Check Out Our Executive Street Blog 

Tune in to the Vistage Leadership Channel on YouTube!

Week of June 17, 2013

“Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself.  It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult.”

Warren Ben’s

Author of  “Judgment: How Great Leaders Make Winning Calls”

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

50 Life Hacks

Wanting versus Having

CEOs, Strategy and how Technology Affects Both

Econ Recon: An “Almost”  Equal Opportunity Country….Where’s the Inflation

50 Life Hacks

High technology has undoubtedly made our lives better in many ways…but there are everyday challenges that can yield to charming low tech solutions with a little awareness and creativity. Check out 50 Life Hacks to Make Your Life Easier.

Wanting versus Having

Many hold that in our lives it’s not the “destination” but the “journey” that counts.   This may be true in shopping as well.   Research indicates that the “bulk of the (retail) therapy provided by shopping is everything that happens before the check-out counter.”   If you’re a shopper, retailer or supplier to a retailer, take a minute to find out Why Wanting Expensive Things Makes Us So Much Happier Than Buying Them.

CEOs, Strategy and how Technology Affects Both

Technology has come to affect strategy in profound ways.  Unfortunately, CEOs, who have the primary responsibility for strategy,  are usually the least well informed person in the company as regards technology.  If this describes you,  start educating yourself with the following insightful but brief article from Forbes…. “Four Ways Technology is Transforming Business Strategy.

Econ Recon: An Almost Equal Opportunity Country….Where’s the Inflation

Where’s the Inflation?:  The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has grown enormously with Chairman Bernanke’s Quantitative Easing Part 3 (QE3) in an attempt to hold down long rates and spur the economy.  Many have feared that inflation will be the price we pay Q3  and wonder why a spiral of increasing prices has not yet raised its ugly head.  Economist Brian Wesbury has been wondering as well.  He suggests that inflation may be “knocked down” but has not been “knocked out.”  Take a minute for his brief answer to the question  “Where’s The Inflation?”

An Almost Equal Opportunity Country:  Vistage Staff Economist and ITR Economics Principal Alan Beaulieu summarizes a recent study of the growth of the economy during the recovery.  According to Mr. Beaulieu, the nature of that growth will make the from the slump ITR predicts for early 2014 less severe.  Check out the details in his latest blog entry  “An Almost Equal Opportunity Country.”  

MAKE it a great week!

Best,

Check Out Our Executive Street Blog

Tune in to the Vistage Leadership Channel on YouTube!

Week of June 10, 2013

(This past Thursday was the 69^th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion)

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

Windows 8….go ahead

Top 10 Banned Office Apps

Tips for Highly Effective Meetings

D-Day Lessons for Entrepreneurs

Econ Recon:  An Upside Surprise….and The Tide Keeps Coming In

Windows 8….go ahead

Windows 8 has gotten a bad rap…does it deserve it?   Not at all, says Vistage Speaker and IT Security Expert, Mike Foster, who in his latest blog says “You already know how to use Windows 8. It is faster, better, and more secure. What are you waiting for? “   Learn why he says that  by clicking here

Top 10 Bad Apps

There are hundreds of thousands of apps for the IPhone and other smart phones…do you know which ones have the most negative effect on office productivity?.  Check out this article from Inc Magazine for the Top 10 Apps Banned in the Office based on a survey of 4,000 companies.

Keys to Leading Highly Productive Meetings

Click here to hear the Podcast now.

Regardless of your politics, most would agree that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had one of the more interesting careers in Washington.  No doubt, this required a lot of meetings. Check out his rules for running them successfully (attached) …well worth your time.

Don Rumsfeld Keys to successful meetings 

D-Day Lessons for Entrepreneurs

Last Thursday, June 6, was the 69^th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion to liberate Europe.  Check out these D-Day Lessons for Entrepreneurs. 

Econ Recon:

 An Upside Surprise:  Economist Brian Wesbury looks at the most recent jobs numbers and suggests that the odds of continuing economic growth are better than the economy falling back into recession.  Learn in this six minute video why he says to “Look Out for an Upside Surprise.”

….and The Tide Keeps Coming In:   Vistage Staff Economist and ITR Economics Principal Alan Beaulieu shares another example of “on shoring” (i.e. the return of American Manufacturing jobs from oversea)  as two major smartphone manufacturers show the free market at work.

MAKE it a great week!

DR

Check Out Our Executive Street Blog

Tune in to the Vistage Leadership Channel on YouTube!

Week of April 29, 2013

“Business, because its function is to create a customer and sustain it, has only two purposes: marketing and innovation.

