Stress Tests for Private Companies
Much publicity has been given to the stress tests handed down by the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program and applied to the Banking Industry. These tests are designed amongst other things to ensure banks have sufficient capital reserves to trade safely. What about...Scenario Planning
Over the last few weeks it’s funny how certain phrases start to rise to the top of the noise.Three phrases have jumped out at me, economic recovery, behavioural economics and scenario planning. In one sense it’s not suprising, we all want to know the...Positioning & Performance
There was a great piece by Robert Weisman in the Sunday Globe yesterday highlighting some lessons learned from the last recession. It described how Akamai Technologies realized that e-commerce would grow as traditional companies migrated online as opposed to chasing...Can we learn from Bloomberg?
Over the last few years Bloomberg has been investing in content from a number of suppliers, Agence France Presse, Xinhua News Agency and it will soon announce a tie up with Associated Press. All designed to enhance the value sitting at a Bloomberg terminal. It will...Dependency – The Paradox of Growth
Almost all businesses from time to time, somewhere on their growth curve, hit the dependency issue. Over dependent on a large customer, on a large supplier, on a market segment or on a government contract or on a technology platform.In the UK many clothing related...Do you know why you are successful?
In Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, Outliers, he poses the question, do we really understand why we are successful? Counter-intuitive propositions are often the hallmark of truly insightful observations. Take his example from Canadian hockey. Many of the most...Time To Be a Contrarian Thinker
So the recession is hurting, you’ve attacked costs, you’ve polished up your sales scripts and you still feel in trouble and in need of inspiration. The next five years will be an unusually attractive time to build a business! Enter a collection of...Positioning – Cherchez le creneaux
I’ve just read the classic book on positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. It is amazing to think that this was published in 1981. The 20th anniversary edition, 2001, has great new commentary from the authors. The key...Repositioning: Why IBM is buying Sun
Executing on positioning, establishing your unique identity is never easy however a well timed acquisition can hit the spot. Here are seven reasons why IBM might buy Sun: Timing; Market value of Sun at the peak was $205 billion, purchase price today, around $8...Operational Excellence For Exits
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