I read a book a couple of years ago about K Mart in which the author proposed that most large companies last as category leaders for about fifty years. After that they just become places where people can remain employed.

Bill Donohoo Lecturer at California State University San Bernardino and Long Beach

If the operating practices of large companies veer toward protectionism (maintaining the viability of what's already built) as opposed to recognition, reaction and response to new conditions, the seeds of demise are sown

Howard W

The top 5% were all structured and flexible, organised and agile, procedural and creative. The latest label for this is often 'ambidextrous'.

Alan A

think about whether existing corporate structures are fundamentally flawed in such a way that they are no longer consistent with success. A primary truth that we need to uncover, if we determine that this is the case, is what is so different now as to invalidate models that worked over many years.

Howard W

companies need to be willing to attack their own business models when it's required to move forward.

Howard W

I was a product of fast-tracking in the company. There are several benefits, but at the same time, being able to see the fruits of strategy and product development roadmap I could only see when I got to stay at least 3 years on the job-

Jean T.F. Hooks Executive Coach, Enabling Successful Executives

I think a reward system that actually protects and rewards the courageous leader is needed in corporate America.

Jim Kelly Small Company Growth Quarterback

"yesterday's news wraps today's fish"

Jean T.F. Hooks Executive Coach, Enabling Successful Executives

We used to have a joke that asked, "which quarter is the most important one?" then the first response from many is "the fourth quarter!" instead the right answer was "the current one."

Jean T.F. Hooks Executive Coach, Enabling Successful Executives

as long as leadership can begin to understand 'what got us here won't get us there' mentality, a doomed corporation can be avoided.  

Frank Mendoza Driving corporate innovation through the use of analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven approach to Change!

These Titanics are seen as convenient working places where employees can hide among others, since there is always someone else who could do "my/this" job. So employees stick around for 10, 15, 20 years and are more relaxed than invested/identified. They also don't see the urgency

Sebastian Grodzietzki CGO @ PARIS AG | MD @ multiple | Serial Founder | Business Angel | Chief Advisor (IoT, Digital Transformation, EduTech + Growth) | Speaker

in the spirit of Msr. Grove's "Only the Paranoid Survive".

Greg Moran COO at Wiretap

Steve Jobs was great example of a leader (with all his flaws) who, when he returned to Apple, had learned the hard lessons of focus and placing big bets. He cut 90% of the projects

Greg Moran COO at Wiretap

Amazon creating small, local delivery services whereby Amazon provides their order fulfillment and delivery technology and know-how to entrepreneurs willing to invest $10K to build a 40+ delivery truck local business.

Jim Kelly Small Company Growth Quarterback

Ford has recently announced in the US it will stop building cars

Alan A

They have also just announced a tie-up with VW - also seen as contentious given VW's recent history with diesel emissions and their long term competition.

Alan A

arger companies which have built and are maintaining legacy systems have more trouble integrating or upgrading their back-end with new technologies in general and AI specifically, as it completely shifts the focus from the old Business Rules driven decision engines to AI driven decisions.

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

'Digital transformation is when companies use technology to radically change the performance or reach of an enterprise . . . The drivers tend to be disruption from market newcomers or innovation from rivals seizing the opportunity to win new customers.'

Howard W

we reserve digital business transformation for companies pursuing net new revenue streams, products and services and business models.

Howard W

Yelling at corporations they are about to get disrupted is as useful as yelling at a friend they need to diet or exercise or vote differently - it makes you feel better but it rarely helps.

Alan A

once you get large and relatively successful, different motivations often kick in. We humans have biases to avoid loss, maintain the status quo, etc (https://www.behavioraleconomics.com/resources/mini-encyclopedia-of-be/loss-aversion/). It's not a strategic decision - it's human nature.

Alan A

the previous path of Higher Education -> Life-long Career no longer exists. The future employee will need to embrace the lifestyle of a "Life Long Learner."

Frank Mendoza Driving corporate innovation through the use of analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven approach to Change!

employers are now launching their own Universities to help fill this void. For example, Airbnb is opening an internal university to teach their team members Data Science.

