How are leading companies innovating for sustainable growth? In this post, I explore how Amazon is investing in long term sustainability. The outsiders view. I am sure, these are the issues being discussed in the boardrooms at Amazon. Amazon sustainable growth strategy Amazon’s strategic risk: What if all the vendors/ sellers on our platform left us and instead invested in their own platforms? What if they develop capabilities to sell without listing on Amazon? How do we survive in 10 to 30 years? In response to increasing complaints from original equipment manufacturers to Amazon over fake products listing, piracy, copyrights…
How to write Board recommendations easily
Is your board effective? Good board processes and tools make an effective board. Boards add value before, during and after board meetings. Before: Do board members read the board packs? Are the board packs provided to board members in time? Are board packs adequately prepared and comprehensive for the board members to gain informed insights about the business? Board packs have different objectives: information, updates, decisions or resolutions, among others. Several board papers make a board pack. For each board paper, why is it included in the pack? Avoid giving information that is not relevant or which the board member…
The modern warfare: are you safe?
Countries are winning war daily. Covertly through modern warfare: espionage and open source intelligence. Whereas espionage may involve deliberate effort to infiltrate another country, modern warfare has transformed how espionage is done. We are in the era of cyber warfare. In the past, winning a war was about numbers: how many headcounts of soldiers a country hard. How expensive and versatile its armoury was. And how well trained and battle-hardened her soldiers were. This is still important but not critical. It is increasingly clear; soldier’s headcount numbers are important for managing internal dissent as opposed to global enemies and warfare.…
What is the role of a startup CEO?
The CEO is the top honcho of the business. A start-up CEO invests ‘sweat capital’ in terms of setting up the business model, systems and recruitment to get the company moving. As a start-up, the CEO, usually the owner, is in the kitchen as a goalkeeper or is the striker as marketing and PR officer or does both roles. If the CEO is the tech-guy, s/he must recruit the first staff, a marketing expert to help get the message to the market. A start-up CEO is a chief sacrifice – puts on lots of time and energy to get the…
The customer is the big boss, so should the taxpayer
#Mindspark “There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” —Sam Walton The only people this may not apply are some government employees. However, this morning I smiled when I heard a radio advert, I think being run by URA, that “Mulago hospital is ready to receive patients, and we thank the taxpayers for paying taxes”, along those lines. This is fantastic. But the taxpayer needs quality services when they arrive at the facility. They need short waiting times, affordable services, and exceptional customer…
How did the big four happen?
You have probably heard about the big 4, right? But how did they happen? Why not the big eight, six or ten? There is power in marriage. During the 1980s the formerly big eight firms merged to create powerful few firms. The 19th century was one of the partnerships. Countries and corporates were merging and collaborating on a large scale. It is in the same century we had many countries forming economic treaties, unions and common trading blocks. In 1986 Peat Marwick and KMG came together to create KPMG. Three years later, in 1989 Ernst & Whinney and Arthur Young…
