A recent Denver Business Journal article about the rapid growth of two Colorado-based companies — Snooze and Larkburger — caught my attention the other day. Not just because Snooze has great breakfast with a cool atmosphere and not because I’m envious of Larkburger for locating in ski areas. It’s because of their methods of expansion — not […]
Dramatic culture change requires a high level of confidence, thick skin and dramatic action One of the more difficult challenges CEOs can entertain is changing their organization’s culture. Doing this over an extended period takes perseverance and is like trying to maintain an exercise program when surrounded by people with chocolate cake and spare forks. […]
A friend just closed a deal — a “carve out” from a company in the U.K. He purchased a portion of the company and turned it into a new enterprise; his new financial partner is a private equity firm. The purchase documentation contains language I found humorous but delightfully simple. (The British have a smart […]
What role does benchmarking play in your strategy? I “grew up” in a multiunit retail environment where benchmarking worked wonders as a tool to spread great ideas and fix broken stores, districts and areas. But whether you are focused internally or externally, benchmarking has a dark side. As a problem-solving tool, we examined stores that […]
I recently came home late from a long day hoping I might be graced with leftovers for dinner. Unfortunately, my wife was gone and frankly, her idea of leftovers is the last half of a bag of popcorn anyway (she comes from a long line of culinary-impaired Irish Catholics). As I pulled a pan out […]
Is your technology worth the trouble? I was excited to receive an e-mail recently from an organization I belong to because it offered a “book” on business strategy that I hadn’t read — and it was FREE! Woo hoo! (OK, so you have to be a business nerd to get excited about this one.) I […]