Marketing and innovation are the only two functions that build businesses that sustain paying revenue. Everything else is an expense.”

Peter Drucker

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

Lucky Career Mistakes

10 Really Cool Tech Time Savers

Want a Great Team?  Hire a Neurotic Introvert Today!!

Econ Recon:  The Underground Recovery….Being in the Right Place at the Right Time

Lucky Career Mistakes

The ultra-successful are constantly asked the secret of their success. Usually the answers reflect the things they did right; but as often as not, theirmistakes were just as formative in their later success.  Spend a few minutes with 17 successful people sharing the best career mistakes they’ve ever made.

10 Really Cool Tech Time Savers

If TED.com thinks it’s worth a few minutes to share the following simple technology time savers then they must be worth learning about…and they are!   Spend six minutes with New York Times  Personal Technology Columnist David Pogue as he shares his Top Ten Technology Tips  (many of which I’ll wager you are not aware of ) for easier use of your PC, Smart Phone, Ipad and digital camera.

Want a Great Team?  Hire a Neurotic Introvert Today!!

When recruiting for teams, be it choosing sides for ball games as kids or recruiting for our companies, many are tempted to pick the extroverts; the people who naturally stand out because they are assertive or display other forms of extroverted behaviors.    A recent study summarized in Inc Magazine suggests that this may be short sighted; a few neurotic introverts may be what the team really needs for peak performance.

Econ Recon:  The Underground RECOVERY….Being in the Right Place at the Right Time

The Underground RECOVERY:  The recovery from the recession has been a slow one according to the usual statistics…..but could there be a stronger economy than the numbers present to us?  A brief article by financial writer James Surowiecki asserts that a far larger part of the nation’s commerce is done “off the books” than most realize….  and why we may be participating in an Underground Recovery.

The Right Place at the Right Time:   Vistage Staff Economist and ITR Economics Principal Alan Beaulieu looks at recent headlines about growing income inequality between the “rich” and the “Middle Class” and suggests that the game, contrary to the claims of the media,  is not rigged.  His short piece “Being at the Right Place at the Right Time” is worth reading.

MAKE it a great week!

 Week of February 18, 2013

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18 IS PRESIDENTS DAY

 Washington and Lincoln on Management:

“My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty,

it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.”

George Washington

-

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Abraham Lincoln

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

Upcoming Events

Abraham Lincoln, Deal Guy

Econ Recon: Still Plowing Along…Your Peers’ Take on the Economy….Canada Can, Can We?

You: Trying to win or to not lose

The Man Behind The Arches

Upcoming Events

-

On March 6th Vistage will present our All City Event at Meridian Hills Country Club.  Jack Daly nationally known Key Note Speaker will speak on growing your revenue through targeted sales efforts.  Many of our Indianapolis Members and their guests will attend.  Registration starts at 7:30 am.  If you are interested in learning more follow the link to sign up.

www.vistage.com/EVIndianapolis

Abraham Lincoln, Deal Guy

Lincoln has received enormous publicity in recent months due to the Steven Spielberg movie on his crusade to pass the 13^th amendment to the constitution.  Aside from George Washington, it would be difficult to find a president held in higher regard.   Lincoln has more than a little to teach CEOs.  For a quick overview, check out these article:  The first  “Making The Biggest Deals- Abraham Lincoln style” offers three lessons on negotiation drawn from major events of Lincoln’s presidency.    If you want some general leadership wisdom from our sixteenth president, check out Lincoln: Five Leadership Lessons.

Econ Recon: Still Plowing Along…Your Peers’ Take on the Economy….Canada Can, Can We?

Still Plowing Along:   Despite the constant gloom of the mainstream media about the economy  (most notably regarding a stubbornly  high unemployment rate),  the fact is that the economy and total employment  (not the unemployment rate) have been improving for three and a half years; albeit at unacceptably slow  pace.   Economist Brian Wesbury looks why our growth is so slow and explains why we seem stuck with a   Plow Horse State of the Economy.

Your Peers Take on the Economy:  The Q4 results for the Vistage Confidence Index are now available.  Click here for a sense of how Vistage CEO see the economy in the coming year.

Canada Can….Can We? :  Looking for a developed country that seems to have its house in order?  Look up  (on the map, that is).   Vistage Staff Economist  and Institute for Trend Research principal  Alan Beaulieu takes a quick look at our neighbor to the north and points out a few lessons we could learn from them. 

Are you trying to win…. or to not lose?

