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Southwest Airlines 2011 Results Reflect Benefits of Servant Leadership

Modern Servant Leader

During the financial earnings call, CEO Gary Kelly , CFO Laura Wright and Executive VP Robert (Bob) E. The CEO noted the company was not without some waste though. Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) announced the 39th consecutive year of profitability yesterday. Jordan reflected the company’s commitment to servant leadership.

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How CEOs Can Keep Their Analytics Programs from Being a Waste of Time

Harvard Business Review

And we have figured out why: analytics forces changes on the C-suite that the CEO has to anticipate and manage, but many don’t. The findings show that fewer than half of analytics programs met initial return-on-investment (ROI) goals. But poor ROI is only part of the story. CEOs must anticipate this reaction.

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IT Doesn't Matter (to CEOs)

Harvard Business Review

This argument was derided by IT supply-side executives such as Steve Ballmer, Carly Fiorina, and Scott McNealy, but CEOs quietly applauded it. In fact, CEOs avoid IT like the plague. Because they distance themselves from IT, CEOs don''t grasp its subtleties. They had suspected all along that IT really doesn''t matter.

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When It Pays to Think Like a Finance Manager

Harvard Business Review

From our point of view, in other words, most people use ROI analysis as a way to justify something they really want to do anyway. Several years ago, when I was serving as the company’s CFO, one of founders came to me and said, “Joe, I would like to buy a new three-dimensional printer.”

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Does Your CEO Really Get Data Security?

Harvard Business Review

Have you ever pondered what you''d ask the CEO if you were made chairman of the board for 10 minutes and could pose one question? Nothing about markets or strategies — CEOs have canned answers for that kind of thing. You''d want a question that would strip away the cloak of invincibility and reveal the CEO''s innermost fears.

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How One CMO Revamped Her Role

Harvard Business Review

About 30 minutes prior to her weekly one-on-one with the CEO, the chief marketing officer at a multibillion global financial services firm received a cryptic email from him with the subject line “The Trouble with CMOs.” The CEO, grinning, agreed with her. Don Farrall/Getty Images. What came next was a pleasant surprise.

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The Worst Failure of All Is Wasting a Failure

Harvard Business Review

The CEO and CFO responded with, "A failure to hit ROI and NPV targets." To state that it didn't hit ROI, or whatever the metric is, doesn't answer the question. In interviews with a dozen senior managers from a large company, two particular failures came up over and over again. If an innovation initiative failed, ask why.

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