? What Infosec Teams Can Learn From Microsoft's Misstep
On initial review, Microsoft's Recall rollout was stunningly boneheaded from a privacy perspective, bu...
How CEOs Can Take Control Of Cybersecurity Risk
CEOs are under no illusion these days about the importance of cybersecurity and the need to stay on top of the worsening threat environment. Corporate leaders in North America and Europe identify it as their number one concern-ahead of pandemic...
5 Ways Leaders Can Make Tough Conversations Easier
People screw up at work. We are, after all, human. But leaders only compound the problem when they fail to act on it. Pretending that inappropriate conduct doesn't exist--or hoping the bad actor will see the light, self-correct, and switch to a b...
What It Takes To Be A Top Seller: Practice. Yes, We're Talking About Practice!
Are you the undisputed top seller in your field? Have your competitors stopped trying to improve? Is your industry unchanging and your product the same as it ever was?
If the answer to any of these questions is "No," then your job...
Budgeting for Cybersecurity Requires a New Approach
When a country sends its army to war, it does so based on a plan to win, not on fitting a predetermined budget.
But when it comes to the virtual cybersecurity battlefield, CFOs too often take the opposite approach, leaving their compa...
Suppliers must pivot as Biden accelerates ZEV push
Big government spending often gets a bad rap, but there are times when it can have a truly transformative impact.
Take the massive public works program in the 1950s that built the U.S. interstate highway system. Conceived during the C...
Improving doctors bargaining position in salary and contract negotiations
Physicians spend most of their lives training to be the best doctors they can be. What they don't spend a lot of time doing is understanding what they are worth.
Because of increased consolidation and a variety of other factors in h...
Colleges need to engage in a financial aid 'arms race.' Here's how that could happen
Two of the most persistent challenges facing the U.S. are a lack of meaningful jobs and growing income inequality. And these problems are only getting worse.
Sure, there are jobs out there, at fast-food restaurants or fulfillment ware...
CFOs: Prepare for Changes in Global Tax Rules
You hear it everywhere: U.S. corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes. They've hollowed out domestic industry by moving to cheaper, more tax-friendly countries. Whether or not you believe this narrative, it's built on criticism that...
The Great Resignation In Sales Is Real. Here's What Leaders Can Do To Stem It
The sales profession centers on meeting people, listening to people, understanding people, building trust with people, and sharing prosperity with people.
So when sellers were forced to spend a year and a half separated from people t...
How to Step Up Client Communications Ahead of New Tax Changes
Most firms send tax law updates by email, leading to information overload for tax partners as well as clients. It'll only get worse as the Biden administrations starts to revamp tax laws and roll out new tax changes. Here's how to f...
If You Want to Retain Workers, Develop This New Leadership Competency
First was the Great Depression. Then came the Great Recession.
Sixteen months after the first Covid-19 lockdown, it's now time for the Great Resignation.
A record 4 million people quit their jobs in April alone, and more...
A Post-Pandemic Primer For Leaders
The rapid spread of Covid's Delta variant has derailed family vacations, delayed office reopenings and heightened fears that our suspended reality will go on for years to come.
But even with the continued disruption and changing gov...
Having Survived The Pandemic, Take This Moment To Reinvent Our Sales Model
The end of COVID quarantine signals the end of an era for sellers. The days of the road warrior are over. Lockdown proved that sellers can do just fine, if not better, by working remotely. There's no travel expense and zero wasted time in airpo...
3 Steps Leaders Can Take To Avoid The Root Causes of Conflict
Conflict isn't what gets people excited about coming to work every day, that's for sure. And leaders and employees alike try to avoid any way possible. But the best way to avoid conflicts is to understand what gives rise to them in the first plac...
Crack down on chemicals in our water
The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment's decision last week to close Sloan's Lake to recreation and fishing because of blue-green algae bloom brought into stark focus the dangers of fertilizers and other chemical pollutants en...
Down to the last drop
Set in a desert, surrounded by hostile neighbors, and home to a literal Dead Sea, Israel faces one of the most precarious water situations in the world. But because the natural resource is so scarce, Israel has learned to make the most of every d...
There Is Only One Acceptable Way To Apologize For Missteps At Work
Apologizing is one of the hardest things we have to do, not just as leaders, but as people.
Telling someone you've done them wrong is never easy. When we do finally work up the courage and humility we need to apologize, we tend to mak...
Driving Change When There Isn't A Crisis
It's one thing to get an organization to move off a burning platform. It is quite another to get an organization to move when there is no visible fire.
The pandemic required leaders to make significant changes at great speed. For so...