I spent part of my day at an old-line manufacturing firm that is in an industry facing disruption by new technology. Rather than reacting to its fear of this technology by entering into despair or denial, it has become a leader in applying the new technology. The CEO...
The footprint of concerned institutional investors trying to do the right thing just gets larger. CalPERS, the California state pension fund wielding assets of $240 billion, has expanded its guidelines for companies in its portfolio to include minimizing climate risks and advocating more diversity among employees and...
The Idea in Brief You've executed a brilliant new strategy--but your competitors are catching on. How to get them off your scent? Stalk recommends throwing curveball strategies: clever moves that get competitors looking the other way...
The list of technological species endangered by new innovations is growing long: First 8-track tapes and VHS, then printed newspapers and the compact-disc album. Now we can add the checkbook to the list. Or that's the word from the Federal Reserve. In an interview with "American Banker,"...
You get the sense that regulators were working all weekend long alongside hundreds of workers at JPMorgan and Bear Stearns to hammer out what by any standards is a historic takeover. The idea was to contain the equivalent of a toxic spill in world financial markets. So why doesn't anyone...
This is a fascinating battle where two fundamental impulses--the right of shareholders to earn the best possible returns and the role of an independent media in the American democracy--come into conflict. Disclosure: I've been writing for the Times for seven years, but think I can step back...
The uber consultants at McKinsey's Technology Initiative have published their first Perspectives volume, seven pieces on the major trends the firm sees emerging. I'll highlight the first piece here more later on the rest. It's called Eight business technology trends to watch free registration required, but these...
The Idea in Brief In many industries--automotive, consumer electronics, home appliances--the after-sales service market has ballooned to four to five times the size of the original equipment business. And the aftermarket is a high-margin cash cow: in...
The Idea in Brief You can't outperform rivals if you compete the same way they do. To be king of the jungle, not copycat, you must spur substantial new growth--quickly, profitably, and safely. ...
The Idea in Brief Big companies have always been complex. But to cope with new challenges such as globalization, they've increased their complexity--with proliferating products, tangled reporting relationships, and duplicated processes. They've become unwieldy, ungovernable, and...
Harvard Business School Press editor Melinda Merino is joined by Bain & Company's Chris Zook to discuss some of the ideas from his new book, "Unstoppable: Finding Hidden Assets to Renew the Core and Fuel Profitable Growth." In the near future, Zook says, the only way for the vast majority...
I'm indebted to Thomas Kirchner, a fellow business commentator, who has a radical idea. If the goal of organizing a CEO's compensation is go give him or her a real personal stake in how the business performs, why not look at how Porsche has structured the compensation of CEO Wiedeking?:...
When a company borrows money, there are essentially two costs involved: the issuance expenses, which are fees charged to issue the loan, and the interest payments on the debt. If interest is added to the principle balance of the loan—rather than paid off—it’s known as capitalization.Interest rates are usually based...
Current ratio is a measure of liquidity, which compares a company’s current assets with its current liabilities.Current ratio is a favored test among banks and lenders because it reveals whether a company is generating enough cash to pay its short-term creditors. What to DoThe ratio divides current assets by...
Risk-adjusted Rate of Return is a performance measure that adjusts for the initial risk an investor takes at the time of a purchase.Every investor works with risk, but if they can quantify it, they should be able to make more informed decisions about which risks are worth taking. Calculating risk-adjusted...
As we've noted before here on Business Hacks, a quick recall is often an important asset in business. Not only does memorizing a bunch of names of people you just met make them feel happy, they might also think it's an indicator that you have other sorts of smarts, as...
CIOs need to step up their game if they want to maintain their influence. The Society for Information Management found that 31 percent of CIOs report to the CEO now, as opposed to 45 percent last year. Some CEOs are questioning whether or not their companies' even need a CIO now...
Why you're selling a business will determine how you should approach the task and what you can reasonably expect from an eventual deal. If you are selling so you can retire, for instance, you can wait for the best offer, even if you wind up waiting for a few years....
This week BNET is featuring a list of underrated business books. The recommendations are noteworthy for their diversity -- we've got everything from the eye-opening and incredibly sad "Nickel and Dimed in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich, to the fast and fun insights of Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point." If you're...
As we wrote on the BNET Intercom last week, sometimes it's important to stay true to your company's strategic core. But sometimes, with technology and globalization changing the business environment at whiplash inducing speeds, fundamental redefinition is a necessity rather than a distraction. In a post on the Harvard Business...
