Professional intervention in a family business to resolve disputes is a smart strategy as the issues that confront a family in business together are difficult and complex. “A family business expert, who is experienced in dealing with family business dynamics, can be more objective to help grow the family business, to help maintain healthy family […]
Archive | Organization, Change, & HR RSS feed for this section
Three Ways to Take Your Company’s Pulse
Every type of business, not to mention every type of manager, has a different set of vital statistics that really matter. For manufacturing people, it could be inventory turns, on-time delivery, and unit cost. For marketing people, it could be new account closings, market share, and sales growth. For call center managers, it could be the […]
Rethink Post-Merger Talent Retention
Global merger and acquisition activity hit record levels in 2014, a trend that is expected to continue and even accelerate through 2015. Based on historic results, over 70% of merger transactions can be expected to result in failure and negative return for investors. Completing a post-merger integration is challenging for a variety of reasons, including changing […]
Who Is Mr. Roche?
Mr. Charles Fiaccabrino is one of the most remarkable and impressive people I have crossed paths with. Over the past couple years, I had the distinct pleasure of working with him closely, as we (at Flevy) productized his thought leadership into a sales management methodology known as the Fiaccabrino Selection Process (FSP). Now in his 80s, Mr. Fiaccabrino has […]
Building Resilience into Supply Chains
The supply chains of most companies, large and small, exploit a world of opportunities. But, increasing global exposure comes with an increasing range of risks. These companies’ complex networks of suppliers and customers are as diverse as the goods and resources they manage. Within the same supply chain, giant multinational companies can sit side-by side […]
7 Things to Do Before Your Next Performance Review
Performance reviews, while not necessarily the most effective way to do business, are a realistic part of the work year for many employees. Many people find the review process stressful, but I believe a great deal of the stress and anxiety around performance reviews can be reduced or eliminated with proper preparation. Try working through […]
Organizational Culture: A Blueprint for Success in a Family Business
In looking at the organizational culture of a family business, we are assessing behaviors that are important to creating a strong effective staff and competent leadership. “Successful family businesses tend to have the family’s values and culture deeply embedded into their business strategies, policies and practices,” says leading family business expert Don Schwerzler. “How well the business […]
Want to Train Your Staff on Lean and Organizational Excellence?
Several training series have recently been published on Flevy on the management topics of Lean (Operational Excellence) and Organizational Excellence. These training series can be used for internal certification programs in organizations of all sizes. Lean Shop Floor Training Series – 8 Modules. This is a Lean training series for beginners. With this series, you can arm your […]
Workplace Politics Kills Innovation
As a manager in big companies I hated workplace politics. Among colleagues you compete for scarce budgets, scarce people and scarce promotion opportunities. This does not bring out the best in people, creating a lot of wrangling and maneuvering. Sometimes it even seems that internal competitors are more vicious than competitors in the market. Individual agendas […]
Our Interview with the Co-founders of TheConsultantLounge, the One-stop Hub for Consultants
We recently had the opportunity to speak with the two co-founders of TheConsultantLounge.com, Laura Woodroof (picture on the right below) and Martina Segerer. TheConsultantLounge is an online and offline community for smart and passionate management consultants who were looking to expand their network and share their experiences across the broader consulting ecosystem. Both Laura and Martina are seasoned consultants with combined […]
How Top 1% Businesses Measure Their Success
Many of us have heard the old adage “What gets measured gets done.” Organisations are awash with KPIs–key performance indicators. Variously attributed to 19th Century UK Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and American author Mark Twain the oft-quoted phrase, “There are lies, damned lies and statistics,” reflects justified cynicism about the cult of measurement. The greatest […]
A Comprehensive Guide to Staff Retention
Between 2002 and 2008, I was employed by British Telecom as the Central Regional Sales Director. This afforded me the ability to influence, coach, mentor and deliver results through a staff of over 300; across 2 call centres and Field based consultants. I wrote this article a few years ago but never published it, but […]
