A Forbes article talks about the new rules in place for Google’s 20% Time; the time they give employees every week to work on new innovations. And I agree they needed to put some structure around it to align with strategy. Makes sense. Everyone knows the success rate of new products is extremely low. Businesses […]
We are pleased to share the news that our former Oscar Mayer / Kraft colleague who went on to become the CFO of Harley-Davidson has been named CFO of the Year by The Business Journal in Milwaukee. Congratulations, John!
Strategy isn’t just about being better than the competition. It’s about being different; something that eludes most consumer products businesses. I’ll come right out and say it so you can decide if you want to read on: It’s high time for IT and CIOs to play a major strategic role in differentiating consumer products companies […]
When you’re a teenager driving a two-tone (not counting the rust) ’64 Ford Fairlane salvaged from a front-end collision and your friend has a hot ’67 SS Chevelle (the SS stood for Super Sport) with a 400 horsepower 396 cubic inch engine, you’ll do whatever you can to your car to increase the cool factor […]
One of the most common root causes of a strategic initiative stalling out is the lack of senior leadership alignment. Maybe senior leaders say they support the initiative but they don’t really walk their talk. Or they prioritize the initiative at the bottom of their list. Or worse yet, they actually take a position in […]
Innovation is the lifeblood of every business. Yet, one of the most common excuses a CEO hears when people try to explain why the company isn’t coming up with any significant innovations is, “We’re just too risk-averse.” To which, the most common response from a CEO is, “Tell me which big idea I didn’t fund.” […]
Retailers know it’s Back-to-School time. Shelves are packed with supplies. But clearly businesses and consultants like Accenture, McKinsey, Booz, BCG, Deloitte, etc., need to head back to school too. They’re getting an F in implementing major strategic initiatives. Check out the report card. 70% of change initiatives fail (Kotter, 1995) 67% of transformation efforts fail […]
What’s in a name? Actually, quite a lot. Why do we call one of the most essential major strategic initiatives a business can undertake something as uninspiring as continuous improvement? Or worse yet, why would we ever consider naming it after the tools or methodologies we use like “Lean” or “Six Sigma”? After all, when’s […]
Businesses have spent billions of dollars training employees and launching lean, six sigma, lean six sigma, Kaizen or some other variation of continuous improvement initiatives with lofty expectations. Finding and then advertising the “quick wins”, zealous leaders begin proselytizing and training every other function in the company to use the same tools. Yes, even the […]
Well are pleased to share the news that our former Oscar Mayer / Kraft colleague and friend, Nancy Sawle-Knoblach, has become the CEO of Amazing Cosmetics. Amazing Cosmetics was founded in 1999 by Lisa Thurman and Sue Katz. The brand, known for its concealer, has a loyal following of celebrities and celebrity make-up artists. Nancy has […]
