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June, 2010
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Surviving Crisis
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10 steps to being prepared
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By: Dean Zakos, Dempsey, Williamson, Kelly & Hertel
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“If anything can go wrong, it will.”
-Murphy’s Law
“Murphy was an optimist.”
-O’Tool’s Commentary
Today’s headlines are again filled with crisis events. You cannot predict the occurrence of an event that might significantly impact your brand and reputation, but you can be prepared to respond.
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March, 2010
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There's a silver lining
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In the current economy, acquisitions may be available at bargain prices
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By: Guest
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THE 20TH CENTURY SAW FIVE DISTINCT waves of mergers and acquisitions, all of which coincided with economic expansion and a rising stock market (1895-1904, 1922-1929, 1967-1969, 1988-1989, 1993-2000). With history as our guide, it’s not surprising then that M&A activity dropped some 58 percent in 2009, according to a survey done by the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors. Conventional wisdom seems to be that acquisitions should be pursued during boom times and avoided when the economy takes a turn for the worse.
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December, 2009
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Reluctant optimists
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Many manufacturers are hopeful about the economy, but worried about government’s role
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By: Michael Bina
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The recent Nicolet National Bank Business Pulse survey on the “Future of Manufacturing” raised a few eyebrows. Even the guy who conducted the survey was surprised. “Given the current economic context,” David Wegge, PhD., says, “the results were more positive than I expected.”
Wegge conducts quarterly Business Pulse CEO surveys for Nicolet National Bank. In September, his analysis showed that New North manufacturers were way more optimistic about the future of manufacturing than their counterparts in the service and retail sectors. (See Insight magazine, November 2009, Read More...
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September, 2009
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Great idea
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Your ideas are your business – and that makes your ideas worth protecting
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By: Thomas Wilhelm & Preston O'Connor
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Paraphrasing Jack Stack from The Great Game of Business, the most significant duty of a company is “providing great products and services for its customers, and job security for its employees.” While that focus may initially seem misdirected, this singular motivation translates into concern for safety, quality, productivity, customer service and other critical business objectives. The dual objectives of customer service and job security require organizational stability, which demands good business practices. Seems like good business.
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June, 2009
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Cultural change?
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Use lean to gain buy-in and engagement from your organization
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By: Dennis McCullough
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Sooner or later, cultural change becomes a very hot topic in almost every top management group discussion about implementing lean. Why? Because lean is truly a “bottom up” implementation strategy.
Lean contradicts how managers are taught to think. Asking workers to make decisions about how their work gets done contradicts how managers are taught to think. The old management-to-worker philosophy of “I think and you work” doesn’t cut it anymore.
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