[The Barclays iShares and Genentech Acquisitions] Deals Are Done – Now Comes the Fun

Business and organizational observers in San Francisco and its environs will get a first hand view of how smart – or not-so-smart – the buyers of Genentech and Barclays Global Investor’s iShares unit are in getting real value for their acquisitions. [Update: See Kathleen Pender’s good overview column Net Worth from the April 12th  San Francisco Chronicle here ]

While the buyers are different, the name of the game is the same: get value equal or greater to your purchase price.Read the rest

Naismith’s Pride: Teamwork Spells Success

Eight United States teams – four men’s and four women’s – of sweaty, baggy-shorted collegiate basketball players will be running up and down a wooden court that is 94 feet long and 50 feet wide trying to claim the winner’s trophy in what’s known as basketball’s Final Four over the next few days.

Basketball, more than any other sport, is the ultimate team experience: nothing else comes close in the way five players must play well together and the lessons for business are endless.Read the rest

[New Rules] 5 Landmines to Sidestep When Changing Jobs

Changing jobs in today’s economy is tough enough without adding complexity. But something as seemingly straight forward and simple as moving from one organization to another for a job change can get sketchy if you manage to make some highly avoidable mistakes.

Here’s my take on five things – some may be more traps than landmines  –  you can, and should avoid when changing jobs:

Moving from the frying pan to the proverbial fire : In my experience people are either moving to something (e.g.Read the rest

[Through the Glass Door] Genentech’s Future Looks Much Like Chiron’s Recent Past

From the headline of Tom Abate’s story in the San Francisco Chronicle “Roche-Genentech deal called close, with offer raised”, folks at 1 DNA Way in South San Francisco should take a look across the bay at Chiron’s former campus in Emeryville to see their likely future.

As noted elsewhere (see the “Land O’Spin series on best practices of assessment on this blog), one of the best predictors for future behavior is to look at past patterns of behavior.Read the rest