The most important thing for all of us to manage is ourselves.  To that end, the first question to ask is “Who am I?”  A recent HBR article suggests that each of us is either promotion-focused or prevention-focused in our orientation: In other words,  do I know if I am the kind of person who is trying towin…or I am usually trying to not lose?  This is profound information to have about ourselves and those we report to,  or those who report to us. . Click here for the article.    I plan to discuss it at our next meeting.

 The Man Behind The Arches

 If asked who was the man who made McDonald’s what it is, most business people automatically say Ray Kroc, who saw a terrific opportunity that the original McDonald’s brothers did not.  True, but every business needs not only a visionary, but also a missionary….someone who lives the brand and whose zeal demands unbending adherence by all to the founder’s vision.

Such was the role of Fred Turner, Former Chairman and CEO of McDonald’s, who died in January at age 80.    Turner started off running a grill at a McDonalds, became operations manager in 1958 and CEO in 1973.     The Economist Magazine runs one obituary each month, almost always of someone not well known who nevertheless had a significant influence in their chosen field.  In January, they chose Fred Turner.  Take a moment and read this missionary’s obit.   Who is the “Fred Turner” in your company?  Do you have one?

MAKE it a great week!

David L. Reed

Chair

Vistage International

Check Out Our Executive Street Blog

 Week of January 14 , 2013 

“Be careful….a little success can create a lot of overhead.” 

Red Scott

Former CEO of Intermark and member of Vistage for 38 years

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

Cardinal Rules Revisited

86% of Employees are Looking

Too Many Choices are Bad for Business

Econ Recon:  The Year Ahead

Upcoming Events

CARDINAL RULES REVISITED

 Red Scott served as CEO of publicly traded companies for more than 20 years, was named recipient of the coveted Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans, honored as California’s CEO of the 1980’s Decade, has been a member of Vistage #7 in California since 1975, and owns the license for Vistage Florida -  definitely an iconic figure in the history of our 55 year old international organization.  Several years ago, I shared his famous   “Red” Scott’s Business Cardinals” which reflect his philosophy and experience in achieving success in an increasingly competitive world and offer it again for you in this edition.  Red Scott’s Cardinal Rules….print it out and keep it on your desk.

 - 

86% OF EMPLOYEES ARE LOOKING 

In a recent survey, Right Management recently reported that “For the fourth year in a row most workers are expressing their intention to seek new employment elsewhere,,,,”  86% of those surveyed to be exact.    The same survey has reported similar percentages for the past several years.  Clearly, most employees can’t or won’t take this step, but the survey should stimulate some thought in every business regarding employee satisfaction, which is apparently very widespread.   It’s never too soon to protect your top talent.

-

TOO MANY CHOICES….BAD FOR BUSINESS

 Many CEOs have invested more than a little time and money to offer their customers as wide an array of choices as possible under the assumption that a broader offering is at all times and places a competitive advantage.  Perhaps not says one researcher who has found that customers may actually fail to buy at all if overwhelmed by too many decisions.  In short,  Cutting Down On Choice Is The Best Way To Make Better Decisions    You may decide it’s time to thin your product line after reading this article.

- 

ECON RECON

It wouldn’t be January if there weren’t economic forecasts for the coming year being offered.    Two weeks ago I offered Vistage Staff Economist Alan Beaulieu’s take on what’s ahead for 2013.    This week it’s First Trust Advisors’ Brian Wesbury’s Outlook for 2013.   In short, 2013 still has steam left in it….but get ready for 2014….things may change.

-

On February 14, National Vistage Speaker Dean Rosson will Present

 March 6th, don’t miss our Vistage All City Event where Vistage Members and guests come together for the first of two All City events at Meridian Hills Country Club.

Jack Daly will Present

Coaching Companies to greater Sales and Profits

Don’t miss the opportunity to mix with Senior Executives from around the city and hear a national speaker. If you would like to attend either of these upcoming events, call me at 317 775 9000.

MAKE it a great week!

Week of December 31, 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

 -

Benjamin Franklin

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

The Power of Negative Thinking

Meet Your Replacement

13 Criminals You Might Want To Meet…..and 13 Who Came Back from the Gutter

Econ Recon:  2013:  Opportunity and Challenge

The Power of Negative Thinking

New Year’s is a time for looking ahead, making resolutions and setting goals.    Surely the “power of positive” thinking, goal setting and business plans are necessary ingredients for realizing our dreams in 2013…right?    Maybe not.  Some researchers and successful entrepreneurs and executives are embracing “defensive pessimism”, avoiding “over pursuit of goals” (which can lead to cutting corners or ignoring other important aspects of your life), and living your life by taking stock of where you are now and imagining possible outcomes instead of setting goals and working backwards.