Frank Mendoza Driving corporate innovation through the use of analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven approach to Change!

we are entering a time where business solely for profit will not be enough to attract talent, particularly entrepreneurial talent. Business mission, and social responsibility regarding that mission, will be as important as salary and benefits to many, especially the millennial generation

Jim Kelly Small Company Growth Quarterback

every person becomes an entrepreneur of his/her own talent and the companies that can position themselves as HOT companies will get more of it,

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

Like Patty Soltis MBA BS says Inspiration will be a critical element in the war on (millennial) talent

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

That is how Apple was able to inspire millions to create apps for their store, or how AirBNB was able to attract million homeowners to rent out their house. They believed in the story and the values that were proposed.

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

That is how Apple was able to inspire millions to create apps for their store, or how AirBNB was able to attract million homeowners to rent out their house. They believed in the story and the values that were proposed.

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

if the goal of an organization is to turn employees into entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs, then they are also after building a strong leaders

Chris Woods Global Innovation & Strategy Leader at Insight

lots of leaders still don't listen much to anyone - customers, staff, other leaders - there's a lot of ego around

Alan A

companies do not invest in the customer experience because in a short-term oriented, "financialized" business climate, it is often difficult to determine a financial payback

Jim Kelly Small Company Growth Quarterback

Where there is little competition companies don't have to focus on customers - they still should, but they can get away with not doing it.

Alan A

subconsciously large corporations are obsessed with efficiencies of scale - standardising things, so it's not in their mindset to personalise

Alan A

I am increasingly attentive to Drucker who says you should put every product on trial for its life regularly. Also you should be skinnying the product down to give the minimum services and features the customer is willing to pay for.

Bill Donohoo Lecturer at California State University San Bernardino and Long Beach

It is too easy to drift away from your product plan when you respond too frequently to customer one-off requests

Bill Donohoo Lecturer at California State University San Bernardino and Long Beach

I could list a number of companies that are using machine learning algorithms to better understand customer behavior and motivations. That does not make them customer centric

Greg Moran COO at Wiretap

The decision to be customer centric/obsessed is independent of the data and must be reflected in the culture and reward structure of the firm for it to have any impact.

Greg Moran COO at Wiretap

if companies engage well in the things they do, they'll reap the benefits in tangible things like sales, staff turnover, talent attraction, brand, demand, etc, etc.

Alan A

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018 YTD, the average “Quit” rate of the US labor force is 2.3% in the private sector. This rate has been steadily climbing over the past 10 years. From 2009 (1.5%) to 2016 (2.3%) this constituted a 53% increase in average annual “Quit” rate.

Frank Mendoza Driving corporate innovation through the use of analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven approach to Change!

Purpose is not a framed print on a wall and it's not a single thing for the whole organisation

Alan A

There is the newer "B" corporation. I am not a lawyer, but I believe the general idea is these corporations can legally take the "good of the world" into consideration in making their business decisions.

Dave Saxby Advisor, Consultant, Private Investor

n 1987 the FCC refused to renew the broadcast licences of 14 radio stations in the RKO General family because of corporate dishonesty.

Bill Donohoo Lecturer at California State University San Bernardino and Long Beach

Blockchain has the potential to open up the supply-chain process to interested parties to ensure that all parties are fulfilling their stated Purpose. One use case involves using Blockchain to end the trade of blood diamonds.

Frank Mendoza Driving corporate innovation through the use of analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven approach to Change!

In his Forbes article, "The Best Weapon In The War For Talent May Be Your Brand," George Brooks mentions that benefits, progressive policies, and cool offices spaces will not be enough to convince talent to join.

Frank Mendoza Driving corporate innovation through the use of analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven approach to Change!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018 YTD, the average “Quit” rate of the US labor force is 2.3% in the private sector. This rate has been steadily climbing over the past 10 years. From 2009 (1.5%) to 2016 (2.3%) this constituted a 53% increase in average annual “Quit” rate.

