In the CEO Afterlife

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

My business career is characterized with a bunch of David versus Goliath encounters. The secret to thriving against mega-company competition comes down to three potent armaments – strategy, creativity, and culture. When I joined Jacobs Suchard (then Nabob Foods) in 1977, I found myself up against the muscle of Kraft and Nestle.

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In the CEO Afterlife

DECEMBER 7, 2014

The strategy I’ve grown to love and count on over a 45-year career is do less, better. A long time ago, this ethic saved a near-bankrupt company that I had a part in restructuring. Don’t for a minute think that Kraft’s top tier profit returns will be deflated by the recent split into two companies.

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Human Resources Restructuring Competitive Advantage Marketing Strategy 183

In the CEO Afterlife

JULY 26, 2016

Early in my career, when I worked for a couple of big companies in brand management, I joined my colleagues in nodding to the notion of taking a step back. In those days, and in those companies, you never heard the word, “entrepreneurial.” In that company, I learned how to slay Goliath. They must do things differently.

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In the CEO Afterlife

MAY 22, 2013

The Conference Board suggests that the pressure of serving as the CEO of a large company in an increasingly competitive global marketplace has resulted in more voluntarily shorter tenures, implying that CEOs are leaving on their own terms after fewer years on the job.

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In the CEO Afterlife

APRIL 13, 2012

Your idea can change a company. That idea can also change you; believe me, there is nothing like a business breakthrough to set the right foundation for the rest of your career. 15 months of blogging and here’s the most important things I’ve taught : Complexity in a company is a cancer. Take the time to look at other industries.

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In the CEO Afterlife

APRIL 23, 2012

For most of my career, I operated within intensely competitive arenas where fractions of market share points were worth millions of dollars. The companies that employed me were generally the underdogs in battles against bigger, better-financed organizations. Maurois was alluding to the notion that those engaged in war, hate the enemy.

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Power Sports Competitive Advantage Advertising 208

In the CEO Afterlife

OCTOBER 3, 2011

Over his highly successful career, Mr. Bighead created hundreds of millions in shareholder value by acquiring, downsizing and selling companies. The “M” Word: A Company’s Most Underrated Intangible. Leadership. Recent Posts. Turnarounds and the Big Play. Gretzky, Gates, Zuckerberg: Can they see the Unseen?

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In the CEO Afterlife

JULY 2, 2012

I’m going to admit at the outset that I was a strong proponent of Herzog’s concept for most of my career. The man who preceded me in the corner office lived by the credo that a company’s success wasn’t enough; the other guy had to fail. It is the mindset of a company in a “turnaround.” Desperate times require desperate measures.

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Sports Tactics Competitive Advantage Short-term 228

In the CEO Afterlife

MARCH 1, 2016

This company earned that honor by re-staging a tired coffee brand with innovative packing technology and breakthrough advertising. What I did not share was the corporate strategy that resurrected this near bankrupt multi-product, multi-brand company. Some remain etched in our minds no matter how many decades come and go.

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Brand Competitive Advantage Marketing Strategy CEO 100

In the CEO Afterlife

AUGUST 1, 2011

I realize I’ve been around a long time whenever I reminisce about the brands I was associated with in my early career. The company that now owns Brylreem Hairdressing is Combe Inc., Their slogan is: We’re not a Me-Too Company, We’re a What-If Company. Last Stands. founded by Ivan D. Combe in 1949. Leadership.

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In the CEO Afterlife

DECEMBER 4, 2011

The constraint in most of these companies is the fear of failure. I’ll bet everyone you mentioned in your post at some point in their career developed their entrepeneurial ability to be were the puck was headed by out working most mere mortals. The “M” Word: A Company’s Most Underrated Intangible.

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CEO Bureaucracy Brand Constraint 235

In the CEO Afterlife

AUGUST 1, 2011

I realize I’ve been around a long time whenever I reminisce about the brands I was associated with in my early career. The company that now owns Brylreem Hairdressing is Combe Inc., Their slogan is: We’re not a Me-Too Company, We’re a What-If Company. Last Stands. founded by Ivan D. Combe in 1949. Leadership.