Learn more about “The Power of Negative Thinking” before you begin working on your resolutions!

Meet Your Replacement

In 1900, 70% of us worked on the farm.  Today only 1% are farmers.  This shift from the farm to industry was due to the incredible agriculture productivity made possible by the mechanized advances of the tractor, the reaper, the combine and other inventions.   Many economic and technology watchers believe the same thing is happening again.   A century ago, most of the displaced agricultural workers found higher paying job in the new industries such as automobile production that were springing up at the same time.

Will history repeat itself with those displaced by the technological advances of the past decade finding new and better employment in the new industries being created? Maybe not.   White collar jobs thought to be safe, such as accounting and software development have in many cases been  replaced by computers and/or information technology has permitted the offshoring of them to the dismay of those who once held them.

A quick overview of this  can be found in a recent New Yorker article  “Will a Robot Take Your Job?” 

13 Criminals You Might Want to Meet…..and 13 Who Came Back from the Gutter

New Year’s is a time for second chances and the thirteen people you’re about to meet made the best of theirs.   This baker’s dozen of folks you might have once feared or avoided took another look at their lives and decided to become someone different. Click here for one phone/one paragraph thumbnail  introductions to these ‘turnaround artists.” 

If you or a friend would like a little more inspiration check out these 11 famous persons who were once homeless  and 15 incredible rags to riches stories   These links will take you to others that may help you think differently about success in the year ahead.

Econ Recon:  2013:  Opportunity and Challenge

With the debate about the fiscal cliff raging,  Vistage Staff Economist Alan Beaulieu looks ahead and says that the leading indicators that he follows promise a  2013 that  will provide both opportunity and challenge.  Click for more on 2013….and a warning about 2014.

All the Best,

David Reed

Vistage Chair

711 East 65th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46220

317 775 9000

david.reed@vistage.com

Check Out Our Executive Street Blog

 Week of October 29, 2012

“We love to be asked; we hate to be told.”

 AmyK Hutchens

Vistage Speaker

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

The Future of Getting Things Done

Econ Recon: 

Vistage Confidence Index: What your fellow CEOs think about the Economy Ahead

            The Man Who Runs the Economy may be checking out

Banks-Good News Here…..Bad News There

Decoding Your Plastic

Eleven Tough Lessons

Join other CEOs to hear Veteran Vistage Speaker Rick McPartlin in Indianapolis

The Future of Getting Things Done

The time (and therefore, productivity) master of the twenty-first century is David Allen whose “Getting Things Done” became a national best seller.   Allen maintains that mastering your time requires having a reliable system for capturing all your commitments and eliminating the stress of worrying whether you’ve kept track of everything.  As organizations become flatter and everyone takes on more responsibility, such techniques will move from the optional to mandatory.    Allen recently was interviewed in the Atlantic Monthly and asked about the future of “Busy and Busier.”    Check it out!

-

Econ Recon

Vistage Confidence Index: What your fellow CEOs think about the Economy Ahead:  This quarterly survey of our CEO members has been released for the third quarter.  Check out your fellow CEOs’ take on what’s ahead for the economy by clicking here.

The Man Who Runs the Economy may be checking out:  If you had to associate the economy with one person over the past four years (for good or ill) it would have to be Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.  Economist Brian Wesbury in his latest Wesbury 101 Video  thinks that Mitt Romney’s stated intent to not renominate Bernanke if he becomes president (aside from being unprecedented) will motivate the Fed Chair to tender his resignation if Romney wins.  For more on this,  inflation expectations and what happens after the election, click on the above video link.

Banks: Good News Here…..Bad News There:   Vistage Staff Economist and Institute for Trend Research Presdient Alan Beaulieushares two blog entries this week that are worth your attention.  First,  delays in implementing Dodd Frank may  benefit the economy in 2013…..and German Chancellor Merkel’s decision to not participate in bank recapitalizion makes Europe’s recovery even more uncertain and perhaps delayed until 2016.

Decoding Your Plastic

Ever wonder what all those numbers on your credit card mean?   They do mean something…and they have a function, too.   Learn more by checking here.

Eleven Tough Lessons

 Take two minutes and check out this graphic executive summary and overview of Eleven Tough Leadership Lessons  taken from Deirdre Maloney’s book  Tough Truths: The Ten Leadership Lessons We Don’t Talk About   She created a multimillion dollar not for profit and shares what she learned along the way.   This well reviewed book is short and to the point.  Among her ten lessons:   “Everything is Politics”….”Success in Unpopular”….. and “Everyone is Afraid.”