Frank Mendoza Driving corporate innovation through the use of analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven approach to Change!

as organisations grow, it's harder to connect with everyone, and under pressure the purpose conversation gets lost.

Alan A

Perhaps the right thought here is Google's motto, "Don't be evil.

Howard W

bold change must be led at the top of the organization, and that leadership must be willing to risk their job for the good of enterprise survival. In my view, that is the type of courage that is required

Jim Kelly Small Company Growth Quarterback

"people who trust their gut instincts are more likely to predict the outcome of events."

Joseph Jaffe Admiral, Co-founder at the HMS Beagle, 5-time author (5th book due 2019), Keynote Speaker, Thought Leader, Rabble-Rouser, Trouble-Maker

get the millennials (ideally in diverse teams) concrete ownership. So not giving them tiny tasks regarding their role but full workstreams

Sebastian Grodzietzki CGO @ PARIS AG | MD @ multiple | Serial Founder | Business Angel | Chief Advisor (IoT, Digital Transformation, EduTech + Growth) | Speaker

You can only assume that larger companies have more difficulty focusing on every pillar consistently over a prolonged time frame, hence the impact on the result is negative.

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

this is not about turning the Titanic around - it's about redesigning and reinventing the Titanic while it's sailing,

Alan A

it's about creating a parallel or shadow network that can change things from outside the hierarchy.

Alan A

Yale University shows. According to this, the 500 largest listed US companies reached an average age of 67 years 100 years ago, compared to only 15 years in 2015

Sebastian Grodzietzki CGO @ PARIS AG | MD @ multiple | Serial Founder | Business Angel | Chief Advisor (IoT, Digital Transformation, EduTech + Growth) | Speaker

ale professor and author Richard Foster estimates that by 2020 more than three-quarters of the largest US corporations will be companies of which we have not yet heard

Sebastian Grodzietzki CGO @ PARIS AG | MD @ multiple | Serial Founder | Business Angel | Chief Advisor (IoT, Digital Transformation, EduTech + Growth) | Speaker

DeathWatch: Sears, Macy's, JCPenney

Dilip Deka Senior Project Manager available as a consultant

My "deathwatch" company may surprise some, but for me it is Facebook. When is the last time you heard anything good about FB? When is the last time you saw anyone younger than 40 actively using FB?

Dan Harper Business Advisor -- Sales, Marketing and Management Consulting

Elon Musk's most recent actions are demonstrating how difficult it is to manage a huge company when the accountability is truly to shareholders, rather than private investors

Lowry Curley Chief Executive Officer at AxoSim

I think the idea of "Futureproofing" a company is not realistic, however the very best companies will "Futureprotect" themselves

Jim Kelly Small Company Growth Quarterback

I believe that the term itself is self-destructive.

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

f you want to future-proof your company, to the degree that it is possible to do so, you must change your thinking and be prepared to blow things up with little remorse when it's required.

Howard W

Nothing is "future proof". However that does not mean that companies should abandon TRYING to be "future proof"

Donald Wedding Data Scientist / Statistician

Apple will be harder to kill and will take longer to die than almost any other company in history - even if they get it wrong a lot.

Greg Moran COO at Wiretap

Jeff Bezos' "DAY ONE" philisophy (https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/04/21/what-is-jeff-bezos-day-1-philosophy/) is probably the right one to prolong its existence. But the future is long. Nothing lives forever.

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

The best protection against the future has to be simply seeing things coming and adapting to meet them, quickly and at different scales.

Alan A

Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”

Glenn Wastyn High-tech Solutions Executive: CEO, Regional & BU Management, VP Sales and Marketing with Global Impact

Tunicorns, standing for thousand times a billion or a Trillion.

Dilip Deka Senior Project Manager available as a consultant

I would like to coin a new word, "Megacorn", which we could use for the trillion dollar companies.

Santhosh Nair Management Consultant for early-stage companies. 20+ years as Director, Senior Quality Manager, Principal Software Engineer and Program Manager.