Archive for the ‘Financial Decisions’ Category
Succeeding at Succession
If you’re like most business leaders, the topic of succession stirs up mixed emotions. On the one hand, succession provides great new opportunities. On the other hand, the thoughts that run through your mind about succession processes are anything but positive.
Because making successful succession transitions has an impact on so many North American businesses and so many stakeholders within a business, Robert and I have interviewed several key experts — getting the answers to the most important, most frequently asked and most painful succession questions.
Recently, for BusinessCast #198, we sat down with Sean Graham who shares key legal insights to help you avoid succession train wrecks. We’ve also gathered critical lessons from succession thought-leaders that span all industries and disciplines, including:
- Thomas Deans, best-selling author of “Every Family’s Business” (BusinessCast 117)
- David Simpson, Executive Director of the Business Families Centre (Ivey School of Business) (BusinessCast 191)
- John Geddes, one of Canada’s recognized succession gurus (BusinessCast 110)
Together, these four BusinessCast episodes help you better plan for, go through and successfully emerge from business successions regardless of your role in the process.
Subscribe to the BusinessCast Podcast at iTunes
Finding the Silver Lining in Cloud Computing
(Note: The following story was first published on the Financial Post — April 27, 2011)
Every year, businesses are spending more resources on information technology to ensure their companies run smoothly. Industry analysts forecast that hardware and software spending will continue to grow annually at a rate of 10% to 20% over the next several years. While these fixed expenses are critical to establish and maintain a strong infrastructure, they take resources away from what businesses should be doing: developing innovative products and finding compelling ways to get them quickly to market.
The good news is that business leaders can now sustain a robust information technology without having to sacrifice innovations that help them stay competitive. The solution that businesses across North America are turning to is “cloud computing” — which is a way for businesses to take advantage of storage and virtual services, saving money on infrastructure and support. Cloud computing combines three distinct elements: it is delivered via the Internet, it is pay-per-use and it is self-service. The recognition that cloud computing is a valuable solution to business leaders can be seen in a new study. In March of this year, Microsoft found that 40% of Canadian businesses, with up to 250 employees, will invest in cloud computing over the next three years.
The considerable business advantages of being able to shift fixed costs to variable costs, which is a core aspect of cloud computing, is felt even more strongly in larger companies. According to Gus Harsfai, President of Ceryx (www.Ceryx.com), one of Canada’s most recognized leaders in providing cloud control for large enterprises, “Companies can realize the financial and operational benefits of leveraging the cloud very quickly.” He recommends that to do so, “Start with a ‘Cloud Coach’. That is, use a trusted and impartial hardware or software advisor that truly understands your business, how it is going to evolve over the next three to five years and relevant cloud service options.”
Cloud computing provides such strong financial and business benefits that companies are quickly overcoming the confusion that occurs when new technologies enter the market. As a result, cloud computing has emerged as the cornerstone of smart computing.
To help Canadian business leaders harness the power of cloud computing, Brian Shepard, founder and CEO of Tenzing Managed I.T. Services, recently sat down with the hosts of the the BusinessCast. Mr. Shepard shared the story behind the growth of Tenzing which provides cloud hosting services to help businesses achieve their goals.
Strategic Alliances for Entrepreneurs
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, your focus on achieving growth probably is on acquiring new customers/clients. And, while that is certainly an essential path to success, there is one path that is often overlooked: establishing strong strategic alliances. Using this method wisely can yield exponential growth as well as a host of other benefits including: product/service innovation, increased profile and expanded networks.
That’s why for BusinessCast #178 Robert and I sat down with Hadley Archer, the “architect” behind establishing, sustaining and growing strategic alliances for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Canada) — an organization that has systematically leveraged these kinds of special relationships with outstanding success.
In BusinessCast #178, Hadley succinctly addresses the following questions:
- How do you know if/when establishing strategic alliances is a good strategy?
- Where do you start in establishing the right strategic alliances?
- What are the key measures of success for strategic alliances?
- Who in a company should establish and sustain strategic alliances?
If you are looking for new ways to achieve growth, make sure you listen to Hadley’s insights found in BusinessCast #178.
Subscribe to the BusinessCast Podcast at iTunes
Management? It’s Not What You Think!
Whether you’re new to managing a business or are an old hand at using management tools, practices and literature, there is no doubt that you’ve been touched one way or another by the writings and insights of management/leadership guru, Dr. Henry Mintzberg. For over 40 years, Mintzberg has been the Canadian business thought-leader.
With 15 internationally acclaimed inventive and practical business books to his credit, Dr. Mintzberg has added a new title to his repertoire — and, it just may make him a household name on the scale of Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point), Jim Collins (Good to Great) and Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence). The new book, entitled, “Management? It’s Not What You Think!” is written for today’s busy manager/leader — in that its structure, content and language reads more like a series of provocative and insightful blog articles than a lengthy academic tome.
For BusinessCast #170, Robert and I sat down with Henry Mintzberg to talk about his new co-authored book, some of his previous best selling books, and to get his insights into today’s most critical management/leadership issues. We were surprised with his take on some of the challenges central to the success of all managers/leaders…and we suspect you will be too.
Listen to BusinessCast #170 and find out what the Nation’s business thought-leader has up his sleeve.
Subscribe to the BusinessCast Podcast at iTunes
Amex Small Business Index
North America’s economy is a reflection of how entrepreneurs tackle challenges and embrace growth opportunities. That’s why it’s so important to review, analyze and understand the entrepreneurial mindset. And, that’s why for BusinessCast #161, Robert and I sat down with Eric Nielsen, the VP & General Manager, Small Business Services, Amex Bank of Canada.
Throughout the year, Amex conducts a rigorous National study that provides insights into entrepreneurial visions and expectations. The result: a good understanding of how entrepreneurs will be approaching business over the next several months. Listen to BusinessCast #161 as Eric shares some of the study’s key findings.
Subscribe to the BusinessCast Podcast at iTunes