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Brand CEO Stage-Gate Marketing 131

In the CEO Afterlife

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Despite the anomalies of a different industry (this one was fresh food), I was able to assess the situation in short order and define a course of action, always mindful of understanding the company/industry’s key success factors before leveraging them for marketplace differentiation. Technically, you may be woefully inept. The bottom line?

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In the CEO Afterlife

DECEMBER 31, 2011

In this blog, I am not arguing against a clear definition of where a company is going and what sets it apart. To most of us, mentors are people of experience and knowledge who help the less experienced advance their careers and/or their education. There has to be a break from day-to-day operations in the process.

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Blog Mission Statement Strategic Planning Brand 222

In the CEO Afterlife

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Surely it is time companies and sales executives transformed this myth into improved customer service mantras such as service wins the game or there are no traffic jams along the extra mile of customer care. The “M” Word: A Company’s Most Underrated Intangible. You might even lose that customer. Did you like this?

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CEO Human Resources Library Brand 256

In the CEO Afterlife

MAY 1, 2011

I witnessed plenty of vulture culture during my career. Which companies, organizations or industries are known to accept, even reward this type of behavoir? The “M” Word: A Company’s Most Underrated Intangible. Tell me if Parson’s sentiments are prelevant in today’s Corporate America. Leadership.

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In the CEO Afterlife

APRIL 10, 2011

Pursuing Entrepreneurial Companies: Grad Advice. When a company has clout, there isn’t much incentive to re-invent. To ‘entrepreneurs in waiting’ who want to begin their careers in a corporation, I suggest the following: 1. The leaders of these companies aren’t ‘managing the store’; they’re building new stores.

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CEO Advice Company Competitive Advantage 170

In the CEO Afterlife

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

Turns out that Linds Redding, an illustrator and designer, spent most of his career crafting advertising in the UK and New Zealand, before opening an animation studio. Enhanced a few companies’ bottom lines. I’m glad I did. Towards the end of 2011, he was diagnosed with inoperable esophageal cancer. At least creatively speaking.

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Advertising Creativity Industry Bottom-up 265

In the CEO Afterlife

MAY 30, 2012

Companies that insist on simplicity are generally the most successful businesses. It is a state of mind that says, “These are the things that really matter in this company.” Some companies thrive on an innovative culture. We cut that “red-ink” business back to a coffee and tea company with 35 sku’s. Outstanding.

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Bureaucracy Constraint Creativity Discount 245

In the CEO Afterlife

FEBRUARY 13, 2017

I figured it might be best to tackle the assumption head on by addressing the culture of corporate giants, particularly the “old economy” companies responsible for creating the preconception. Large or small, we have bureaucratic companies, entrepreneurial ones and plenty in between.

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Mass Marketing Bureaucracy Entrepreneur Class 100

In the CEO Afterlife

JUNE 25, 2012

After leaving the C-Suite almost twenty years ago, I pursued a career as a strategy consultant. Last year, I came out of retirement for six months to help a smaller company brand itself. The company is Houweling’s Tomatoes. Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure the world needed another consultant. I know – you’ve never heard of them.

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Brand Retail Bureaucracy Constraint 242

In the CEO Afterlife

JUNE 8, 2016

And everyone is trying to climb to the top of that to get ahead,” explains Heather Fadali, senior brand manager for coffee at Kraft Heinz, Nabob’s parent company. But when the company was purchased [in 1976 by Jacobs], we were in a free world of competition, and then suddenly we didn’t have the support of Kelly Douglas any more.

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In the CEO Afterlife

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

Personal branding isn’t new; Fast Company made Tom Peters article a lead story more than ten years ago. My positioning shtick is my background as a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company. In my frustration, I am starting a new publishing company (www.newlibri.com). Hey John, Best of luck with your writing career! Leadership.

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