Using an Internal Stock Market of Ideas

New employees at Rite-Solutions get issued $10,000 worth of “opinion money” and are invited to become part of the company’s internal stock market for ideas. The stock market, named Mutual Fun, “is a mechanism to take the employee relationship beyond the transaction level—I pay you, you do a job—to an emotional level where people are entrusted with the future direction of the company, asked for … [ Read more ]

Getting Strategic Clarity

Too often we find firms with more strategic clutter than clarity. Leaders in these firms have become enamored of the latest strategy twist and continually articulate a new way to position the firm. Nonetheless, it is possible to develop or enhance the required clarity. In one company, a newly appointed leader asked each of his direct reports to answer the question “What are we doing … [ Read more ]

Use action learning projects to address current policy or strategy issues

What’s the secret for building enduring client relationships? How do you make these relationships the cornerstone of your company’s reputation in the eyes of employees and investors as well as clients? And how do you avoid being overtaken and marginalized by shifting competitive forces to consistently offer superior value to clients? My answer…consists of five precepts or pillars: Surround yourself with good people. Invest in … [ Read more ]