Rise and Fall.....

The Principle developed by L.J. Peter is embedded in the phrase: “In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” This sentence first appeared on the cover of a book of the same name, written by Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990), a teacher and professor of education, and Raymond Hull, and it has since then become part of the English language.

Knowledge development,...

As the economical downturn continues and the threat of cost
cutting is ever-present, the importance of knowledge
development in a recession is the most important asset to retain. some people argue,..
What do You think ?

Ludwig Van Mieses

Ludwig Von Mieses, an Austria Economist published in 1912 his Book : „Die Theorie des Geldes“. Mieses predicted the “big crash” in 1924 and after being offered him a senior position at the Kreditanstalt Bank in Vienna, that he refused, he explained his wife the following:

“A great crash is coming, and I don’t want my name in any way connected with it.” “If you want a rich man,” he said, “don’t marry me. I am not interested in earning money. I am writing about money, but will never have much of my own.” 1)

Instead, he preferred to write and teach.

1) Mises, Margit von. 1984. My Years With Ludwig von Mises, 2nd ed. Cedar Falls, IA: Center for Futures Education. pp. 23-24.

Ba...

Ikujiro Nonaka is a professor at the graduate school of international strategy at Japan’s Hitotsubashi University.
He developed the word “Ba” that defines a kind of a meeting place of minds in an organisation. Ba could be meant as a physical place —an office or a restaurant—or it can be purely virtual , as a kind of shared experiences of the organisational culture. The word has now a broader acceptance and, allows people inside a organization to work together knowing that their commun objectives are alligned and that they are following a commun path.

It is in tough times where excellent leadership can make the difference, when the economy is “ booming”, it is fairly easy to have success. What do You think ?

Paradigm shift ?

Jack Welch, who is regarded as the father of the “shareholder value” movement that has dominated the corporate world for more than 20 years, has said it was “a dumb idea” for executives to focus so heavily on quarterly profits and share price gains, as it was quoted on the latest Financial times.com edition.
I have been pledging in the last couple of years that this idea was not sustainable long term , and that the focus should lie on maximazing stakeholders value and not shareholders.

Re-build,Re-construct, Re-shape,Re-invent.....

Going against former believes Tom Peters stated some years ago that there are no excellent companies. According to him: “it is no longer enough to be excellent; companies have to stand out from the crowd. Companies have to shrink, even deconstruct. They have to innovate. They must make the workplace more interesting.”. In our current financial turmoil, is this statement more relevant than ever? What do you think?

Leading by example ?

Sir Fred Goodwin’s pension arrangements were the central theme of a war of words on Thursday as the former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland traded allegations over the terms of his departure from the financial institut with Lord Myners, the City minister. Sir Fred Goodwin, who was forced out of RBS last October, had started collecting a £693,000-a-year pension. The fact that he stands firm on that amount ( under actual circumstances) is a behaviour one should expect from a former Business Leader ? What do You think ?

So ?

In times of turmoil most of those in leading positions create distractions and diminish energy. In these difficult times our enemy is fear, and fear always creates a distraction. Therefore actions must be taken to attack fear and build confidence.

Risk Taking

Some people are arguing lately that just as executive involvement is Key in designing and implementing corporate strategy, it is not less important to be also actively involved in risk decisions. We generally agree now that real-estate bubble was in part boosted by a wide spectrum of mortgages that were, in various forms, deceitful, incomplete or mildly formulated not according to “mainstream” account practices. A group of “traditionally” trained credit Risk Managers stressed the fact that these mortgagees were considered to be “high risk”, and, yet, for a big chunk of the “financial” organizations the stubborn focus on short term interests and earnings, the continous “drilled” will to outplace competition made the communication of risk, diminished, incomplete , yes even sometimes silenced while honestly and candid/ open communication were more exceptions than the rule. What do You think ?

Being accountable,...

