Jim Blasingame on his morning radio show for small business owners and CEOs made me think (as he always does) and remember stories that may help small business owners. He had just advised his listeners to spend an hour each week out of the trenches, thinking about the direction of the business. It is my […]
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Comments Off on What Level Leader Are You?
Recent conversation with a Private Equity partner about leadership qualities of CEOs in their portfolio may be worth recounting. One of their CEOs, we will call “the field general” is “exceptional at creating a battle plan, assembling and chartering the team (including swapping out under-performers and recruiting stars to a difficult location) and driving execution.” […]
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Comments Off on Missing The Boat (Too Few Female Leaders)
Once in awhile, an article in the press catches my eye that shows in some world other than business my leadership hypotheses have broad application: So many companies are missing the boat by having far too few female executives in senior positions. Consider Lt. Cdr. Sarah West, the first woman in 500 years of Royal […]
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Comments Off on Growing While De-risking
My CEOs who battened down the hatches as early as Fall of 2007, executed the unthinkable savings and cash provisioning in early 2008 and began selective risk-taking (acquisition of talent, acquisition of distressed companies,…) in late 2008 found the first quarter of 2011 encouraging. Profits were up, additional opportunities were surfacing, investments were being digested […]
Countless more ordinary people of equal talent never developed the leadership core required to run the show. Why not?
Monday, August 15, 2011
Comments Off on Small Business Owner vs. Small Business CEO