EBF's fascinating Debate on Corporate Governance illustrated the variety of challenges facing those who want to promote good Corporate Governance principles. It explored the term's different meanings across Europe and how approaches differ when applied to specific organisations, such as NGOs or financial institutions. This diversity may nevertheless confuse some Board members, notably in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) where:

- Shareholders are often Directors and Executives at the same time;
- Board and Executive Meetings 'intermingle', and General Meetings are often limited to 'family reunions' of the shareholders;
- Shareholders, directors, and executives base their decision making processes on the same set of information.

In the context of SMEs it can be helpful to establish a 'matrix of reference' to clarify the role of different players, the nature of various meetings, and the specific content of the differing sets of information to be provided to the decision-makers.

"Since the late 1990s, 10/100Base-T Ethernet (also known as IEEE 802.3 and CSMA/CD) has become the de facto standard for local area networks. We're going to look at the elements involved in using Ethernet in a 10/100Base-T network, including the components of a frame, how Ethernet technology functions, and where this suite of technologies fits into the OSI reference model."

A certain amount of structure creates freedom because guidelines
liberate people and make them more productive. However, most companies
place too much emphasis on structure and not enough on their people.

Christopher Lochhead, former chief marketing officer at Scient, knows a bit about delivering bad news. So listen up when he recounts the 13 biggest marketing blunders a battered company can make. Ignore them at your peril.

Companies spend a lot of money to acquire new customers. Poor service is the fastest way to lose them. Is your company's call center doing everything it can to keep its customers happy?

In a new book, Breakthrough International Negotiation: How Great Negotiators Transformed the World's Toughest Post-Cold War Conflicts, Harvard Business School professor Michael Watkins dissects the art of give-and-take. This excerpt details 7 principles followed by master negotiators:
1. Breakthrough negotiators shape the structure of their situations
2. Breakthrough negotiators organize to learn
3. Breakthrough negotiators are masters of process design
4. Breakthrough negotiators foster agreement when possible but employ force when necessary
5. Breakthrough negotiators anticipate and manage conflict
6. Breakthrough negotiators build momentum toward agreement
7. Breakthrough negotiators lead from the middle

"Our line-up of essayists is, we believe, as distinguished as ever. It starts with two eminent deans - John Quelch (formerly of London Business School, now back at Harvard) and Xavier Gilbert and Peter Lorange of IMD. Both naturally promote the virtues of management education - Quelch praising the achievements of the MBA, notably in the United States, Lorange and Gilbert explaining how to make the ‘learning' experience as relevant and effective as possible. Transatlantic differences surface in the Quelch thesis but it is Peter Hagström from the Stockholm School of Economics (CEMS) who sets out to distinguish the Anglo-Saxon model from its European (notably Scandinavian) variants. Then comes an interesting debate on the pros, cons and possibilities of measuring the impact of executive education - a highly sceptical view from Adrian Furnham,a Psychology Professor at University College, London, coupled with an analysis by Cranfield's Liz Bridge and Andrew Myers of attempts so far. Kelvin Hard of PricewaterhouseCoopers argues that personal and inter-personal skills can be improved by training - with a clear impact on performance - followed by IBM's Manfred Schnabel putting the case for corporate universities. Two business executives responsible for learning and development in their companies - Knut Asebo of Norsk Hydro and Tony Russell of L'Oréal - describe how they seek to maintain relevance and commercial focus while Insead Professor Gareth Jones' mix of sceptisim and exuberant enthusiasm will provoke boardroom thought. In addition, Tim Dickson, EBF executive Editor has written an acerbic critique on business school rankings. Finally, EBF conducted an online poll and held an executive workshop. Go to 'Have your say' section in the website to view comments."

Editor's Note: A follow-up to this debate has been published at:
http://www.ebfonline.com/at_forum/at_forum.asp?id=285

A look at three dimensions important in appraising a decision's potential effectiveness - Logic, Acceptance and Time, as well as three styles of decision making - command, consultation, and consensus.

Article offers a look at what the author considers the Seven Deadly Speaking Sins:
1. Making assumptions
2. Presenting the wrong image
3. Lacking enthusiasm
4. Failing to prepare
5. Using poor visual aids
6. Giving a sales pitch
7. Relying on technical jargon

The focus of this Just Thinking piece is that an organization implementing an innovation process needs to understand the dynamic and evolving nature of organizational behavior and culture. Too often, innovation processes fail to recognize that companies change, learn, and improve with time. As a result, the solutions are static. This Just Thinking will help to clarify how a company can migrate, over time, towards Community Innovation.

