Tag Archive for 'Leadership'

How GE Embraces the Forces of Globalisation

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on February 19, 2008
in Emerging Markets, Global Strategy and International Business
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Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GEIf you are interested in globalisation, you can hardly ignore the experiences of General Electric. Claudia Deutsch has written a fascinating article about the giant company’s journey from scepticism, to facing up to globalisation’s challenges, and now to become a truly global business in all facets.

“They are managing their worldwide organization as a network, not a centralized hub with foreign appendages,” said Christopher Bartlett, a professor at the Harvard Business School who has written several case studies on GE.

“Everyone talks about outsourcing manufacturing, but it is the high-level R&D jobs that are the great marketing tools, and I’m a salesman, remember. I know that you don’t get to sell things for long unless you are part of the culture into which you are selling.” Immelt said.

For example, GE Healthcare unit has already moved its headquarters to the London area, and another may follow soon. London, it turns out, is a better hub for global operations than Connecticut. If the whole company eventually follows, it won’t be the first time a Fortune 500 company has left the United States - and it certainly won’t be the last.

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Leadership Power at Goldman Sachs

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on November 14, 2007
in International Business
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NYC Financial District

With the appointment of Mr. Thain as the new chief executive of Merrill Lynch, one fact becomes more and more apparent: Goldman Sachs is not only increasingly inescapable as financial power but also in fostering new leaders.

First of all Goldman Sachs is recording immense profits year after year and apparently avoided the woes besetting its rivals by deftly betting against subprime mortgages. Secondly for many years now, it is the world’s most premier and perennial leader in investment banking products and services. Lately it becomes apparent that they are also great in nurturing (new) great leaders.

With the appointment of Mr. Thain (currently CEO of NYSE-Euronext) as CEO at Merril Lynch, Goldman Sachs’ top executives and personnel seem to be increasingly in demand across the entire financial service industry. Thain started out on the bond desk at Goldman Sachs and left the firm as its chief operating officer. Please consider the names of Goldman alumni who have popped up in the news over the past few weeks (source):

  • Mr. Rubin, the former Goldman co-C.E.O. who became Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration, is now Citi Group’s chairman.
  • Duncan L. Niederauer, Mr. Thain’s successor as chief executive of NYSE Euronext. Before joining the bourse in February as president and chief operating officer, he was a managing director and co-head of Goldman’s equities execution services.
  • Daniel Och, co-founder and head of Och-Ziff Capital Management, which on Wednesday became the first pure-play domestic hedge fund to go public in the United States. Former Goldman trader.
  • Robert Steel, Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance who helped direct the creation of a bailout vehicle for banks colloquially known as the Super-SIV (special investment vehicle). Former Goldman vice chairman under Mr. Paulson.
  • Robert S. Kaplan, interim head of the Harvard Management Company. A former vice chairman and head of Goldman’s investment banking and investment management businesses.
  • John L. Thornton, chairman of the Brookings Institution and longshot candidate for Citigroup’s CEO spot. A Goldman former president and co-chief executive alongside Mr. Thain.
  • Edward S. Lampert, hedge fund manager and chairman of Sears Holdings. A protégé of Mr. Rubin’s in the Goldman risk arbitrage department. (Admittedly, his name has come up because his investment in Citigroup appears to have lost money at the moment.)
  • J. Christopher Flowers, the head of J.C. Flowers & Company, which is now fighting over the buyout of Sallie Mae. Founded Goldman’s financial institutions merger practice.
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The Globally Integrated Enterprise

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on April 7, 2007
in Emerging Markets, Global Strategy and International Business
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Samuel IBMAt the end of last year, Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer gave a speech at INSEAD, France. He elaborated on the evolution of the enterprise through three distinct models.

1] In the 19th century the “International model” emerged. Most operations where centred in the home country complemented with overseas sales and distribution subsidiaries.

2] The 20th century was characterised by the “Multinational model“. In order to gain access to local markets the Multinational created smaller versions of the parent company in multiple countries around the world.

3] What once looked like efficiency is now coming to look like redundancy. Therefore all businesses that operate globally around the world are moving to the next model the “globally integrated enterprise“. This enterprise shapes its strategy, management, and operations in a truly global way. It locates operations and functions anywhere in the world based on the right cost, right skills, and the right business environment. And it integrates those operations horizontally and globally.