Encouraging creativity and risk taking but always fostering a culture of taking responsibility and being accountable for own actions are key competencies that BBBB is promoting and as a fact written on our mission statement.
We have been hearing a lot lately concerning the creation of Bad Banks in the US and Europe in order to help the Credit Institutions to clean up their accounts, but one can ask why should the tax payer be called to take over the ”mess” caused by, as many say “ greedy bankers “, where is the social responsibility of these “leaders” , why are they not been called to stand up and “pay” for their “mismanagement”, why is one big bank in Europe paying 90 millions Euros in form of Bonus to their management when the bank has reported a operating loss of 400 Millions in the same period ?
What do you think?

Can we do it ?

Ten thousands of people live on the streets of Washington and millions worldwide over the TV screens heard President’s Obama Inaugural Address to promise the regeneration of the US.
During the campaign he constantly emphasized his Slogan ,” It is time to change, Yes we can do it”,…… well now time has come to let actions follow brilliant rhetoric or excellent communication skills, and Mr. Obama missed, in my view, his first major opportunity to put action behind words, he could had perform a small quick intimate ceremony, instead of spending a full work day of his time and millions of dollars of taxpayers money in a ” Oscar Like “ ceremony” ,.. and providing the example to the people that elected him by starting to work right from the first minute and place hands on actions that really matters to our future. In times of crisis You need to take special initiatives as true visionaries lead by example. What do You think ?

RBS sponsors Williams F1 Team 2009

The UK prime Minister Mr. Gordon Brown unveiled today a second bank rescue package including powers for the Bank of England to lend up to £50bn directly to businesses, as he accused the Royal Bank of Scotland of taking ”irresponsible risks” as the bank’s shares collapsed.
His comments came as RBS warned it could report an annual loss of up to £28bn, following the mis-timed acquisition of ABN Amro, the Dutch lender it acquired as part of a €71bn (£63bn) hostile break-up bid in 2007.
”Almost all their losses are in subprime mortgages in America and related to the acquisition of ABN Amro. These are irresponsible risks taken by the bank with people’s money in the UK,” Mr Brown said, adding that the decision to buy ABN ”was wrong”. Source FT Online 19/1/2008.

On the same day Williams is presenting their new 2009 Formula 1 car in Algarve where RBS is still being figured as a main sponsor, is that not a contradiction and, at least not very ethical, when in times of economic downturn and deep banking crisis where the industry is laying people off, with government bailouts,….just ,... To go, …..and keep sending corporate guests around the world for entertainment by still being involved in Motorsport Sponsorship? What do You think ?

Adolf Merckle, a wealthy German industrialist, committed suicide after making a wrong bet on the direction of Volkswagen’s share price. Source: The Economist

“The desperate situation of his companies caused by the financial crisis, the uncertainties of the last few weeks and his powerlessness to act, have broken the passionate family entrepreneur and he took his own life,” a family statement said.


This is not the kind of news one expect to hear concerning successful leadership. What do you think? What main learnings can we take out of this ?

Federal agents arrested Madoff at his apartment on Thursday after prosecutors said he told senior employees that his money management operations were "all just one big lie" and "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme."
A Ponzi scheme is an illegal investment vehicle that pays off old investors with money from new ones, and is dependent on a constant stream of new investment. Because the invested capital is not earning a sufficient return on its own, such schemes eventually collapse under their own weight….. Source Yahoo News

A good example of where greed can lead us to, let´s learn from this by trying to reshape a new ethical culture linked to a Leadership style based on true values, ........which are they ?......What do You think ?

The Detroit Bailout,....

