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. Cutting to the chase.

Human Resources 148

Human Resources CEO Mentor Resistance 148

In the CEO Afterlife

MAY 1, 2011

Leadership. by John • May 2, 2011 • Human Resources , Leadership • 1 Comment. Which companies, organizations or industries are known to accept, even reward this type of behavoir? It’s not just that they are lousy people managers. We look at ways to manage around them. Leadership.

CEO 152

CEO Human Resources Brand Middle Management 152

In the CEO Afterlife

DECEMBER 4, 2011

Leadership. by John • December 4, 2011 • Leadership , Life • 2 Comments. This is not the case, especially within the “old economy” industries. And although pundits continue to encourage entrepreneurial thinking for stagnating mega-businesses, these bureaucracies can’t break from risk-averse management.

CEO 235

CEO Bureaucracy Brand Constraint 235

In the CEO Afterlife

MARCH 11, 2012

Ever since I started blogging about leadership and strategy, I’ve been harping about the notion of “doing less, better” as a business modus operandi. Successful multi-product companies in various markets achieve success by narrowing their businesses into manageable units. Wall Street is against the idea.

Reference 126

Reference Execution Survey CEO 126

In the CEO Afterlife

SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

In terms of rectification, you have to look at the issue in the context of whether the problem is a short-term blip or the beginning of a long-term shift to your business or industry. When I was a CEO, I managed to squirrel away a “rainy day” fund for nasty business blips. At best, they are managers.

Short-term 232

Short-term Long-term Advertising Budgeting 232

In the CEO Afterlife

AUGUST 29, 2011

Leadership. by John • August 29, 2011 • Human Resources , Leadership , Strategy • 2 Comments. There are all sorts of strategies in today’s business – at the top is corporate strategy, followed by a slew of functional and sub-functional strategies ranging from marketing to waste management. In the CEO Afterlife.

Strategy 131

Strategy CEO Company Competitive Advantage 131

In the CEO Afterlife

MARCH 26, 2012

My original premise for this blog was to share a variety of leadership and branding principles with the current generation of business leaders. With forty years in the saddle, hundreds of dusty trails and a few fistfights along the way, I have an oasis of management insight in which to draw.

Reis 240

Reis Brand Apparel Energy 240

In the CEO Afterlife

JANUARY 14, 2012

To many in the consumer packaged goods industry, this isn’t an epiphany. Management is inclined to ask questions rather than give orders. The mystical factor that distinguishes P&G from everyone else is people. From 1837 to the present, P&G people have been the company’s sustainable success factor.

Proposal 260

Proposal Advertising Brand Marketing 260

In the CEO Afterlife

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

High on the list is weak marketing, weak management, and weak strategic discipline. I will say that the crux of the matter is the incessant pressure on management to maintain or rediscover corporate growth. I could add a dozen more. I’m also betting that the Cayenne is the tip of the iceberg at Porsche.

Brand 100

Brand Competitive Advantage Fashion Price 100

In the CEO Afterlife

JUNE 17, 2012

It worked well for me in my 17 years at Jacobs Suchard, although I am the first to admit that we managed just two blockbuster strategic innovations over that time period – both were technical in nature, and thankfully, both were well-marketed. The “get it done” strategy can be effective in a vast number of industries.

Strategy 229

Strategy Competitive Advantage Innovation Operations 229

In the CEO Afterlife

JULY 20, 2011

Leadership. by John • July 20, 2011 • Human Resources , Leadership , Marketing • 2 Comments. If only more CEOs, Managers and Employees were this determined to work with integrity in what they do and stuck to these ideals, the world would be a much different place. Leadership. In the CEO Afterlife.

Advertising 155

Advertising Human Resources Brand Rogers 155

In the CEO Afterlife

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

Many years ago, when I first started to work in the advertising industry, we used to have this thing called The Overnight Test. Time moved on, and during the nineties technology overran, and transformed the creative industry like it did most others. So “here’s the thing”. A Short Lesson in Perspective. But here’s the thing.

Advertising 265

Advertising Creativity Industry Bottom-up 265

In the CEO Afterlife

FEBRUARY 13, 2017

I went in assuming his students believed corporate management and entrepreneurship were principles of contradiction — the only contrarians would be members of the flat earth society. In the meantime, perennial innovators the likes of Apple, FedEx and Amazon extended their leadership over old-guard competitors. “I want you for balance.

Mass Marketing 100

Mass Marketing Bureaucracy Entrepreneur Class 100

In the CEO Afterlife

JUNE 25, 2012

Sure, I encountered bureaucracy at times, but I managed to navigate through the red tape by working within a cultural principal they all shared – the respect for great branding. Secondly, the fresh fruit and vegetable industry operates by a unique cultural factor – Sell It or Smell It. Trouble is.

Brand 242

Brand Retail Bureaucracy Constraint 242

In the CEO Afterlife

APRIL 10, 2011

Leadership. Pick an industry on a growth curve. The leaders of these companies aren’t ‘managing the store’; they’re building new stores. Twenty-five years ago Apple’s board recommended Steve Jobs step down and leave the guidance of the company to a ‘professional manager’. Leadership. In the CEO Afterlife.

CEO 170

CEO Advice Company Competitive Advantage 170

In the CEO Afterlife

MARCH 21, 2011

Leadership. by John • March 21, 2011 • Branding , Leadership , Marketing • 1 Comment. The J&J folks set the crisis management standard for all others to follow—to be prepared for that inevitable day when disaster WILL strike. PS: I was the Canadian Brand Manager of Brylcreem during the demise.

Brand 140

Brand CEO Long-term Crisis 140

In the CEO Afterlife

JUNE 8, 2016

Today, Nabob faces yet another challenge: finding its place in the quickly dilating coffee industry. 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. The [industry] average recall was about 20%.

Brand 100

Brand Brand Management Advertising Management 100

In the CEO Afterlife

JUNE 10, 2015

As a critical success factor, strategy turned into a lucrative industry for a host of consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company , and the Boston Consulting Group. Culture, strategy, leadership, branding, innovation, customer orientation and employee centricity must co-exist. Most leaders and managers know this.

Strategy 100

Strategy Critical Success Factor McKinsey Retail 100