Business management

Companies pay a premium for prestigious degrees. Should they?

Human systems are just as important as tech.

The key to selling well-designed, well-crafted products at high margins is the aesthetic coherence of the company and its goods. Embodying that ideal...

When Ben Franklin wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac and the words, “A little neglect may breed great mischief,” he did not have price fixing in mind. To the 47 executives in companies in the folding-box industry convicted of price fixing, however, the words seem tailored to fit. In those companies convicted under antitrust laws in 1976, […]

Surprised by a gender stereotype? React calmly, directly, and move on.

Three rules from a company that's been fully remote since 2014.

In many countries, diversified business groups substitute for the institutions that support effective markets in capital, labor, and goods and services. Their capacity for doing this must be strengthened through restructuring, not destroyed through dismantling.

I have a colleague who cares passionately about the environment. She worries about global warming, supports policy to reduce carbon emissions, and is militant about keeping the heat down and maintaining the proper tire pressure in her car. Yet her car is an SUV that gets shameful (her words) gas mileage. She lives in a […]

Using the results of a survey of 380 companies in 34 industries, this author examines three basic types of compensation plans: salary, commission, and combination (salary plus commission). Most companies in the study favored a combination plan, but such plans have some disadvantages to offset their obvious attractiveness. The author sets out the possible reasons […]

New survey data sheds light on three key reasons.

It was fascinating to read of HP’s plan to acquire services and consulting giant EDS. In a lot of ways, the idea makes eminent sense. EDS has formidable strengths in the kind of stem-to-stern solutions that many of HP’s corporate customers crave. And HP itself offers a broad array of complementary products that allow for […]

Six questions to ask before you fill the role.

Managers should make environmental investments for the same reason they make other investments: because they expect them to deliver positive returns or to reduce risks.

“A good sketch is better than a long speech…” — a quote often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte The ability to visualize the implications of data is as old as humanity itself. Yet due to the vast quantities, sources, and sinks of data being pumped around our global economy at an ever increasing rate, the need […]

In my consulting and research I’ve seen many companies launch process improvement programs such as Total Quality Management, Business Reengineering, Lean, and Six Sigma. Many got significant benefits, including lower costs, faster time-to-market, and better customer experiences. But after one round of improvement, they gave up and let their organization get flabby again. Organizations, like […]

Are you ready to have an honest conversation with your customers?

A one-size-fits-all plan isn't good enough.

In fast-growing markets, women are getting ahead faster, too.

Emotions come first, behavior comes second.

Can the Next Big Thing be chased down? Can coolness be hunted on purpose? That's the premise of a new book called Coolhunting: Chasing Down the Next Big...