Category: Organizational Development

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News You Can Use: Best CEOs Recruited from Inside?

Results announced yesterday of 20-year study by Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in conjunction with AT Kearney found that companies that exclusively promote CEOs from within the ranks – as opposed to hiring outsiders – routinely outperform companies that hire CEOs from outside the firm.

The finding, I’d suggest, should hardly be any surprise. Organizational leaders have four or five hurdles to clear to be effective in organizations; effectiveness with colleagues, direct reports, and bosses (CEOs, investors, boards of directors), sector proficiency, managing change and organizational culture.… Read the rest

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Life & Death Lessons for Startups

There are lessons that some startups learn after they’ve crashed, and mistakes that successful startups either learn early or avoid making.

If you want to be successful as a startup, learn these lessons early – or be very lucky and avoid them.

Lunch yesterday with my friend and colleague Dr. Jo Whitehouse – a rockstar in the startup world – highlighted two of them.… Read the rest

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Tips for CEOs, Boards and Company Builders: 7 Succession Mistakes to Avoid

The trickle down process is in high gear.

Steve Jobs takes a second medical leave and everywhere business people are scurrying around to do or dust off CEO succession plans.

The fact of the matter is most people avoid contingency planning (Tornado? What tornado?) like Republicans and Democrats avoid candid, authentic dialogue about taxing and spending realities. Succession – particularly at the most senior levels like the CEO – invites thinking about the unthinkable; things like death, firing, or getting “your guy/gal” at the top swiped by another competitor.… Read the rest

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Tips for CEOs & Company Founders: How to Build Your “A” Team

There are a number of formulas for success for building “can’t miss” start-up and founding teams.

Here’s one that actually works.

A disclaimer first; depending on your business you’ll need to have reasonable domain expertise. If you’re in the internet networking space, you need to have people on your founding team that have the technical chops to have the engineering aspects nailed, as well as somebody who understands the competitive market dynamics (who buys gear, who is the competition, who is a player, who is not, etc.).… Read the rest