The idea of this third 21st century model “the globally integrated enterprise” is similar to the transnational model defined by Barlett & Ghosal (2003).

According to Palmisano, in this sphere, the dynamic flow of work across the global platform is driven by three forces: Economics, Expertise, and Openness. This sphere requires two main challenges stated Palmisano, a new model of leadership and the vital issue of trust. The global integrated company will have to be led by a new generation of leaders, with different skills, experiences, and acumen.

The issue of the new skill set required is widely discussed by academics and industry leaders. Up till now there isn’t made any consensus but being cross-cultural minded in all your actions seems like a requisite.

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Leadership @ PepsiCo International

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on April 5, 2007
in International Business
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Global Management and LeadershipCheck out the speech (Real Player) given at the Standford Graduate School of Business, View from the Top Speaker series, by Mike White, chairman and chief executive officer at PepsiCo International’s.

Surprisingly, White, does not hold a MBA degree but degrees in Russian and English literature and international relations. I really like the international perspective he takes on in his talk. In my view he’s a truly global minded leader.

In addition, the advice he gave for youngsters appeals to me “Seek out different experiences and to go wide and deep. Develop a depth of expertise in something, a pocket skill that will open doors at companies and organisations. Once inside, let curiosity take you on a path of lifelong learning.” Great advice right? Learn & Grow!

Furthermore, he also shared six critical characteristics of a good leader according to his opinion. Off course this list of six character traits are widely debatable but you will come quite far if you have fostered these.

  • All good leaders have perspective. They simplify problems, ask the right questions, and balance long- and short-term interests. They listen more than they talk. Good leaders “need to be able to cut through the clutter and come up with a solution.”
  • Successful leaders turn strategy into results. They face reality and adjust plans to achieve their goals. They motivate people and are decisive, adhering to the 70-30 rule: If you have 70 percent of the information it’s time to make a decision because “if you hold out for the last 30 percent you’re probably toast.”
  • Great leaders are effective change agents. Great leaders have the courage to make changes, even when things are good.
  • Effective leaders are self aware and savvy. They know how to read people and organisations, and they flex their style to achieve results.
  • True leaders have unshakeable integrity. They set the moral tone and ethical standard of an organisation. They ask for help and seek the council of others.
  • Proven leaders know how to build strong teams. A leader’s ability to recognise potential in others and foster it builds successful organisations.

Let me make an addition to the last bullet point on “building strong teams”. In my opinion you can identify great leaders by measuring the loyalty and willingness of the people that are working for the leader. So in this respect its not purely a matter of the ability of building great teams. Its the ability to earn the respect from your team in such a way that everyone is willing to give 100% and blindly goes the extra mile for you.

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India’s Flagships & BRICs

Published
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on February 13, 2007
in Emerging Markets
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India Flagships

Tata Motor, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Forge, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Rediff, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Bharti Airtel.

What have all these names in common? They are all multinationals from India and ready to shakeup the global business dominance of the West and Japan in order to become the next global brand. Most of them have a stock listing in both India and the US and starting to compete head on with the established players in the global marketplace. Here is a list of the ten most dynamic companies India has to offer.

My favourite Podcast on Emerging Giants from all BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) can be found here.

The term BRIC was first prominently used in the research paper “Dreaming With BRICs: The Path to 2050″ (2001)(PDF file) published by the world’s largest investment bank, Goldman Sachs. GS has also published a web presentation on BRICs, it higlights GDP growth, income per capita and currency movements in the BRICs economies until 2050.

In 2005 after publishing the paper on the emerging BRIC economies, Goldman Sachs published another report “How Solid are the BRICs?” (PDF file). Herein Goldman Sachs names another eleven economies that may emerge as important players by 2050. They are (in alphabetic order): Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam. Goldman Sachs names them N11 (i.e., the Next Eleven).

Amongst them, Korea and Mexico are particularly important. According to their prognosis, by 2050 Mexico will become the sixth-largest economy and Korea will become richer (in income per capita) than any of the current G7s (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA) except the USA.

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First day of Class and GSIS Weekend

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on September 3, 2006
in Yonsei University Exchange Programme
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First day of classes at Yonsei University
I am still alive! Sorry for not posting any entries for the last couple of days but I was quite busy with many notable things. So let me start off.

