Tag Archive for 'Leadership'

Meet the young innovators who are changing the world

Published on October 25, 2011 in High Tech & Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Each year Technology Review honors 35 innovators under 35 who are tackling important problems in transformative ways. Candidates come from around the globe, some from regional TR35 competitions run by TR’s international editions. Find the ranking here.

Selecting Technology Review’s yearly list of 35 innovators under the age of 35 is a difficult but rewarding process. We search for candidates around the world who are opening up new possibilities in technology, and then we seek the advice of a panel of expert judges before finally selecting the winners. We look for people who are tackling important problems in transformative ways [Read more].

Sometimes that transformation comes from developing an entirely new technology, such as graphene transistors that could one day replace silicon devices in microprocessors. Sometimes it means using existing technologies in novel ways, such as creating an effective way for local businesses to advertise electronically or organizing social networks to build up a community of patients suffering from a disease.

Leading Across Borders? Don’t Change a Thing

Published on May 17, 2011 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: .

The assumption that people are motivated differently around the world — especially in Asia — and that leaders must adapt their behavior accordingly is wrong. Having led and managed people in eight countries across three continents, I have found the exact opposite to be true. Regardless of geographic location or culture, what drives people to the highest level of engagement is innately human and universal. Thus, great leadership looks the same wherever you are.

Around the world, the most effective executives are the ones who draw energy from a clear sense of purpose and a set of deeply held personal values. They also energize their employees by ensuring that their expectations about three overarching elements of work — the nature of their role, the work environment, and their professional development (RED) — are in line with the organization’s purpose. These are central themes of my new book, Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders [Source].

Why diversification is back in fashion

Published on March 4, 2011 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Over the past decade the world’s corporate pecking order has been disturbed by the arrival of a new breed of multinationals from the emerging world. These companies have not only taken on Western incumbents, snapped up Western companies and launched exciting new products. They have challenged some of the West’s most cherished notions of how companies ought to organise themselves: focusing on their core activities and buying ever more services from the market [Source].

Many emerging-market multinationals are focused companies that are admired in the West: the likes of India’s Infosys Technologies (for IT services), Brazil’s Embraer (aircraft) and South Africa’s MTN (mobile phones). But others are highly diversified. In some ways these groups look like throwbacks to old-fashioned Western conglomerates such as ITT. But in other ways they are sui generis: much more diversified and readier to blur the line between public and private [Source].

A growing number of them are proving that they can compete in global markets as well as in sometimes rigged local ones. The Boston Consulting Group lists the rise of diversified global conglomerates as one of five trends that will shape the future of business.

In the long run most of these emerging conglomerates are likely to follow the same path as Western companies: focusing on their core activities and buying ever more services from the market. But Western companies also need to recognise that—for the time being at least—these diversified giants have plenty to offer [Source].

The future of Apple’s leadership

Published on January 25, 2011 in High Tech & Media and International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

For many people, Apple would not be Apple without Steven P. Jobs. The sudden decision by the company’s chief executive to take a medical leave for the third time in less than a decade raises anxieties about the leadership of the company he helped found more than three decades ago.

It also puts the spotlight again on several senior executives who have been helping Mr. Jobs run the company, in particular Timothy D. Cook, the chief operating officer, who will take over day-to-day operations during Mr. Jobs’s leave [Source].

“The company could not thrive if Steve didn’t have an extremely talented team around him,” said David B. Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School who has studied the technology industry for decades. “But you can’t replace Steve on some levels.”

“The person who can keep the trains running on time is a scarce commodity, but not as rare as someone who can do breakthrough innovation,” said Michael Useem, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the director of its Center for Leadership and Change Management.

No one expects Apple to suffer in the short term, as the company has a long product cycle. But some raise questions as to what will happen over the long term if Mr. Jobs does not return.

“The problem, really at the core,” he said, “is that Steve Jobs’s inspiration is irreplaceable.”

[Source]

Google Names Co-Founder Larry Page New CEO

Published on January 21, 2011 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

One of the longest, most successful runs as chief executive of an Internet company has come to an end: Come April, Eric Schmidt will step down as Google’s CEO and cofounder Larry Page will resume the position starting April 4.

Yes, resume. It’s so long ago that few remember, but Page was Google’s first CEO, and held the job from 1998 to 2001, when Schmidt was hired. Page, his cofounder Sergey Brin, and Schmidt have long ruled as a triumvirate. They’ll continue to “discuss” key decisions, according to a blog post by Schmidt.

