I just learned about something called The Amazon Doctrine, which explains why I love amazon so much. The company’s leaders and guiding minds are committed to treating customers right. They invest, learn, and continually adapt to win and keep customers. They help me acquire knowledge, entertainment, and other solutions-oriented products to make me a more productive and […]
It has long been recognized that businesses survive when they create and deliver solutions at a profit that customers desire and will pay for by means of voluntary exchange. Business success is ultimately in the hands of consumers. In this sense, the customer is king. The choices made by customers decide which businesses will succeed […]
Didier Ghez, one of the foremost Disney researchers and prolific author of dozens of important books on Walt Disney Studio-related history, is first out of the blocks with a review of my recent book dealing with the business aspects of Walt Disney’s career. The review appeared today at Ghez’s Disney History blog, The Disney History blog is […]
In doing research for a 1955 article for Woman’s Day magazine to correspond with the opening of Disneyland, writer Don Eddy spent time with Walt at the Disney studio and the park. He summed up Walt’s “special secret” to making dreams come true with “four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy.” Eddy wrote: “From his […]
I am a huge fan of the value and effectiveness of the research and writings of management science pioneer Elliott Jaques. Jaques conducted organizational research for 50 years, culminating in an management system he called Requisite Organization. One of the most impactful management books in my education and practice is a book written by Jaques and […]
In my last blog post I provided my comments on Bower and Paine’s observations in the May-June 2017 issue of HBR regarding two popular perspectives on the purpose of a business: shareholder-centric and company-centric. In the same issue there is an interview with former Allergan CEO David Pyott. I like David Pyott’s perspective with regards […]
A lot of companies think that they need to make themselves more friendly, not just to stockholders but to employees and to society. Having a broader purpose – something beyond simply making money – is how you do that and how you create strong corporate cultures. I don’t believe that strong performance and purpose are […]
The question of the underlying purpose of business and the role of corporate leadership has come up again in an excellent article by Joseph Bower and Lynn Paine, “The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership,” in the May-June 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. There are two general schools of thought about the purpose […]
Theme Park Press has posted the release and availability of The Business of Walt Disney on its site along with an author page, description of the book, and the Introduction. There are also two excerpts from TBWD, the first from Chapter 16, and the second from Success Principle 3.
If you have read my Ivey Business Review article When Customers Collide, you will know that I consider the very idea of internal customers to be harmful and imprudent. But not everyone agrees, including very popular and successful businessmen like former BB&T CEO John Allison and excellence advocate Tom Peters.