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Author Archives: David Shedd
The McKinsey Way – A Strong Primer on Problem Solving
Way back in 1999, Ethan M. Rasiel (full disclosure: a business school colleague of mine) penned The McKinsey Way: Using the Techniques of the World’s Top Strategic Consultants to Help You and Your Business. In the book, Rasiel reveals the … Continue reading
Lady Luck Always Has Her Day
Whether we like it or not, a good deal of what happens to us in our lives, our careers and our businesses comes down to luck and fortunate timing. The chance meeting with someone that led to a job and … Continue reading
The Oz Principle – Be Accountable, Be Responsible, Be Answerable
In their book, The Oz Principle – Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability, Roger Connors, Tom Smith and Craig Hickman discuss the pervasive lack of accountability in the corporate world. Dirty Little Secret The dirty little secret is that … Continue reading
Grow and Win With New Product (and Service) Development
In today’s slow-growth economy, companies are struggling to find new ways to grow. All too often, current products are mature and current markets are saturated with competition. To escape these brutal facts and find a new avenue for growth, companies … Continue reading
Tuned In – Valuable Insight in Finding That New Avenue for Growth
In Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs, Craig Stull, Phil Myers and David Meerman Scott describe the ‘Tuned In’ methodology that your company can use to find your next avenue for growth. ‘Tuned In’ creates … Continue reading
Posted in Growth and Strategy, Sales and Marketing
Tagged Growth, Market Development, Marketing, Product Development, Strategy
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4 Basic (Often Overlooked) Steps to Operational Excellence
Achieving operational excellence is vital to ensure that your company executes and fulfills its strategic goals. As a result, companies have spent millions of dollars and countless hours on advanced programs such as lean manufacturing, six sigma, kaizen events, ISO … Continue reading
Understanding Michael Porter: An Indispensable Handbook on Strategy
Published in December 2011, Joan Magretta’s Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy, is an excellent and timely book about business strategy. It discusses the ideas and frameworks from the guru of business strategy, Michael Porter. I … Continue reading
Growth By Acquisition – An Introduction
Mergers and acquisitions can be effective tools to speed the growth and development of your company. Through acquisitions your business can expand into new geographic areas, enter new market spaces, broaden product lines, develop relationships with new and growing customers, and … Continue reading
Posted in Growth and Strategy, Perform / Execution
Tagged Acquisitions, Growth, Mergers, Strategy
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How to Grow When Markets Don’t – More Relevant than Ever!
Published in late 2004, How to Grow When Markets Don’t by Adrian Slywotzky and Richard Wise (with Karl Weber) is more relevant than ever in today’s slow-growth business climate. The Growth Crisis The economy is maturing and population growth is … Continue reading
To Get Things Done, We Need More Meetings…With Ourselves
The majority of businesspeople are drowning in meetings – staff meetings, review meetings, planning meetings, etc…. The majority of businesspeople are inundated with distractions – colleagues stopping by open offices, a tidal wave of E-Mail, the allure of Facebook and … Continue reading
Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength – A Critical Book to Help You Realize Your Business and Personal Success
In their excellent book, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney discuss the importance of willpower in ensuring that you get done what you need to get done and thus achieve your goals. Please use … Continue reading
Posted in Perform / Execution, Personal Success
Tagged Self-Control, Success, Willpower, Willpower Book Summary
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Competing in a “Low Price” World
In most industries, the business environment remains brutal: growth is slow or non-existent; and price competition is rampant. The question on the minds of many business executives is simple: How can I increase profits and grow when all my customers … Continue reading
Posted in Growth and Strategy, Perform / Execution
Tagged Competition, Low Price, Strategy
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The Essential Drucker: Insights from the Original Management Guru
The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker’s Essential Writings on Management is an indispensable read to help you enhance your business leadership and improve your business. What makes it particularly interesting is that much of it … Continue reading
How to Rake It in When Selling Your Business
For many business owners or entrepreneurs the long-term goal is to sell your company and monetize all the value that you have created. So, what can you begin working on today to ensure that you rake it in from the … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Growth and Strategy
Tagged Business Sale, Exit Planning, M&A
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The Agenda (Michael Hammer): Useful for This Decade as Well
Way back in 2001, Michael Hammer authored The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade. Slightly more than a decade later, the thoughts and insights in this book remain relevant and worth summarizing. The key assumption in … Continue reading
To Sell Well, ‘Spin Sell’ – Sales Training for B2B Companies
Selling is all about delivering value to the customer. In B2B (Business-to-Business) sales, this fundamental is too often forgotten. Instead, salespeople: 1. Tell customers how great their (the salesperson’s) company is 2. Tell customers all the features of their great … Continue reading
Posted in Growth and Strategy, Sales and Marketing
Tagged B2B Sales, Sales, Sales Coaching, Sales Training, Spin Selling
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Stephen Covey’s “Habits” Books – Still Valuable After All These Years
Stephen R. Covey is justifiably famous for his books on business and personal success. In this blog, I briefly summarize two of his best and most relevant books for moving you and your company forward. The 7 Habits of Highly … Continue reading
Move Your Company Forward in 2012
Welcome to 2012! I remain confident that this will be the year that your company once again begins to soar. To help you with that I offer up six suggestions on how you can make a substantive change in your … Continue reading
Jack: Straight From the Gut
In Jack: Straight From the Gut, famed GE CEO Jack Welch (with John A. Byrne), gives a no-nonsense take on what made his 20-year tenure at GE so successful. The first fundamental in strategy is to be in the right … Continue reading
‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple
In a previous blog (Why is Business So Complex?), I highlighted the factors that drive business leaders and businesses towards greater and greater complexity and more and more work. Yes, business is complex. And that complexity cannot be ignored. But, … Continue reading
David M. Shedd - Move Your Company Forward 