It’s not clear what prompted the timing of this announcement. It has faced increasing difficulties in buying its way into adjacent markets: See its failed bid for Groupon, or its attempted purchase of travel-search startup ITA Software, currently held up in regulatory review amid concerns from rivals. At the same time, Google has struggled in launching new products, especially social ones, to fend off challenges from Facebook and Twitter.

If it can’t buy, it must build. The question: Is Page a builder? He was in his first round as CEO. Now he’ll have to prove his product chops anew. One thing’s for sure now: He won’t have anyone else to blame if he screws things up [Source].

Israel and the Innovative Impulse

Published on December 21, 2010 in High Tech & Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Despite its small size and geopolitical isolation, Israel has developed a global reputation for its cutting-edge high-tech industry.

Knowledge @ Wharton’s special report on Israel explores the drivers behind Israel’s innovative impulse, looks at the partnerships Israeli firms have forged with U.S. companies and the reasons why the Israeli venture capital business is undergoing a painful period of adjustment [Source].

Private Equity is shifting focus to Asia

Published on December 13, 2010 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Blackstone Group named Michael Chae, one of its most senior deal makers in the United States, to head the firm’s private equity business in Asia. He will be based in Hong Kong. The move underscores the private equity industry’s shifting focus to regions outside the United States, particularly Asia.

Blackstone’s president, Hamilton James, has said that he expects roughly half the firm’s deals to be in Asia next year. And Stephen Schwarzman, the firm’s co-founder and chief executive, is relocating to Europe for three to four months next year, in part to oversee the firm’s international portfolio and be close to Asia, where he spends much of his time.

“Michael is one of our leaders and most senior partners in our private equity business, and his move to lead our business in Asia reflects our growing commitment to the region,” Mr. Schwarzman said in a statement. “As our business continues to globalize, Asia is becoming ever more central to the firm.”

Gearing Up for the Coming Tech Boom

Published on November 30, 2010 in Real-Time Web and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .


Amongst others, VC firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is gearing up for the coming tech boom. That’s one of the reasons they hired famous Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker as a new partner on Monday [Source].

Meeker said: “We’re at the beginning of another great wave of tech innovation and I am incredibly excited by the opportunity to help the next generation of Internet technologies and leaders.” [Source]

Gordon (partner @ Kleiner) said he sees a big boom coming, not a bubble, much like Kleiner’s managing partner John Doerr, who said that we’re in the midst of yet another boom for internet investments at the recent Web 2.0 Summit. The reason is that he sees a lot of technologies that are changing the way we live.

“The world of digital media is being transformed,” Gordon said. “A bunch of new businesses can be reinvented, thanks to social graphs, the mobile internet, and the new shopping habits of the young. Those are going to create a whole generation of cool new companies.” [Source]

Read related articles:
Another Technology Bubble?
M&A to Hit $3 Trillion in 2011
Private Equity Thrives Again
The Web Is Reborn (HTML 5)
Web Browsing is turning into Social Browsing
US$250 Million sFund
The Future of the Internet
Google Gets Semantic
Facebook is Pushing a Platform Strategy

Sequoia Capital Investment Strategy

Published on November 13, 2010 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

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Since founding Sequoia Capital in 1972, Valentine has financed many of the companies (Apple, Oracle, Electronic Arts, NVIDIA, Cisco, Google, and YouTube) that have been Silicon Valley’s biggest technology and business success stories.

One of the latest investments by Sequoia is in New York based startup Tumblr, which offers easy-to-use publishing and social networking tools for bloggers.

Sequoia is looking for the best and brightest who may not know about managing a company but who may know a crucial piece of information about a technology or an industry. “People who have a dream and a way to solve a problem — who are interested in solving technological problems and creating new products.”

Markets are Sequoia’s focus, he said: “The size of the market, the dynamics of the market, the nature of the competition. Our objective is always to build big companies — if you don’t attack a big market, you’re highly unlikely to build a big company.”

Game Changers: Sergey Brin & Larry Page

Published on October 31, 2010 in Global Strategy. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

As part of highlighting Game Changers, Bloomberg has reported with an insightful video on on Google’s founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. The video follows Sergey Brin and Larry Page from their first meeting at Stanford to the new media mega-company on a collision course with old media businesses of newspapers, books, movies and television. Along the way to its astounding success, the co-founders have redefined advertising, created a chain of products such as Google Maps, News, Gmail and have taken on rival giants like Apple and Microsoft [Check out the video here].