by Mark P. McDonald | March 18, 2013 | 2 Comments
We have been living with cost control strategies for so long that it is easy to lose sight that there are other strategies beyond doing ‘more with less.’ Recently I have been in a number of meetings with executive team’s where despite their best intentions, they are leading their company via cost rather than strategy, [...]
Category: 2013 budgets Management Signs of weak management Tags: 2013 Planning, Economy, IT budgets
by Mark P. McDonald | June 13, 2012 | Submit a Comment
What happened to the commons? You know the global commons of information, connectivity and creativity that was supposed to be created by the world-wide-web. I was reading Charles Leadbeater’s book, WE-THINK, as I saw him speak at a recent conference. The book, written in 2008, took me back to the good old days when WWW [...]
Category: Digitalization Economy Technology Tags: Economy, Internet, personal musing, Technology
by Mark P. McDonald | November 9, 2011 | 3 Comments
Occupy Wall Street is just the latest in a series of protests against the idea that businesses exist only to create economic returns for their shareholders. The idea that business should do more for society is appealing and requires more than light current forms of corporate charity. Two articles this year in the Harvard Business [...]
Category: Economy Innovation Leadership Management Personal Observation Strategic planning Strategy Tags: 2012 planning, comprehensive value, Economic conditions, Economic Recovery, Economy, Innovation, Strategy, Strategy and Planning
by Mark P. McDonald | November 1, 2011 | Submit a Comment
Throughout much of the market turmoil the news, discussion, uncertainty and doubt have all been aimed at one audience – traders. Traders are those who earn their income from moving money across financial markets or follow the financial markets. Traders make money when there is turbulence as change and volatility move stock prices generating ‘market [...]
Category: Economy Leadership Management Strategy Tags: Business Leadership, Business Management, Business Strategy, Economy, Strategy and Planning
by Mark P. McDonald | October 27, 2011 | 1 Comment
Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee have created a powerful, concise and informative discussion of the impact of technology on employment, income distribution and macroeconomics. Do not be fooled by the title, Race Against the Machine is not a neo luddite treatise on the evils of automation and technology. The title is more about generating buzz [...]
Category: Book Review Economy Strategy Technology Tags: Book Review, Business Leadership, Economic conditions, Economic Recovery, Economy, Technology
by Mark P. McDonald | September 1, 2011 | 1 Comment
It summer time and so I thought I would share a thought that has been kicking around in the back of my head as I have been traveling around the world. This is outside the norm for the blog, but consider it a little summer reading. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks [...]
Category: Economy Personal Observation Technology Uncategorized Tags: Economy, Leadership, Management, personal musing
by Mark P. McDonald | August 21, 2011 | 1 Comment
The buzz over the weekend after Google and HP’s announcements and plans brings into play the idea that the tech market is restructuring. When the leading player in one sector announces that it is thinking of selling its operations and abandoning its offerings in the fastest growing market, you have to ask – what gives? [...]
Category: Economy Personal Observation Strategy Technology Tags: Economy, personal musing, Powershift!, Strategy and Planning, Technology, Technology Leadership, Technology Suppliers
by Mark P. McDonald | August 18, 2011 | 4 Comments
If anyone wondered if tech was undergoing dramatic change, then this week should remove all doubt. The nature of the tech industry is going through a series of changes that are re-imagining tech, what it is, how its purchased etc. This week’s actions by Google and HP mark two significant steps in re-imagining the tech [...]
Category: Economy Innovation Personal Observation Technology Tags: Economy, personal musing, Powershift!, Technology, Technology Leadership
by Mark P. McDonald | August 4, 2011 | Submit a Comment
This post may be a little controversial, which is not its intent, but as I am visiting different countries and cultures its possible to see the influence of different countries on others around the world. For better or worse, the U.S. has given the world a particular style of popular culture, omnipresent fast food restaurants, [...]
Category: Economy Personal Observation Tags: Economy, personal musing
by Mark P. McDonald | March 27, 2011 | 1 Comment
Customer focus, thinking outside-in, walking in the customer’s shoes are all slogans used to encourage people and companies to adopt more customer focused strategies and operations. While this is all well and good, it got me thinking about what it really takes to be customer focused and one word came to mind COURAGE That may [...]
Category: Leadership Management Personal Observation Strategy Tags: Business Leadership, Culture, customer, Economy, personal musing
