Let us start with a question. Do you read Schumpeter in The Economist? Most of the time I really like what he says, but every now and then I disagree.
A good example of this is The cult of the faceless boss; I don’t agree that a CEO has to be flamboyant, maniacal, egotisticical and overbearing to be brilliant.
Whereas I found The three habits…of highly irritating management gurus to be right on and which has a comment that was too good not to quote here.
I’m thinking of titling my new management tome: “How I Learned My Five Most Effective Management Habits …read more

Saturday we looked at some incongruous actions and compensation of various CEOs and it reminded me of something I read a year or so ago, so I went looking and found it. Amazing!
I realize that housing is a touchy subject these days, but over the last few decade as houses got bigger and bigger I found it weirder and weirder.
There’s no way to ever convince me that any family or person, really needs a seven thousand-plus square foot house in order to live comfortably—let alone 10,000 and up.
The item I remembered article was  an UpFront blurb in Business Week that …read more

Grab a cup of coffee (or a beer it the sun is over the yardarm) because I have 4 superb items for you today.
First up is McKinsey’s Economic Survey one year after the official meltdown. You may have to register (it’s free), but it’s worth it.
Next is a must read article from Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist and professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University in which he explains, as Bruce Nussbaum says, “how economists, especially the math-based, market-manic Chicago-school economists, have hurt the US and much of the rest of the world.” The title is …read more

Executive compensation is in the limelight these days—not that it’s ever out. People have always been fascinated by the lavish paychecks of high profile players, whether business leaders or Hollywood icons.
The list of executives paid for non-performance in 2006 pales in comparison to CEO pay in 2008.
We’re all taught the value of hard work, exceeding goals, giving our all, but some have found a better way—a loving Board.
Non-performance bonus money isn’t new; in 2007 Coke had a $2.9 billion noncash charge in the fourth quarter, so they cut 3500 workers and their execs missed their performance bonus targets, but the …read more

Today, a compilation study tell more about women’s efforts to achieve executive roles and three CEOs talk about why, how and what they did to outperform the competition.
Ladies first, so let’s start with the women. The ‘glass ceiling’ has been blamed for women’s inability to reach top executive levels, but a new study out of Harvard says that it’s more than that. Instead of one major barrier to hurdle, it’s a series of obstacles along the career path.
But women do make it. Women such as Dany Levy, founder of DailyCandy.com, who talks about managing, founding and running a company and …read more

You may not be a CEO, you can learn from from them and tweak the information to work for you.
First is an article written by Neeraj Bhargava, who co-founded India’s WNS Global Services and ended up CEO. It’s interesting because the focus his learning curve in an overheated market, how he hired an exceptional team and got out of their way.
Next is an interview with James J. Schiro, CEO of Zurich Financial Services (they didn’t crash and burn) focusing on what he’s learned, how he manages, how he uses social media and building the company’s culture.
CEOs jobs are safer than …read more

Oh goody. Another CEO study. I haven’t seen the study, but David Brooks (NY Times) gives an overview (whatever you do, don’t miss the comments), while Dan McCarthy (Great Leadership laments the fascination with such studies.
I pretty much ignore them, except for their amusement value—sort of like all the food studies that tell us which food that was recommended last year will kill us this year.
Speaking of which, I wish someone would do a study like that on CEOs.
A ranking of CEOs who were lauded for x amount of time before they crashed and burned for the same traits that …read more

CEOs have the spotlight today—about them, from them and for them.
CEOs have never liked anything that comes between them and the compensation they believe they deserve—not independent directors, governance gurus, sensibility and certainly not TARP. Business Week offers an interesting overview of TARP’s effect on CEO engagement, but it’s the readers’ comments that make the story unique.
What exactly does a CEO contribute to the organization? In an excellent article from A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble’s CEO, talks about the most important things to focus on, wherever you are in the business cycle.
Now learn interesting lessons from a Bollywood dance class …read more

Today’s quotes are a sampling of comments I found in Business Week’s profiles of CEOs Of Tomorrow. Take a moment and click through the whole series, I think you’ll find it interesting.
“Numbers tell only part of the story. People get things done.” –John S. Watson, Vice-Chairman, Chevron
“It’s important to have fun as a team. When it is time to hop in the pine box, you’ll wish you had high-fived more people and taken more risks.” –Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO, AOL
“Revenue is important, but customer satisfaction is even more crucial. I’ve always believed that it’s not just what you do …read more