Newly elected president Barak Obama went on to describe, what he believes is a long-term bailout that will be conditioned on federal oversight. Could that mean that the government is mandated, or at least to heavily influence, what kind of cars the 3 Big ones from Detroit make, what mileage and environmental standards they must meet and what large investments they are permitted to make — to recreate an industry that Mr. Obama wishes “ that actually works, that actually functions.”
It all sounds me too close to nationalization.
My big question is, those 3 companies have been underperforming regularly in the last couple of Years even in the Booming ones, pursuing wrong business strategies, obsolete models, too many brands, so, why should the government ,as most will admit , historically, haven’t done that very well, be able to change that course and appear as the salvation management option ?
Plus it is a protection for the National American car manufacturers, what if the result is just the extension of the actual agony? Where is the American spirit of free trade and free market, what happens with the foreign manufacturers that invested in plants in the US and fostered the creation of thousands of new jobs, will they also be able to benefit form those massive financial injections ?
Would not be that money more wisely invested in long term actions that help boost economy by, lowering taxes and give the power back to those that more wisely can take the purchasing decisions. The taxpayers themselves, it is all a question of placing the right balance between back between offer and demand. What do you think?

Workout vs. Bailout: Should Government Take Advantage of the Buffett Effect?

James Heskett is a Baker Foundation Professor, Emeritus at Harvard Business School

Published:
October 2, 2008
Author:
Jim Heskett

Summing Up
The depth of the global financial crisis is becoming clearer day by day. In the United States, it is being used as a reason to set aside ideology regarding government ownership of important financial institutions, possibly including those that also manufacture automobiles. Our changing attitudes toward these matters may help explain the reasoned responses to this month's questions, responses surprisingly devoid of emotion. Granted, the emphasis of the column was on how the Government should act, not whether. But responses, by and large, resisted the temptation to venture into the realm of ideology.
Some respondents doubted the Government's ability to achieve the Buffett result, if not the "Buffett Effect" of the column's title. Several argued that the Government, by necessity, has different goals and constraints. Dave Guenthner wondered whether "a government would have the same financial-only interest that Buffett has. He is investing to make money, not save the economy." Sameer Kamat cited several reasons—lack of "credibility" as an investor, a "business model" that avoids hard-to-understand business, and "patience" (the pressure for Government to exit its investments as soon as possible)—as reasons why "a Government bailout may not be perceived in the same way as a Buffett style investment." Henrique Abreu cited a lesson of the late Milton Friedman that "it is a different thing spending your money on someone else (Warren Buffett) or spending someone else's money on someone else (government intervention)." But at the same time, most were resigned to the necessity of government action. In Tom Henkel's words, "Government intervention, while appalling, is really the only short-term fix."
One at least partial solution to these concerns was put forth by Amit Maheshwari, who asked, "Why not ask Warren Buffett to invest the bailout amount on behalf of Govt (he works for money, does he not?) …." Several responding as a group from Bethel University asked whether it would be possible to find an expert investor, including Buffett, who truly is a "disinterested party."
This sparked a side discussion about regulation. As Wilson Kimutai put it, "If we bring in Government to bail out, … more regulation should be brought to stabilize the market." David Moore echoed this thought and went further, suggesting that American people should not be allowed "to obligate themselves to loans they cannot afford." Elizabeth Doty commented, "The promise that individual actions lead to societal gain also means that individual failures of judgment lead to societal risk and pain, as we are seeing…. This is why I think we need to step up to the regulation challenge."
Those trying to fix the blame for the problem pointed in several directions. Bottoms-up (mortgage related) as well as top-down (concerning only financial institutions) solutions were favored. Now the definition of those institutions qualifying for either work out or bail out will be tested further, leading us to the question of whether the U.S. automobile industry should qualify for help. Where should we draw the line? Is it now time for ideology to take over? What do you think?

Original Transcription : HBS Working Knowledge November 2008

There are many books I could have written that are better than the ones I actually wrote. My best book would have been 'Managing Ignorance', and I’m very sorry I didn’t write it.”


Peter Drucker

Over the coming months, The New York Times will track six small businesses, and start a series in times of this financial turmoil on how their daily operations will be affected and the way they will handle this crisis, a very interesting idea by PATRICK McGEEHAN and KEN BELSON

Paul Krugman warned against the threats posed by the expanding non-regulated financial entities about a decade ago