 -

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GROWING YOUR REVENUE?

On November 14th, Vistage Speaker Rick McPartlin will be speaking on the CEO as CRO “Chief Revenue Officer”.  The learnings from 2008 and 2009 are clear – the last century’s CEO skills are not going to cut it going forward. There are many new things to learn, chief among them that many companies who thought they knew how to grow revenue were really in the right place at the right time and grew in spite of themselves. Second, 99 percent of businesses are grossly overpaying for the revenue they are currently producing (“the Cost of Chaos”). In many businesses, the overpayment is between 10 and 20 percent of the top line, which can be made to fall to the bottom line creating a lot of profit and cash. If you are interested in participating in an interactive workshop with Rick please contact me at;

(317) 775-9000

Rick McPartlin in Action

 

Check Out Our Executive Street Blog

Week of  October 15 , 2012

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean.

It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.”

John Wayne

American Actor

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT:

The Cheapest Generation

Project not working?:  Check out The Acute Heptagram of Impact

Econ Recon:  The Thelma and Louise Economy

Ten Worst College Majors: “ What You Make Depends on What You Take.”

November 14, Rick McPartlin comes to Indy

The Cheapest Generation

Millennials have come of work-life age as the Great Recession hit.  Unlike their parents at the same age, they are not buying cars and houses at the same rate.   This consumption  trend, if unaltered, may have profound implications for us all because every business either directly or indirectly, ultimately serves the consumer     Explore this powerful trend by learning more about “The Cheapest Generation.”

 - 

Project not working?:  Check out The Acute Heptagram of Impact

Is your project, plan or initiative Stuck?  Maybe one or more of the seven elements of the   Acute Hepatgram of Impact  aren’t right.   Check it out!

Econ Recon:  The Thelma and Louise Economy

The “Thelma and Louise” Economy:   Remember the hit movie, “Thelma and Louise” which featured an ending where the heroines drive off a cliff rather than face arrest?.   Economist Brian Wesbury wonders whether the Congress will be reenacting this scene (with us at the wheel this time)  when the automatic budget cuts and tax increases take effect at year end  as a consequence of the so called  “Super Committee’s” failure to make some hard fiscal choices.  This will be the first big issue for the new president, whoever that may be.

Two brief articles will help you begin get up to speed on an issue that will likely affect you:    Wesbury analyzes the economic prospects of automatic cuts and tax increases, coming to the conclusion that only one of these warrants real concern….learn which one in this one page analysis:  “Thelma and Louise and the Fiscal Cliff.”     For some insights into understanding the psychological dynamics that resulted in Congress defaulting to  “sequestration” instead of” deliberation” (i.e. what we pay them for), and the likely outcomes,  check out this two page article by James Surowiecki in the New Yorker on the “Cliffhangers.”  

-

Ten Worst College Majors:” What You Make Depends on What you Take”

From Forbes:  “Not all college degrees are created equal. According to a report by the Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) at Georgetown University, your choice of college major substantially affects your employment prospects and earnings.

“What you make depends a lot on what you take,” says Anthony P. Carnevale, Ph.D., director of Georgetown’s CEW. “Most young people in college take whatever interests them, without thinking what it can really do for them.”  Here are the Ten Worst College Majors.  (You may want to talk to your kid.  )

-

Upcoming Vistage Events

November 14

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GROWING YOUR REVENUE?

On November 14th, Vistage Speaker Rick McPartlin will be speaking on the CEO as CRO “Chief Revenue Officer”.  The learnings from 2008 and 2009 are clear – the last century’s CEO skills are not going to cut it going forward. There are many new things to learn, chief among them that many companies who thought they knew how to grow revenue were really in the right place at the right time and grew in spite of themselves. Second, 99 percent of businesses are grossly overpaying for the revenue they are currently producing (“the Cost of Chaos”). In many businesses, the overpayment is between 10 and 20 percent of the top line, which can be made to fall to the bottom line creating a lot of profit and cash. If you are interested in participating in an interactive workshop with Rick please contact me at;

(317) 775-9000

Rick McPartlin in Action

I have attended several training events by Dr. Gregory Stebbins.  He is not only my friend, he is a great leader and educator.  He was instrumental in the founding of Insight University, and I can only imagine the phenomenal impact it will have.

