Posted by: Ian Smith
Last weekend sitting watching my daughter Emily graduate from St Joseph’s University in Philadelphia I had many thoughts going through my head but two stayed with me. One came from Dr Elizabeth A. Hagen Under Secretary for Food Safety in the current Obama administration, the Commencement speaker and the other a more general observation. ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ian Smith
Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement yesterday. At the same time the WSJ published a great article – When the CEO Burns Out. Reading about Sir Alex’s retirement and the WSJ article reminded me of the pressure and expectations placed on today’s leaders.
And the pressure mounts. The article noted an uncertain economy, shareholder discontent and mounting ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ian Smith
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but presenting in public is an acquired skill and an essential one if you hope to influence people. So many great authors are average public speakers. So it’s not about the words, it’s about how you make the audience feel.
Here are 16 quick tips worth considering:
Posted by: Ian Smith
Container Store operates 59 locations, booked sales of $707m last year and six years ago sold a majority stake to a Private Equity House. CEO Kip Tindell was interviewed on March 21 by the WSJ. Note the following facts from this interview:
Posted by: Ian Smith
Harvard Business Review published a fascinating piece on March 15 on recent research conducted by Emily Heaphy and Marcial Losada into the effectiveness of leadership of 60 divisions of a large computer company. The one question they were trying to answer amongst many: in leadership what is the most effective ratio of positive to negative feedback comments? Is ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ian Smith
I see the same problem again and again as businesses try to scale their operations. You can’t afford to recruit a new person for every task. So tasks float around half done by the loyal servant with 10 projects to handle.
Whether your business employs 5 people or 500 people the allocation of tasks to one person responsible ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ian Smith
If you only employ people that do what you tell them they will fail to execute. As CEO you need to see a little piece of yourself in them. They need to solve problems on the ground, to get stuff done. The solutions that will be needed will require curiosity, grit, problem solving abilities, problem finding abilities, all ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ian Smith
As CEO of your business, you arrive at your desk to find a supplier has stopped your account. You failed to pay him for the third time according to his terms. You have plenty of cash in the bank but you were being just a little too smart with the cash flow management. The sales manager approaches you about John, the salesman who performs erratically and is if off sick ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ian Smith
Last week in the WSJ an adapted extract from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual letter was published, outlining Bill’s plan to fix the world’s biggest problems. His thesis revolves around good measurement and a commitment to follow the data. And oh how true that approach is to building a successful business. Reading the article reminded me of the power that knowledge brings. The knowledge gained through ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ian Smith
Seth Godin in his new book – The Icarus Deception writes that in the context of sinking or swimming we are indoctrinated into believing we actually sink when we fail. Do we? he asks. “In fact, in the connection economy, it’s the person who doesn’t enter the arena who is punished. In the connection economy, the fearful are disconnected. They are the ones who are punished, not by sinking but by ...
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