1. Year-End Assessment: We Have No Reason to Complain What better way to bring in the New Year than to remember that we live at time that doesn’t deserve much complaint! Andres Martinez analyzes our culture of whining. Auld Lang Syne: The “good old days” are a figment of our imagination. Life – here, there, everywhere – has never […] Read More »
Each quarter, we scan the business landscape and highlight provocative stories. Through our G100 Companies sister firms — G100 Network, High Lantern Group, The Miles Group, and CEO.works — we enjoy exclusive access to insights from world-class organizations and a distinct perspective on what is top of mind for leading CEOs. This issue also includes […] Read More »
G100 at Apple Next year, G100 and Next Generation Leadership members will spend a half day at Apple headquarters speaking with senior management, including CEO Tim Cook, named Person of the Year recently by the Financial Times. Their glowing profile reveals how Cook distinguished himself despite scrutiny. With a growing need for someone to block […] Read More »
1. How to Respond to a Celebrity Attack Spotify CEO Daniel Ek showed how a CEO should respond when one of the world’s most famous celebrities – in this case, Taylor Swift – goes on TV and criticizes your business for hurting the industry. In a blog, Ek offers a cogent analysis of the dynamics of the […] Read More »
Driving Fast Growth How can companies thrive in highly competitive markets? Box CEO Aaron Levie explains: You’re always balancing what is possible today and what can we do with technology with the reality and the empathy that we have to have for where customers are. How do we bring them, and how do we bridge […] Read More »
1. The Revolt Against Russell Brand The British press is doing what it does best: crafting gleeful, mocking reviews. The latest target is actor Russell Brand’s moronic-sounding new book, Revolution. “Rambling, half-baked, shifty and unpleasant,” announces The Daily Mail. “ Sub-undergraduate dross,” declares The Telegraph. Not to be outdone, The Guardian offers this analysis: His writing is atrocious: long-winded, confused and smug; […] Read More »
Strategy, Talent and Operations Integration: How T.J. Maxx Succeeds in Retail A recent Fortune article explores T.J. Maxx parent company TJX’s striking success. Sales increased 50% over six years to $27.4B and profits tripled. While the article discusses many tactics, it also conveys the company’s strong ability to integrate strategy, operations and talent management. Unlike […] Read More »
The Consequences of Bad Academic Writing Steven Pinker’s perfectly pitched “Why Academics Stink at Writing” opens by asking an essential question: Why should a profession that trades in words and dedicates itself to the transmission of knowledge so often turn out prose that is turgid, soggy, wooden, bloated, clumsy, obscure, unpleasant to read, and impossible […] Read More »
Apple, Culture, and G100 A good primer is this Bloomberg Businessweek interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook that goes beyond recent product announcements to reveal how he transformed company culture. He says: The lines between hardware, software, and services are blurred or are disappearing. The only way you can pull this off is when everyone […] Read More »
1. Why American Institutions Are Failing Francis Fukuyama’s huge new essay in Foreign Affairs details why American institutions are failing. It covers familiar ground – the rise of interest groups, the increase in political polarization. But the writing and analysis are very good. Expect it to be cited repeatedly by editorial pages and politicians of both parties throughout the […] Read More »
