Multinationals are directly affected by the global epidemic. It can't be controlled without them.

"In reviewing the field, it's clear to me that the business community today is more sensitive to the subject of leadership than we were 20 years ago. It is also clear that the dramatic increase in writing on the subject has not produced a corresponding increase in leaders or made existing leaders much more effective. Why? I think our basic notion of leadership is flawed in some serious ways."

Editor's Note: this is one of the best articles on leadership I have read in a long time...I highly recommend it.

A conversation with Erik Brynjolfsson of the MIT Center for eBusiness

New, superfast 8-K rules under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could spawn problems with mergers, loan covenants, and share prices. Needed: a solid risk-management plan.

Editor's Note: a topical and US-centric article, but one that raises interesting questions about the implications of more timely and full disclosure...

It's time we had a serious talk about numbers. Data. Metrics. Web analytics. Doesn't matter what you call the stuff, you simply must stay on top of how your Web site is doing. And the only way you can do that is by looking at those digits. Are you making money or losing it hand over fist? Do you know which parts of your site are humming along like a perfectly tuned engine and which stand in need of a complete overhaul? If you do something one way and then decide to make a change, are you evaluating the effect of that change?

What's a body to do? Look ... up in the sky (cue music) ... it's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's a KPI!

For as long as there have been large companies there have been smaller ones that have succeeded in knocking off their larger foes using innovative ideas. Can large companies create a systematic and sustainable approach to innovation? After studying companies like GE, Texas Instrument and IBM, Dean Mark Rice answers: "Yes, through commitment, clarity of focus, a dedicated organizational structure, portfolio management methods, and building a base of innovative talent."

Not all the best movies make it to the big screen. Not all the best restaurants get discovered. Not all the best potential spouses get married. And not all the best marketing and new product ideas see the light of day. Why? Five practices kill promising concepts too soon.

The reports in this series on LDCs (least developed countries) discuss economic development and poverty reduction in these countries, providing statistical tables and demographic information. Each report has a specific emphasis, such as the relationship between international trade and poverty, debt, agricultural productivity, and deficiencies in infrastructures; reports are provided back to 1996. From the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Mastery has been a key focus of Accenture's ongoing high-performance business research program. To date, the program has looked at five areas of functional mastery-information technology, human and organizational development, marketing, finance and performance management, and supply chain management. The following three-part special report showcases Accenture's latest research in this field and explores mastery from three perspectives.
- "State of the Art" (Julie A. Sokol and Robert J. Thomas) explores the concept itself and provides a framework for understanding how high performers differentiate themselves through mastery.
- "A Seat at the Table" (Chris Rutledge and Rosanne Williams) takes a more detailed look at the components that constitute mastery of finance and performance management.
- "Disturbing the System" (Peter Cheese) discusses change management and how mastering this important aspect of human and organizational performance can contribute to high performance.

Editor's Note: The first two articles are much better than the third...

"What gets measured, gets managed," as the saying goes. That's true of the sustainability journey too. The worldwide interest in sustainability has brought with it a growing and welcome interest in sustainability indicators -- but what to measure is far from obvious, as the dizzying array of publications, conferences, reports, tools and systems will attest. How do you find the KEY performance indicators (KPIs) that provide critical leverage amidst the noise.

Drawing from our years of intensive work on sustainability indicators, we find that three key indicators consistently rise to the top of the list: Return on Resources; Product to Non-Product ratio; and the carbon footprint.

Forget the idea that effective executives need charisma above all. In this excerpt from Harvard Business Review, Peter Drucker explains how the best executives take responsibility for their own decisions.

Fed Vice Chairman Roger W. Ferguson stressed the important role Central banks play in the global financial system and also provided a great look at the changing landscape of commercial banking. This one would make a great introduction or conclusion to a Money and Banking course! [FinanceProfessor.com Annotation]

It's a legal minefield out there, and destitution awaits outside directors whose companies stumble on their watch. Right? Don't believe it, say three university professors.

The high stakes business-to-business sector is confronting a substantially unaddressed value gap. Sellers are creating complex, value-laden solutions, but their customers are unable to achieve the promise of those solutions. There is a huge and attractive opportunity in this value gap.

In today's world, networking is how you become and stay successful. You'll get your jobs through your network, you'll perform well at your job if you have a good network, and you'll have a happier life if you have a supportive network.

But there's one big fallacy about networking. We've all heard the phrase, "It's who you know that matters." That is absolutely wrong. It's who knows YOU that matters. The goal of networking isn't to meet people, it's to make sure the people you meet remember you. The measure of your networking success is how quickly people return your calls, answer your emails, and volunteer to help you.

If you want to be a more successful networker, here are five strategies you might try.

Given that commoditization is as inevitable as death and higher taxes, you need to review your strategies on how to deal with this transitionÂ… without resorting to denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Outlined here are a few strategies, and one reversible "non-strategy."

In response to the crisis of US corporate governance, directors are beginning to demand change. McKinsey surveyed 200 of them sitting on some 500 boards and found support for making these bodies more independent of management and for more awareness by directors of the challenges and risks facing their companies. The authors present a seven-part board governance reform program intended to make boards more independent and to strike a balance between their oversight role in representing shareholder interests and management's power to run companies effectively. The recommendations include either splitting the roles of the CEO and the chairman or appointing a strong independent lead director.

There comes a time at every smaller, growing company when managers perceive a need for more sophisticated software tools than spreadsheet-dependent planning, budgeting, and forecasting.

No form of education is more commercialised than management education. But are business schools teaching the right things?

Companies are turning to the latest credit and collections tools to evaluate risk, assess opportunities and determine how decisions impact the bottom line.

Data-collaboration efforts among retailers and suppliers have been under way for years, but few companies have pulled it off. What's the trouble?

Finding the right name for your latest venture isn't an easy job. Names must stand out from the competition. They need to work in different languages. They can't violate existing trademarks. And it's nearly impossible to find a domain name that isn't already taken.



What's an entrepreneur to do?

"Say you've just been appointed the CKO - Chief Knowledge Officer - of your organization. You are responsible for managing the company's knowledge capital, including how it is created, maintained, and used. You understand the principles of learning organizations and believe that effective learning is the pathway to accelerated performance improvement. Now you need to know what the pathway looks like and how you can get started. We suggest that a good place to start is with an assessment of your organization's knowledge base and learning skills. An assessment forms the baseline against which you can measure your progress toward becoming a learning organization."

The Compliance Case For User-Friendly Cryptography

What does it really mean to be good with people? This Harvard Business Review excerpt examines the "relational" aspect of business.