Collaboration along the Chain

I revisited Michael Porter’s Value Chain recently. I am big fan of his model and have used it for several years.

One thing occurred to me: moving along the chain from left to right requires greater collaboration. Yes, there is collaboration and effective communication throughout; otherwise, things fall through the cracks, products go out [...]

The Window Can Be Dangerous

People want to know. Maybe not everything, but most things. There is still some bliss associated with ignorance, particularly for those messier details. So, companies are putting more of themselves “in the window”, showing the world how they function and what they actually do.

When you put yourself there, honesty and openness rule [...]

Compensate for the Right Goals

Last week, there was a story on the news about a guy in Tucson who followed a speed camera van around and held a sign warning drivers the van was there. He reasoning was that there was insufficient notification to drivers that the van was there to catch them speeding. The van is [...]

Managing Expectations

On Friday, I wrote about closing loops on everything—questions, requests, complaints, whatever. One thing that will make closing those loops much easier is by properly managing expectations.

This concept is one of the most important business lessons I have learned. It truly is a 360˚ method of management, because it goes up, down and [...]

Managing Staff

Whenever you enter a management position that includes managing a staff, there are two types of people you will manage: the people you hire and the people you inherit.

When it comes to hiring, you should have a pretty good idea of what you are looking for. That can create anxiety, especially if you’re new [...]

Paying Dues

There’s something to be said for paying your dues. It’s only right that we should have to go through all the same…um…stuff…that others have suffered before us. Much of the time.

When you’re building an organization, hoping to hire the best, you may not find the best senior-level people with all the industry-specific experience [...]

Human Rights and the Internet

Today, I’m taking a break from my normal brand management posts and joining Bloggers Unite in discussing human rights.
Growing up, I used to believe that we should not impose our own cultural biases on others’. To me, the issue was simple and straightforward: That’s what their world is like. If they don’t like [...]

Review of “Just Enough Anxiety”

I had the opportunity to read Just Enough Anxiety by Robert H. Rosen while traveling last week. It’s a thought-provoking book and a must-read for anyone in or aspiring to enter the management ranks.

What I liked about it:

It forces you to look in the mirror and consider your own anxiety issues (especially those that [...]

The Choices We Make

I know that I am exactly where I am because of certain choices I have made. Some of those I can trace back nearly 20 years. Certainly others’ choices have factored into it. But how I chose to respond, behave and act put me on one path or another.

The same is true [...]

Both Sides of Your Noggin

True success in brand management requires you to use both sides of your brain, often moving imperceptively from hard number analysis to creative conceptualization and everywhere in between. That’s because you must understand every aspect of your business, how all the pieces fit together and function as a whole.

It takes recognizing which investments will [...]