Number of words: 251 There is a wonderful story of a group of American car executives who went to Japan to see a Japanese assembly line. At the end of the line, the doors were put on the hinges, the same as in America. But something was missing. In the United States, a line worker … Read more
Number of words: 306 On a cold January day, a forty-three-year-old man was sworn in as the chief executive of his country. By his side stood his predecessor, a famous general who, fifteen years earlier, had commanded his nation’s armed forces in a war that resulted in the defeat of Germany. The young leader was … Read more
Number of words: 153 In a world in which so many messages are being sent to consumers in so many different ways, in a world of hurry up sound bites, I must now admit that flash is the magical substance that can cut through all the mush and send the clearest message. Richard Branson is … Read more
Number of words: 276 We agreed, at the beginning, that we would keep this alliance as simple as possible. There were no big teams of international lawyers involved. Partners in the alliance signed a five page agreement. The alliance airlines are not handcuffed to one another. If they find over time that they are not … Read more
Number of words: 166 The people who run corporations spend too much time paying too much attention to the wrong things. In virtually every company that I have worked with for over four decades, I have seen executives spending just about all of their time on operations, on questions about producing a product or providing … Read more
Number of words: 183 Soldiers don’t think of themselves – and risk their lives – as part of a huge army; they do that for people they know who deserve their trust and loyalty, people who depend on them, commonly a group no larger than an infantry squad. No matter how big your company is, … Read more
Number of words: 115 Knowledge is a difficult asset to measure. But I wonder, how many millions of dollars of value walk out the door everyday because American business culture is so obsessed with youth that it thinks little of pushing its veterans out. Paying attention to youth is not bad in itself, of course. … Read more
Number of words: 331 He had a great idea and a special talent. He was somewhat charismatic, and for years his sales figures kept climbing every month. His own family and his own community thought he was terrific. But he wasn’t paying attention to his own costs and he didn’t pay enough attention to the … Read more
Number of words: 84 A really good CEO is a chameleon. Sometimes that means he has to be a bastard, even though the role doesn’t seem to fit. Sometimes he can be a nice guy, a strong leader who builds consensus amongst his employees. All of the time he has to know which role to … Read more
Number of words: 141 During the strategic planning process, I learned that at United, as at many companies, management has been intensely focused on controlling and containing labour cost. That is important, of course, but it overlooks the fact that for an airline, and probably many other companies, only a third of the total cost … Read more
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