Most companies are paying scant attention to reports about the quality of their governance practices. But that may soon change as investor and regulator interest rises.

Companies that understand total customer profitability can move from decisions based on gut feeling to those based on facts.

In the new economy, all work is project work. And you are your projects! Here's how to make them all go Wow!

Editor's Note: despite the reference to the New economy and the fact that this was written in 1999, there is some good tidbits in this article of lasting value.

All types and sizes of companies are finding that a global approach to their business is imperative if they plan to keep their competitive edge and secure their future survival.

It was front-page news when Microsoft announced early in July that it was shutting down its options program and planning instead to award employees shares of stock. To many corporations, especially technology firms, the move smacked of heresy. Options, they say, are the best way to motivate employees and lure top talent. Critics, however, believe options fueled the corporate scandals of the past few years and argue that they actually undermine corporate performance. While neither side seems to be backing off, observers suggest that widely-expected changes in accounting rules may be what finally decides the issue.

Editor's Note: while a topical article, the basic look of stock grants vs. options is worthwhile to the novice as well as a couple of other topics raised (e.g. dividend tax rate cut).

As investors home in on business fundamentals and credible accounting, the CFO's traditional oversight of planning and performance takes on new urgency.

IT departments must adopt the process-optimization practices and productivity increases they've enabled in other parts of the business.

There is substantial shareholder value hidden in servicing products after they are sold. In fact, over time, service may actually contribute more to earnings than sales do. The authors describe how companies can establish service as a differentiator with high margins, even in difficult economic times, including a discussion on four typical stages of organizational development.

"Whoever came up with the adage that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar probably didn't have system bugs and other digital-age pests in mind. But there's a kernel of truth in this old saying that applies to network security today. Enter the honeypot, a security resource whose value lies in being probed, attacked, or compromised...The concept of a honeypot is simple. It's a resource that has no production value. There's no legitimate reason for anyone outside the network to interact with a honeypot. Thus, any attempt to communicate with the system is most likely a probe, scan, or attack. Conversely, if your honeypot initiates outbound connections, the system has probably been compromised. One of the primary benefits of a honeypot lies in noise reduction. Since they capture information and generate alerts only when someone or something is interacting with them, they collect small, highly valuable data sets. So instead of getting 10,000 alerts a day with a network IDS sensor, for example, your organization may only get five or 10 alerts with the honeypot." [MeansBusiness annotation]

Is business malfeasance always the board's fault? HBS professor Constance Bagley argues that everyone has a stake in ethical behavior and moral reasoning.

CEOs' increasing use of coaches - often doubling as therapists - clashes with the image of the almighty leader.

The behavior we get, in those who look to us for leadership, is often shaped by the picture we have of them. They become what we expect.

Online auctions could create a world where the price of everything is negotiable. Can we handle it?

Frances Hesselbein was asked by a group of Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellows to address "Barriers to Leadership". The request forced her to consciously distill what she had learned from experience but not yet articulated about barriers to leadership. From this introspection emerged two types of barriers: one personal and self-imposed, the other institutional, structural, or cultural.

Take integrated marketing, add unified messaging, bump the whole thing up to the next level and you get marketing alignment. Here are the steps to take to get there.

It takes more than simple payback to justify major IT projects: The new value-realization metric features a nontraditional focus on finance and delivery of benefits.

It is common knowledge that managers have to build strong networks of personal relationships to accomplish their business goals, and that the general rule is to build for diversity. But not all networking structures are created equal according to University of Chicago Graduate School of Business professor of sociology and strategy Ronald S. Burt. In his 1997 report "The Gender of Social Capital," Burt finds that the entrepreneurial network structures associated with early promotion for senior-level men do not work for women. Is climbing the corporate latter still a man's game? The answer has less to do with gender than with legitimacy.

How the very nature of the CEO's job can set you up for failure - and how you can steer clear of it.

Disillusioned investors are demanding stronger links between executive pay and long-term performance.

Editor's Note: for a related, though more topical piece, see
The CEO Trap
http://www.chiefexecutive.net/mag/188/index.html

Six key steps in applying a collaborative problem solving style of conflict management.

Looking at which e-commerce companies succeeded, and which crashed and burned, shows that being a first mover is often a disadvantage, according to two venture capitalists.

This article by Ahmet Aykac is a new contribution to the EBF debate begun in Spring 2001: 'Is Corporate Governance Really Delivering Value?' It argues that much of what is written about governance is inward looking and that current ideas need to be put in the context of changes in the source, use and legitimisation of power. New structures are needed to reflect our transition to an information and knowledge society.

Editor's Note: this is a big-picture look and raises some excellent points. For more from EBF on corporate governance, see
Board performance, not just board conformance
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=1756&file=links
Corporate Governance Audited
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=1501&file=links
Is corporate governance delivering value?
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=1096&file=links
Corporate Governance - Equity culture at risk
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=2930&file=links

This article looks at the "Diffusion of Innovations" theory and how to apply it to innovation efforts.

Think fast. Think under pressure. That's how you win in business -- and in chess. Here is a master class from Bruce Pandolfini, one of the world's great chess teachers, on how to think like a champion.

The internal audit landscape may never be the same -- and the picture is looking very different from one company to the next.