A European mega-merger? Nein, danke

A European mega-merger? Nein, danke

The Economist reports on a European mega-merger gone wrong between Britain’s BAE Systems and EADS, the Franco-German owner of Airbus. More than a bitter blow to the two companies, their proposed blooper of a €38 billion merger also dismantles hopes for the emergence of a more integrated European defence and aerospace industry. Although the intended merger would…

Narconomics

Narconomics

Narconomics = Narcotics + Economics. A term denoted to convey possible management lessons learned from Mexico’s drug lords. For a country with an economy brought to its knees in 2009, it should be surprising to learn that Mexico still houses 11 billionaires. Well, perhaps not too surprising in the light of their thriving drug trade…

Insight: Merkel and Hollande – Building a “grand bargain”

Insight: Merkel and Hollande – Building a “grand bargain”

Recently, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel began to forge a closer relationship than many expected. According to Reuters’ findings, the two leaders met discreetly in Paris to have a lengthy one-on-one discussion. As for the purpose of the meeting, sources mean that Merkel sought Hollande’s buy-in for bold steps towards greater political…

Email Management is not the problem. Management is.

Email Management is not the problem. Management is.

It is time for the top leadership in organizations of all sizes to recognize that an ad-hoc approach to managing e-mail is highly inefficient and an enormous drag on human resources.  E-mail management: the prioritization, planning and archiving of e-mail should be systemized and standardized in every organization. 

Why Things Work – The Merlin Navigator

The world is littered with examples where once promising opportunities became a source of ongoing disappointment and loss.  Key projects, partnerships, mergers, new technology and programs – we launch these things with fanfare and an enthusiastic press release, only to suffer as a helpless spectator as conflict erupts, innovation fizzles and profits disappear. What once seemed…