A tradeshow might be part of your growth strategy by helping your sales teams to generate leads. It might also be viewed as part of your awareness strategy to attract alliances, partners, potential buyers, and to awaken new regions. Whatever your reason for participating, all of your tactical marketing efforts, including tradeshows, should consistently be maximized for greatest results and should be integrated into your overall marketing and business strategy. Here are 5 steps to help maximize your tradeshow ROI.

Ever since the Internet emerged as a sales channel in the 1990s, it has been thought that one of the chief advantages of e-commerce would be its ability to facilitate the customization of goods and services for consumers. That promise, however, is not yet close to being realized, according to experts at Wharton and an e-commerce research firm.

Are you a master of uncertainty? Every strategist needs to be, says McKinsey & Co.'s Hugh Courtney, author of the new book 20/20 Foresight: Crafting Strategy in an Uncertain World. Here's an excerpt.

Scenarios are useful not for predicting the future (which can't be done) but for helping companies become more aware of possible outcomes.

In an economy filled with surprise and uncertainty, being an effective leader means being a good teacher. But how do you lead and teach at the same time? Who are your most important students? And what about recess?

With the collapse of Enron, lawmakers, regulators, financial advisors and working people are taking a hard look at 401(k) plans, which employees in many U.S. companies use to save for retirement. In a recent study entitled "Defined Contribution Pensions: Plan Rules, Participant Choices, and the Path of Least Resistance," Wharton finance professor Andrew Metrick and three co-authors analyze the impact of a plan's design on the level of employee participation, the percentage of income employees contribute and the investment choices they make.

The rational rules of management don't apply when it comes to fostering creative types. In this Harvard Business Review excerpt, the author explains why you should, among other things, encourage creative workers to defy superiors.

"Managers who coach their employees become known as good managers to work for, developers of talent, and achievers of business results. They also become better leaders in the process. The average manager, however, doesn't coach, believing it would take too much time or be a waste of effort. Such barriers, however are more psychological than real, and represent an expression of the status quo. The fact is that coaching managers behave differently, and that contributes to their brand. The bottom line: Since most managers don't coach, those who do actively help their employees learn and grow and have a competitive advantage, on that can enhance their careers."

Many organizations have seen the effectiveness of an employee suggestion program. It can be a positive force to motivate, improve performance, productivity, safety, and add to the bottom line.

A creative brief is like a road map. A good brief leads to imaginative and persuasive ads. And gets you there quickly.

A bad brief starts you off in the wrong direction. So you have to stop, figure out where the heck you're going, and start again. Or worse, you follow that brief to a town called Bad Adsville.

Most briefs are simply a list of questions. Is that really enough?

Want some new, better fitting briefs?....

After decades of holding back while other corporate
functions took the technology plunge, marketing is
getting its odd ducks in a row.

Business-continuity plans must address five major points, say consultants at PricewaterhouseCoopers: facilities, people, connectivity, information technology, and supply-chain issues. Just as important, they've got to do so succinctly, or people won't read them.

During the economic downturn that most of corporate America experienced in 2001, the following companies had something in common: Intel, Texas Instruments, Cirrus Logic and Hunt Wesson. What tied them together was their decision last year to go from a direct (in-house) sales force to a contract, or outside, sales agency for some or all of their major product lines. Marketing professors Erin Anderson at INSEAD and Len Lodish at Wharton say that outside sales agencies, if properly managed, can benefit companies regardless of the economic climate.

"...when I land on your site, the first thing I want to know - even before I bother to find out anything else - is why I should buy from you. That is my Number One Most Pressing Question.

You need to answer it for me, competently and succinctly, within seconds, or I'm moving on to the next search result in a list of 6,620 entries. How? Easy! You're going to tell me your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)."

"CEOs are highly capable individuals. They are efficient managers of execution, are team and consensus builders, and are futurists. They recognize changes and adapt to them, they rise to the challenge and lead their team to bravely tide over crises. But more importantly, CEOs are humans. And humans fail a lot."

Editor's Note: This article references and draws in part on a very excellent article by Booz-Allen. See that at:
http://www.mbadepot.com/links/links.php?ID=1153