In comparison to home university (Leiden University) and Yonsei University it is possible to try out different courses during the first week. Thereupon you can withdraw and change your initial course schedule. In light of this I had my first official class last Friday, International Political Economy. Basically it covers the disciplines on how the world works both political and economical wise. As I am in Asia the course has an Asian perspective, US-Korea relations, Japan-Korea, Europe-Korea, East Asia-Korea -relations. The first lecture was about Grand Strategies and the World Economy. In particular I like the following quote of the Prof. “You will not use the acquired knowledge in this course when you start your working career since you will be too busy with technical and managerial stuff, but ones you become a leader you will remember the important topics on world issues as discussed in this course”.

Unfortunately I cannot take this course anymore since it interferes with Korean language, however I will buy the reader anyway. Cos in my view it is essential stuff to complement any kind of business knowledge. Tomorrow (Monday) my first full school week starts! I enrolled to the following courses. Global Organisation and Leadership, Seminar on Chinese Economy, Strategic Management and Global Competition, and Korean language, in total 15 credits which is maximum for a Graduate student according Korean standards.

Yonsei GSIS MT weekend

Today I came back from the MT weekend organised by the Graduate School for International Studies. We went with approximately 75 people to the country side of Korea it was about a 2-3 hour bus ride. I had a blast over there and met (again) plenty of interesting new people. Pictures are coming soon! Stay tuned Party People!

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The Best Of 2005 | Best Leaders

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on December 12, 2005
in International Business
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Best of 2005 Leadership


Business week published a survey on the year 2005! Adam Curry, is the only fellow Dutch man whom is selected among the best leaders of 2005.Next to the best leaders, Business week selected the best ideas and best products for the year 2005, as well. Saidly, I haven’t more time to elaborate more on this survey. -P

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Sign of Life

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on October 5, 2005
in Ranting and Raving
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Sign of life

Hi guys and gals,

Guess what? I am still alive for all whom where worrying. Finally I managed myself to have a break and update my blog. Last few weeks you could find me in class and a lot of the time outside class hours I could easily have been in three places at once. But as the physical realities of the world make that impossible, I wasn’t.

I’ve been trying to make ‘focus’ and ‘prioritisation’ my watchwords, so I’m concentrating on only doing the things that really interest me, and the things where I think are most beneficial both in financial and social terms. The plan is not to over commit, so I can make sure that I do whatever I’m doing well, and that I’m getting a good balance between academics and non-academics. This was the hardest challenge, balancing my academic and social calendar, when starting five weeks ago with my international Master programme “ICT in Business”. I’m already doing better now although, sometimes it’s still tempting when friends are ringing to go on outings every night! Next week I also start picking up my sporty activities! yeah! Alright, got to go now.

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The Apprentice

Published
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on September 16, 2005
in Ranting and Raving
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The Apprentice
Hi guys! Finally, within one week the next season (season 4) of the Apprentice with Donald Trump will kick of, to precise on September 22nd. I am really keen to start watching the show again although I hope it will be still exciting after having followed the last three seasons. At least my all time favourite Apprentice Bill Rancic (the original “Apprentice” winner), will return to the boardroom when George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher will be on business trips.

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The Power of Taiwan

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on May 12, 2005
in Global Strategy
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The Power of Taiwan

Bruce Einhorn has a fascinating article on Taiwan in Business Week. Taiwanese companies, he reports, now control 72% of the world’s production of portable computers, 68% of LCD displays, 70% of microchips, and 79% of PDAs - as well as a third of the markets for manufacturing servers and digital cameras. With the most sought-after engineers of tech products, the island is becoming the brains of the world’s IT industry.

An interesting and considerable part in this piece is:

Real reconciliation thus seems a long way off. Yet any serious attempt to lower the tension would hold huge promise for the executives who run America’s IT industry, which depends on Taiwan for so much of its goods. A shooting war between Taiwan and China would be catastrophic in human terms. And for the Western companies that have built their fortunes around Taiwan, the damage would be a direct hit to the global economy and the Digital Age. “It would be the equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off,” says a top executive at a U.S. high-tech giant. Couldn’t U.S. industry develop sources of IT supply that don’t involve the Taiwanese? “That’s like asking, ‘What’s the second source for Mideast oil?’ says this exec.”

My favorite line in the piece comes from Intel’s John Antone he compares Taiwan to long-distance runners who are being challenged but who are still in the lead. “As long as they’re committed to run very aggressively,” he says, “I don’t see anyone catching them.” Competitors be warned: Taiwan will do everything it can to stay in the race.”

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