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SSA & Company Notebook | Summer 2017

Ideas That Made Us Think Delivering on Robotic Process Automation’s Promise Robotic process automation (RPA) can fundamentally change the way companies operate. While many financial services firms have experimented with the technology, universal best practices have yet to surface, leaving many to learn as they go. Deutsche Bank made significant investments in RPA over the […] Read More »


G100 Network Notebook | June 2017

The Fed’s Lone Dissenter For the second time this year, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari voted against raising interest rates, sounding a more optimistic tone about the economy than Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Kashkari, the lone dissenter on the Federal Open Market Committee, asked recently: Why are we trying to cool down the economy, […] Read More »


G100 Network Notebook | May 2017

Transformation Lessons from Transportation Last year, I sat down with former Steelcase CEO Jim Hackett shortly after he traded his Ford director seat to lead a new operational division in Smart Mobility. Our conversation takes on greater significance today, given how Ford’s recent management shakeup requires Jim to reprise his role as CEO and usher in […] Read More »


G100 Network Notebook | April 2017

How an Icon Stays Agile To the surprise of some, Ford has pulled ahead in the driverless car race, thanks to AI investments and acquisitions of ride-sharing and lidar startups, says Wired: “That may sound all kinds of wrong to anyone who has seen Uber, Waymo, and Tesla flaunt their tech, and regards Detroit’s old […] Read More »


G100 Network Notebook | March 2017

How to Learn from Startup Success With “strategic philanthropy,” says a report about Google’s new spin on the startup accelerator. Under the program, Google finds mature startup talent in emerging markets and helps them solve business challenges with six months of free funding and mentorships. This offers Google crucial product feedback from different markets while […] Read More »


G100 Network Notebook | February 2017

What You Don’t Know About CEO Tenure New data from Spencer Stuart reveals an encouraging and overlooked sign in the media coverage of CEO turnover. Tenure for S&P 500 CEOs continues to rise partly because of better board and management alignment around performance: “Contrary to common perception that the market has become less patient with […] Read More »


SSA & Company Notebook | Winter 2017

Ideas That Made Us Think Evolving Customer Sentiment Can Unlock Your Supply Chain’s Potential Consumers’ demands to know what’s in their products is putting unprecedented pressure on companies. Supply chains are increasingly fragmented, and “suppliers are often reluctant to share their formulations, buyers balk at higher costs, and in some cases cost-effective safer substitutes simply […] Read More »


G100 Network Notebook | January 2017

“Alexa, What’s Next?” More voice-enabled objects and conversational bots in unexpected places, thanks to an increasing number of partnerships between Amazon and other companies, reports Backchannel: It turns out having microphones in your environment is a lot more convenient than pulling out your phone. Do advances in the cloud and voice recognition portend a shift […] Read More »


G100 Network Notebook | November 2016

The Revolution in Digital Payments Cisco Chairman John Chambers, speaking at G100 last month, ranked India Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a model leader of digitization. Days after, Modi surprised everyone by removing India’s most valued and popular currencies, even though India still uses cash for 95-98% of all transactions. Designed to root out corruption […] Read More »


Miles to Go: Ten Roles a CEO Must Play in 2016

The CEO position is more complex than it ever has been, and CEOs must have a much broader and deeper skill set to tackle this complexity. Looking to the year ahead, CEOs are expected to serve as experts in a wide range of areas – by their investors, their boards, their employees, and the public. […] Read More »