2012 New Year resolutions for CEOs and executives

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|December 27, 2011

January 1st, New Year Day, is a chance for proposing changes. The tradition is to make resolutions such as to lose weight or exercise more. Typically they are personal ones made by the individuals, but I have a new twist by making a resolution for CEOs, heads of government agencies [...]

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Want to disprove a CEO’s wishful thinking? Use analytics.

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|August 9, 2011

How often have you heard executives proclaim that next year the target for financial results will be a substantial lift from the current year? For example a CEO may state, “Next year we expect to improve from a 10.3% to 15.4% rate of return on shareholder equity.” Is this leadership [...]

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Executives: If you want to be on the landing, then be on the take-off

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|July 26, 2011

I am increasingly detecting concerns from project managers and advocates of analytics-based enterprise performance improvement initiatives that senior executives are not sufficiently on-board or exhibiting buy-in thus jeopardizing the implementation success of the initiative. What is going on? An example of evidence is a recent Linkedin.com discussion group that I’ve [...]

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Rules for assuring poor performance

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|June 28, 2011

In 1773 Benjamin Franklin, one of the USA’s founding fathers, wrote a pamphlet aimed at the royalty of England titled Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One. Satire is one way to get your point across. I apply my own style of satire here [...]

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An Interview with a CEO You Might Want to Work For

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|May 31, 2011

Have you ever worked for an organization where you doubted the leadership capability of your CEO, Managing Director, division president or head of your agency? Have you ever been disturbed that your organization is not living up to its full potential in terms of its use of analytics and enterprise-wide [...]

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The Royal Wedding – What if Companies had a King and Queen?

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|April 26, 2011

This Friday is the big day – England’s royal wedding of William, Prince of Wales, and Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey. Some readers are already experiencing wedding hype fatigue while others just cannot get enough of it. The existence of a royal family is always a curiosity of countries, like [...]

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A Poorly Managed Company’s Tour Guide

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|February 8, 2011

Publicly traded companies issue annual reports that increasingly look like magazines. Almost all organizations publish a brochure with glossy pictures that describe what their organizations do. In either case they are very traditional, and many look the same. What is needed is a new idea – a better way to [...]

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2011 New Year Resolutions for CEOs and Executives

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|January 3, 2011

January 1st, New Year Day, is a chance for proposing changes. The tradition is to make resolutions such as to lose weight or exercise more. Typically they are personal ones made by the individuals, but I have a new twist by making a resolution for CEOs, heads of government agencies [...]

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A “Dear CEO” Advice Column

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|August 17, 2010

Self-help books and newspaper advice columns, such as the famous Ann Landers column, are prevalent for issues involving relationships, money or etiquette. What if there were an advice column for CEOs? Dear CEO: I am a relatively capable mid-level manager in my mid-40s. I have worked for my employer for [...]

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If you are now the CEO

Gary Cokins
Gary Cokins|June 28, 2010

Imagine that you are now the CEO. Further imagine that your organization is underperforming. Worse yet, your organization has low employee morale, high labor turnover, declining market share, falling profits, competitors that are under-pricing you, and constant criticism from your board of directors, investors and investment analysts. Sound like a [...]

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