Published Articles
Directors: Are Your Companies Really Unique?
Every company thinks it's different. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, many find themselves stuck in a sea of sameness.
Witness how many media firms jumped into streaming strategies, how many automakers started building ele...
Time to recruit
It's understandable that companies - and hiring managers - are on edge right now. Three US banks have collapsed, the tech industry has already laid off thousands of workers, and Goldman Sachs predicts a 35% chance there will be a recession in the...
A Growing Threat: Companies Are Caught In The Crosshairs Of Populism
To the list of threats facing American businesses, add this one: populism.
Increasingly, civil-led protests and actions are disrupting business operations. If leaders don't give them as much attention as economic risks such as highe...
Fixing Belonging is Crucial as Colleges Face Demographic Cliff
Nearly every college and university in America takes turnover as a given, assuming that they will lose 10-20% of their student body after the freshman year.
"Not everyone is going to fit in," the thinking goes. The student is a ke...
How Should a Small Business Plan for Rising Taxes?
A buzzword appeared in the world of small business about a decade ago: the accountant as "most trusted adviser."
As a certified public accountant, I'm flattered that we're consulted for a growing range of business needs, inclu...
The Federal Government Is Far Behind the Digital Curve
It's been almost two years since President Biden issued an executive order that directs federal agencies to beef up their digital offerings and improve the "customer experience." Yet websites remain clunky and opaque, with functionality med...
Companies embracing ESG shouldn't run from workplace diversity - they should double down
The backlash against corporate ESG policies - or "woke capitalism" as some critics are branding it - may be seen within some companies as an excuse to relax already faltering efforts to promote diversity in their workforce.
Th...
Looking For A Successor? Don't Overlook Your CMO
CMOs were long the punching bags of the C-Suite. Woody Allen once said, "Humorists always sit at the children's table." And for many years, it seemed that marketers were seated right there beside them.
Then came the pandemic. An...
5 strategies to foster internal talent mobility - and keep your best employees
Despite the best efforts and fervent hopes of managers and chief executives everywhere, the Great Resignation isn't over.
According to PWC's Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022 study, at any given moment, 20 percent of wo...
Is This the Secret To Combating Burnout?
According to the American Medical Association, a record 63 percent of doctors reported burnout last year. The chief culprit: they now spend an average of nearly two days a week buried in administrative work. And they hate it.
Technolo...
Our Marketing Model Is Breaking -- Here's One Way To Fix It
Our once-stalwart marketing model is breaking. To understand why, look no further than Facebook's expected $10 billion ad sale revenue hit from Apple's changes to give users more control of their privacy.
It's not just Apple who...
How Do You Drive For Results Now While Preparing For The Future? Avoid These Common Traps.
There's broad consensus among the CEOs I've spoken with recently: They agree they need to drive short-term performance, even as they continue their long-term transformation efforts.
Performance is crucial. Inefficiencies have buil...
Why you shouldn't wait forever to design your forever home
It's never too early to begin thinking about retirement. For most of us, that means opening a retirement account or rejiggering our investments, but few appreciate the many benefits of getting an early start on designing the home in which we wa...
CMOs: Turn down the chaos and tune up the basics
Think of the recent panic over ChatGPT as the latest round of "Marketing Mayhem." That's the chaotic state that takes over marketing departments and agency partners whenever a new toy presents itself with heightened promises and cultural FO...
Small Businesses Are Facing Higher Costs and Interest Rates. Here Are 6 Steps to Stave Off a Crisis.
The Main Street economy is facing some stiff headwinds.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep boosting interest rates this year. That could push the rate on Small Business Administration loans to 10%, the highest in 15 years. Add in...
Why Do We Pay So Much Attention To CEOs?
Every week, we seem to be hit with a new story of a CEO who's fallen from grace: Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, Adam Neumann of WeWork, or Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX. Of course, the news ignores the other chief executives who are doing a reasonabl...
Making An Older Home More Livable, & Valuable
Clean, open floor plans continually rank atop homebuyers' wish lists. Nothing quite runs contrary to this pursuit than the warren of rabbit holes of a 1970s-era home.
Think segmented rooms and wall-to-wall shag carpet. Jagged stone...
M&A Red Flags: The Crucial Role of Marketing Due Diligence
When J.P. Morgan spent $175 million to buy student financial aid firm Frank, it thought it was getting access to millions of young customers. It turns out that wasn't the case, according to the bank's subsequent lawsuit accusing Frank of fabr...
Is It Time To Put Your Company On A Meeting Diet?
In January, Shopify decided it was in drastic need of a meeting cleanse. A bot was used to wipe calendars company-wide of any recurring meeting with three or more people. Total time savings: 320,000 hours, the equivalent of hiring 150 new people....
New ways to manage security risk in the volatile post-pandemic world
As the pandemic recedes and businesses aggressively relaunch cross-border trade and expansion, they're returning to a very different world. That makes it crucial for corporate leaders to rethink how they manage security risks.
Rapid...