Guy
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10 years ago @ Catarina's World - White House Maker Fair... · 1 reply · +1 points
10 years ago @ Catarina's World - Will more investors op... · 1 reply · +1 points
Many studies have now shown that running a business in a way that benefits the community - having a focus on the longer term, rather than the immediate quarter - returns much better performance over the medium term, as well as resulting in happier employees and a richer (in all senses of the word) community. This is where Impact Investing comes into play - if investors stop looking only at the short-term, everyone benefits...
10 years ago @ Catarina's World - Which were the best gl... · 1 reply · +1 points
I'm not surprised to see Apple leading this year - one only has to look at what has happened with the company in the past 5 years to understand how they have become such an integral part of the lives of so many people, and done so in a way that has grown a strong community of supporters and even evangelists.
What the Internet is facilitating for branding is a far greater reach than ever before, and also a far more vociferous and immediate level of feedback - both being opportunities for companies to expand their brand and threats to the brand if they don't keep on top of what's being said about them. Brand management is truly a 24x7 activity today, and the companies that understand this will flourish.
10 years ago @ Catarina's World - Which economies will g... · 1 reply · +1 points
I also believe the Middle East countries that could grow quickest (e.g. Iraq) probably won't for reasons of instability, too.
With the possible exception of Macau, Asia will be seeing slower growth, I think.
10 years ago @ Catarina's World - Can Mary Barra lead Ge... · 1 reply · +1 points
10 years ago @ Catarina's World - Can Mary Barra lead Ge... · 3 replies · +1 points
My view is that gender is of less importance to people nowadays when deciding whether or not they respect them as leaders - it's more about that leader's understanding of the business and the ability to communicate a clear vision. There's no question that she understands the business and her past leadership roles have shown her to be a successful leader.
10 years ago @ Catarina's World - Are you a disruptive i... · 1 reply · +3 points
Disruptive innovation is about clearly engaging with (potential) customers and listening to them. But it's one step more than that - hearing what they say they want now (as few will look ahead) and then taking the leap into producing something that they will discover they want / need in a couple of years.
What is interesting to watch is the number of big companies that encourage "skunk works" divisions in the business - remote from the normal product teams, and focused on "the next big thing." This enables these companies to continue servicing existing customers in the normal way, while preparing themselves to disrupt their own products with the innovations coming out of the skunk works.
10 years ago @ Catarina's World - Do you agree with Jose... · 1 reply · +1 points
The biggest danger is too much government - after all, governments do not inherently have money (democratic ones, that is), but take money from some people/companies and give to others - a modern-day Robin Hood, if you like. The danger is that the size of government keeps increasing, costing more while delivering less. I saw something a while back that suggested that Whitehall today had more than 100 times the number of civil servants that it had when England had an empire covering 1/4 of the world. There certainly isn't 100x the workload!
People need to feel that if they work hard and take (business) risks, they can reap the rewards. The less fortunate needing a helping hand, but it should be a helping hand onto the ladder, helping them to be able to succeed - the old story about teaching a man to fish rather than just giving him one. This is where Western governments should be focusing their efforts, and reducing the cost of government, too...
12 years ago @ Catarina's World - Do you agree with Harv... · 1 reply · +1 points
12 years ago @ Catarina's World - External directors boo... · 1 reply · +1 points
Apart from anything else, as a business owner/CEO you're able to draw upon the extensive skills and experience of your NEDs, you will have mentors available to you and, very importantly, somebody independent to talk to (alleviating the loneliness of being at the top).
A key point to remember, too, is that as company directors - even Non-Executive ones - these people have a statutory duty to act in the best interests of the company, whereas outside consultants have a duty to their own company first.