Category Archives: Managing Business Functions

Three Leadership Lessons from Ron Johnson’s Debacle at J.C. Penney

Monday’s dismissal of J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson comes as no surprise. In late 2011, J.C. Penney had hired Ron Johnson from Apple to revive the sagging fortunes of the storied retailer. He was deemed as a retailing genius who … Continue reading

Posted in Leadership, Managing Business Functions, The Successful Manager | Leave a comment

How to Think and Perform like a CEO: Link the External World with the Internal Organization

A.G. Lafley on the Unique Work of CEOs In this article (PDF of full article) in the May 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Proctor & Gamble’s Chairman and outgoing CEO, A.G. Lafley reflects on the unique responsibilities of … Continue reading

Posted in Managing Business Functions, Self Development | 1 Comment

On Recruiting from a Competitor

In response to my statement on prohibiting current employees from disclosing proprietary information from their former employers, blog reader Alberto from Sao Palo, Brazil, questioned me on the ethics of hiring from a competitor. Competitors are the principal, sometimes inevitable, … Continue reading

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Virus on iPods: Apple blames Microsoft Windows

On Wednesday, Apple’s iPod support website acknowledged that a small number of video iPods were infected with a Windows virus. In addition to describing the scale of infection and providing instructions to remove the virus, the website blamed Microsoft Windows … Continue reading

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Philanthropy: Collaborative Initiatives to Transfer Corporate Values to the Social Sector

Traditional philanthropy, whether personal, institutional or corporate, takes three forms: cash capital, volunteer-time in programming support, and cause-related sponsorship. I believe a fourth avenue, corporate and non-profit collaboration, can make an important difference in the society. Following last year’s Katrina … Continue reading

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Respect the Competition

In business, as in sports or work-life, it is essential to possess a mature sense of respect for the competition. The recent arguments between US Airways [LCC] and JetBlue Airways [JBLU] form a case in point. JetBlue recently announced services … Continue reading

Posted in Managing Business Functions, News Analysis | 2 Comments