I urge you to explore the work of Insight University and particularly the Conscious Leader Program. www.insightu.net/clp

David Reed

  A letter from my dear Friend Dr. Gregory Stebbins;

Many of you know that in 2008 I was instrumental in helping create a new graduate school – Insight University. For the most part I put my thriving consulting practice on hold.

In December, it will be four years since Insight University was incorporated. We applied for tax-exempt status in July, 2010, and our request was granted in only 45 days. Our first class launched in August of 2011. These students have just started year two and are working very hard.

We originally planned to apply for accreditation in September 2014 and hired an accreditation coach to help us through the long, complex, and arduous process. About six months ago the coach encouraged us to apply for accreditation in September 2013. Their comment was, “You folks are very far along and there is no reason not to apply.”

So what does this really mean. It means that we need to speed up our fund-raising. Don’t worry I’m not going to ask you for a donation (unless you’re so inclined, of course). What I would like is your help letting people know that we exist.

We created our Conscious Leader Program to take some of the key principles we teach in our doctoral course work and make them accessible to the broader public – especially those who can apply it to enhance their careers but are not interested in a full-blown university commitment. Our first pilot was in September of this year and participants were blown away by what they received. Our next program is November 29-30, 2012. We have our first in-house seminar scheduled. The more successful the Conscious Leader Program is, the easier it will be to meet our financial goals.

Please spread the word about Insight University’s Conscious Leader Program – Letting Wisdom Lead. This is a unique program that focuses on developing self-awareness and provides a process for developing leadership wisdom. If you’d like to know more, please go to: www.insightu.net/clp

I appreciate anything you can do to assist us in letting people know that we are here to help leaders grow.

Thank you very much,

Dr. Gregory Stebbins
President
Insight University

Check Out Our Executive Street Blog

 Week of  October 8, 2012

“You can never cross an ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

 Christopher Columbus

(Monday, October 8 is the 520^th Anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the New World)

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND ENTERTAINMENT: 

The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time

The Curse of the Incremental

Econ Recon:  It Ain’t About the President

Did the Babyboomers Destroy The Futuere?  

My next event, see Rick McPartlin in Action                  

The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time

Peter Drucker once remarked that “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”   Have a quick look at an overview ofa new book by Verne Harnish, author of the “The Rockefeller Habits” which explores “The Greatest Business Decisions Of All Time”… including Henry Ford’s decision to double his employee’s wages, Apple’s invitation to Steve Jobs to return to Apple and Boeing’s bet on the 707 in 1952 with no orders in hand.  You won’t find any hard and fast rules, but perhaps some valuable lessons.

The Curse of the Incremental

Some of the “greatest business decisions” of all time referenced above came about because someone invested the time and effort needed to make a product what it should be instead of just good enough.   Check out a few cautionary paragraphs on “The Curse of the Incremental.”

Econ Recon

It  Ain’t about Who’s President:    The first presidential debate this past week was a remarkable performance by both candidates (remarkable in what way I’ll leave it to you).    However, we can all agree that we’ll hear about little else than the presidential election for the next month.   Vistage Staff economist and  Instittue for Trend Research principal Alan Beaulieu reminds us of a basic fact from ninth grade civics  in his most recent blog posting  that may help put the election and the problems it is supposed to resolve in proper perspective, regardless of who you’re voting for.

Did the Baby Boomers Destroy The Future?

Baby Boomers are being indicted by Gen X, Gen Y and Millenials for the economic legacy the former is bequething the latter. Jim Tankersley of the Atlantic Magazine shares a conversation with his 62 year old attorney father in which he asks “Who Destroyed the Economy?   The elder Tankersley defends his generation by pointing out that the Boomers have left much that was positive as well and that any generational inhertiance must include liabilities as well as assets.  If you have young people in your life, this article will serve you well in future debates!

-

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GROWING YOUR REVENUE?

On November 14th, Vistage Speaker Rick McPartlin will be speaking on the CEO as CRO “Chief Revenue Officer”.  The learnings from 2008 and 2009 are clear – the last century’s CEO skills are not going to cut it going forward. There are many new things to learn, chief among them that many companies who thought they knew how to grow revenue were really in the right place at the right time and grew in spite of themselves. Second, 99 percent of businesses are grossly overpaying for the revenue they are currently producing (“the Cost of Chaos”). In many businesses, the overpayment is between 10 and 20 percent of the top line, which can be made to fall to the bottom line creating a lot of profit and cash. If you are interested in participating in an interactive workshop with Rick please contact me at;

(317) 775-9000

Rick McPartlin in Action