GE, the embodiment of American capitalism, is under fire from conservatives for CEO Jeff Immelt’s role on a presidential advisory panel and other alleged misdeeds. The sniping has mostly been heard on Fox News and at Republican presidential primary events, but Monday’s Wall Street Journal brought the story right to the doorstep of GE’s clients. […]
I recently heard a senior marketing executive at a top global investment firm discuss their highly successful brand-advertising campaign. (He addressed a group of about 300 people, but I’ve kept him anonymous as I didn’t have permission to attribute his remarks.) His lessons are noteworthy, and so is the campaign, which has been very visible […]
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about risk and corporate cultures. Some cultures produce disasters, like the massive, concealed trading loss at UBS – the most recent in a long streak of debacles for the bank. Other environments, however, seem consistently to produce good things – valued products and great experiences. Apple of course comes […]
The note earlier today by Morgan Stanley CEO Jim Gorman addressing what he called “confusion and misinformation” about the firm wasn’t too reassuring. It’s not likely to quell the rumors about the firm, nor does it do much to improve Gorman’s stature. By penning such a short memo (a mere 218 words), Gorman clearly did […]
Tempers must be on the boil at Morgan Stanley today. The lead business article in the New York Times reported on investor concerns about the firm’s exposure to European debt, its earnings power and its liquidity, which brought the stock down by 10.5% last week. And to make matters worse, the piece noted – without […]
Today’s New York Times spotlights the rich payouts to failed CEOs, drawing special attention to three CEOs who recently were fired: Carol Bartz of Yahoo, Léo Apotheker of HP and Bob Kelly of Bank of New York Mellon. (See my earlier posts on how these departures were communicated.) While it may spark outrage, these payouts […]
In London, the Observer newspaper recently published an interview with Sting, in which he discusses his life and music, and I’m recommending it and a companion video as this week’s Friday Risk Reading. The parallels between Sting’s childhood and early career and that of Keith Richards (who is My Business Guru) are pretty striking. Sting […]
Summer ended last week and with it the last of the season’s peaches. So it seemed only fitting to have them go out in a blaze of glory as a tart. Since they were so perfectly ripe, only a slight dusting of sugar was needed, then into a simple, homemade crust they went. After about […]
Swiss banking giant UBS today announced the resignation of CEO Oswald Grubel after a marathon meeting of its board in Singapore. There was speculation all week that the scandal could ultimately cost Gruebel his job but the suddenness of his departure is a bit of a surprise. His exit marks the fourth CEO firing in […]
This week’s recommended risk reading is a recent article from the New York Times Sunday magazine. Entitled “What if the Secret to Success is Failure?,” the article examines a new approach to building character among students, not simply strengthening their academic performance. It’s clearly hit a nerve, topping the most-emailed list on the Times website […]