Making the shift from doing to leading can be challenging for any supervisor, but great leaders need to master the skill of delegating. Delegating is a true skill set. Some leaders find it very difficult to let go of the control over daily tasks. They spend their time focusing on mundane details, instead of passing
Women hold just 4.4% of CEO positions at S&P 500 companies, and this number is set to drop when Carol Meyrowitz steps down as CEO of TJX Companies, Inc. and moves into the role of executive chairperson. Looking globally, just 8% of companies with revenues of at least $500 million have a female CEO. Here’s the thing
Recently a friend left her job for a new job that offered more money, a better title, and exciting work. She spent much of the last days at her job feeling excited about her new prospect, but something in her was unsettled. She had spent much of the last decade at her job forming and
Do we need to rethink the concept of happiness at work? Do you like your job? It can be a complex question to answer when everything is taken into account. For some people that question is comprised of several other questions, many of which have different answers: If I could do anything with my life
Around the time when the leaves start changing color every year, companies turn their focus to year-end revenue and gross profit forecasts. Those forecasts, in turn, are used to inform the establishment of sales and revenue targets for the following year. These goals can inspire your sales team to re-imagine internal processes to drive stellar
Going green in the warehouse is no longer an afterthought, but a necessity to boost the bottom line. With the US Green Building Council reporting nearly 172,000 gross square meters being certified LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) every day in the U.S., it speaks volumes about the widespread industry acceptance of sustainable design. Once an
All executives understand the significance, for their company and for their career, of creating and implementing strategy. Because of the significance of strategy, and because strategy forces executives to confront the future, many find it scary. Savvy executives understand that not all business challenges can be resolved from inside their organization. Savvy executives rely on
Understanding your financial metrics at a granular level is important in that it allows for a true understanding of what is happening, and what is not. It enables you to drill down and appreciate, for example, similarities, differences, and outliers. Being informed at a granular level enables better decision-making when it comes to determining how
Although our economy has rebounded since the 2008 downturn we have come to realize that the days of abundant resources are gone. Our current and future economic reality consists of scarce resources and a shrinking opportunity base. Managers face the challenge of expanding their business and reducing their spending, while still making meaningful progress now
Being in the strategic advisory space, I get a lot of exposure to various business strategies, strategic plans, and sales plans, both internally to organizations and from outsiders looking to raise money or gain influence. When it comes to strategic planning, too often there is “creative accounting.” That is, the artful creation of financials that match and make numerical
Before you finalize your budget, take inventory. What do you really need? A friend recently shared a story with me. Her company had been subject to budget cuts over the past several years. Each year the question wasn’t if there would be cuts, but rather how much would be shaved off an already tight budget.
“A diverse organization will out-think and out-perform a homogeneous organization every single time”. A. Lafley, CEO – Procter & Gamble Recent research conducted by McKinsey & Company found that when it comes to the bottom line, diversity matters. Specifically, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above
