The world is flat (at least the economic one). The networked world is also a "flat" world, one where work can come from anywhere and be performed anywhere. Corporate learning departments have a huge role to play in addressing the challenges of a flat world and in helping to support innovation.

Where is the intersection between personal meaning and business value? Unless we engage in a conversation about what meaning is, we can't hope to integrate it into our work processes, goals, or solutions.

It took a revolution in the field of finance to produce the theories and techniques that make possible today's sophisticated markets. This revolution started in the 1950s inside the heads of a few dozen economists, mathematicians, statisticians, and physicists working at universities and consulting firms. Modern quantitative finance came of age between the 1970s and 1990s, but is only reaching full maturity now. With the exception of the computer and the Internet, no modern development has affected business more powerfully.

We all see business strategy through our own particular lens. Hundreds of books are written every year on business strategy, and the diversity of perspectives can be mind numbing. This often leaves executives who wish to develop a strategy for their business more than a little confused on what exactly their strategy should address, and what tools and techniques should be applied in developing the strategy.

We have found that applying a simple framework that highlights the unconscious lenses we use to make sense of the world around us can really strengthen the resulting strategy. It can help illuminate the blind spots that so often mar otherwise sound strategies.

The two fundamental perspectives to think about are, 1) how you see the world outside your business or organization, and, 2) how you see the "world" inside your business or organization.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Over a ten-year time span, from 1993 to 2003, the early expectations and eventual experiences of European executives were examined in a longitudinal study. In 1993, a cross-sectional sample of executives was polled about their plans and forecasts concerning the coming single market. In 2003, a similar sample of executives was surveyed regarding what they felt had come to pass over the first decade of the single market. The highlights of the study are presented in this article.

Editor's Note: a bit topical, but interesting...

This report sets forth the organizational practices and design principles of companies that are operating successfully in rapidly developing economies, particularly China and India. Whether global companies are currently engaged in sourcing, manufacturing, selling, or conducting R&D in these markets-or, very often, doing all four-they are finding the task of organizing their activities there a significant challenge.

Precise thinking and business discipline are essential for business success. Yet, for too many managers in too many companies, "self-evident truths," that really are vague generalities, get in the way. Jonathan Byrnes calls these "business myths" and exposes ten of the worst offenders in this article.

Companies that understand the value of talented people in generating brands, reputations, and other intangibles often spend considerable time recruiting such workers but drop the ball in providing them with opportunities to develop and grow.

risis communication is essential, but it is only an adjunct, not a substitute for consistent and persistent communications with the organization's various key constituents, day in and day out. Some of the essential steps to good press relations include: ability, anticipate, accuracy, appearance, attention etc. This article discusses do and don'ts of medis relations in detail. [BNET Annotation]

A balanced scorecard for information technology and a portfolio management approach to IT projects can help align the function's performance with corporate objectives.

The importance of market-driving strategies as an alternative to market-driven strategies is evident in the marketing literature. However, there has been no attempt to integrate market-driving strategies into an encompassing framework. The first section of this paper presents an overview of market-orientation, market-driven, and market-driving strategies. The second section provides a framework to better understand the process involved in creating and implementing a market-driving culture. Finally, the last section examines the relationship between market-driving strategies and business performance. To build this framework, the paper relies on extant leadership, organizational culture, innovation, and the marketing strategy literatures.

A Gallup survey reveals what workplace diversity really means to employees, managers, and the balance sheet.

Proponents of self-learning say that B-schools are a waste of time and money. Traditional MBAs say there's no substitute for the Halls of Ivy.

As the old adage goes, "timing is everything." But while the idealistic mantra of direct marketing has always been to make the right offer to the right customer at the right time, the reality is very different.

Leadership has recently become a popular subject for research, debate and discussion with the result of numerous studies being found in business-related literature. This document serves as a brief overview of both classical and recent thoughts on leadership with particular reference to contemporary demands on today's leaders. It includes the most important arguments for and against the development of a unique African leadership model (as opposed to the application of Western leadership theories and principles). [BNET Annotation]

To many guerrilla marketers, technology is to be lauded because it has put them online -- giving them access to the speed of email, the power of fresh information, the warmth of closely connected people, and the marketing muscle of the World Wide Web. To others, technology is the hero because it allows them to flourish in a home-based business. This article examines 25 areas where technology adds potency to marketing.

When suppliers attempt channel change, they face numerous challenges from retaliation to customer rejection. But proper analysis and appropriate strategies can go far toward minimizing the degree of conflict participants must overcome. That is why we developed a channel conflict strategy matrix to identify where conflict may arise and how to weight that conflict when determining channel strategies.

KPMG interview data, summarized in the following pages, indicate that leaders are dissatisfied with the reliability of traditional measurement tools as organizations are driven to real-time responses. These leaders often feel inundated with data but lacking in relevant performance information - the kind of information that can help make the difference between success and failure. While traditional performance measurement systems may be suitable for maintaining business as usual - managing day-to-day activities and compiling historic figures for accounting and other purposes - such systems have not measured up to the increasingly complex task of directing organizations in a world characterized by continuous inexorable change.

The scale and economic leverage of core IT assets demand that IT be managed as an asset-based business. Unfortunately, most companies treat IT-asset optimization as a project with a beginning and an end. Instead, they should provide resources and asset-management processes continuously.

Our research on goal setting and our experience in coaching have helped us better understand the dynamics of what is required to actually produce positive, long-term change in behavior. We believe that the lessons executive coaches have learned in helping their clients set goals apply to leadership development in a wide variety of settings. Whether you are a professional coach, a leader coaching your direct reports, a mentor advising a younger colleague--or just working on your own development--a better understanding of the dynamics of goal setting and the challenges of goal achievement may help you understand why people often set great goals, yet lose the motivation to achieve them. This understanding can help ensure that the people you are coaching stick with the plan and ultimately reach their desired targets.

The "Big Three" no longer have the automobile market to themselves, but almost every market, including the one for cars, is ruled by three dominant firms. That reality does not prevent other firms from being successful. However, all firms, regardless of their market share, must still understand The Rule of Three and how it will affect their strategy and attempt to operate efficiently.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Finding the right balance between sharing and hoarding knowledge is a tricky challenge. How much should remain proprietary and how much should be given away for free? In this EBF debate a panel of business people, academics, advisers and policymakers address the question.

Authors include: Max Boisot, Jimmy Wales, Lynne Brindley, Peter McAteer, Gita Piramal, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, Thomas H Davenport and Laurence Prusak.

There are so many things which Founders have to worry about and do in launching a new venture- financing, people, customers etc. All of these are important but the reality is that most ventures fail because of people issues and are really a failure of the relationships among the team members. Teams come together around an interesting or exciting idea or opportunity and tend to get swept up in the idea. They often don't talk about their shared aspirations, vision and what they want to get out of the venture. The venture gets launched without these discussions and then problems surface "Big Time" down the road when these undiscussed topics collide.

These problems can be surfaced and dealt with early on if Founders work at it. This can be done by addressing some of the practical issues which should be considered in structuring the relationships among the Founders. This memorandum outlines some of the legal and business issues which the Founders of a new venture may want to consider in structuring their relationships among one another.

Most examinations of stock buybacks find that the management is conveying information to the market about the relative valuation of the firm. Thus, buybacks are seen as good signals and the price tends to increase at the time of the announcement and (at least according to some authors) continue to outperform in the months following the buyback announcement.

Massa, Rehman, and Vermaelen extend this research by looking at the other firms in the industry.

Business literature is packed with advice about worker motivation-but sometimes managers are the problem, not the inspiration. Here are seven practices to fire up the troops.