Chief Executive (U.S.) articles from June 2006

Chief Executive (U.S.) archives from June 2006

Productivity of the mind.(EDITOR'S NOTE)(Editorial)
June 1, 2006... The single greatest challenge facing CEOs is to raise the productivity of knowledge throughout the enterprise. It is an economic truth that real earnings and real incomes cannot be higher than productivity for any length of time. And knowledge...

China debate mirrors a larger problem.(FEEDBACK)
June 1, 2006... In an online article, Chief Executive argued that there's a major disconnect between Washington and America's CEOs with respect to China. Why does Washington choose to beat a steady protectionist drum against China when many American CEOs have...

A Canadian perspective.(FEEDBACK)
June 1, 2006... Although my company (wholesale distribution of specialty steel products) is located in Canada and our sales to the U.S. market represent only a small percentage of total sales, Canada's dependency on a healthy economy of "our big brother to the...

Here comes natural gas.(ENERGY)(Don Felsinger)(Sempra Energy)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... DON FELSINGER, new chief executive officer of Sempra Energy, the $12 billion a year San Diego-based energy company, says Americans will likely accept more energy infrastructure projects to help contain prices. Here are excerpts from an...

CEOs say bay state health care plan is DOA.(CEO CONFIDENCE INDEX)(chief executive officers)
June 1, 2006... DESPITE HIGH ENERGY COSTS and rising interest rates, business leaders remain positive. The CEO Confidence Index rose 5.9 points this month to 173.4. The current level for the leading economic indicator is just 9 points off its all-time high of...

Are boards fixing CEO pay? Comp committees are stepping up.(THOUGHT LEADER)
June 1, 2006... On an almost daily basis, the media decries yet another example of what it deems excessive executive compensation. The board of directors is typically fingered for failing to provide the proper oversight and blindly asserting that large rewards...

Why CEOs don't get good PR counsel: they must upgrade the role of PR pros.(THOUGHT LEADER)
June 1, 2006... Boeing has been reeling under a three-year cloud of scandals. But new CEO Jim McNerney, a veteran of General Electric and 3M, is beginning to pull the company out of its PR nosedive, both by instituting clearer rules of ethical conduct and by...

The new look of American manufacturing: the emerging model hinges on smaller runs, more flexibility and greater sophistication.
June 1, 2006... When Richardson Industries shut down its 300-person furniture manufacturing operation in 2002, it was "the most painful thing I ever had to deal with--to look people in the eyes and say they weren't going to have jobs anymore," says Joe...

CSR and big pharma: Pfizer's McKinnell says CEOs should take corporate social responsibility very seriously.(MANAGEMENT AND POLICY)(corporate social responsibility )(Hank McKinnell)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... Hank McKinnell, chief executive of Pfizer and chairman of the Business Roundtable, argues that CEOs are increasingly committed to social responsibility because it is linked to their profitability. Here are excerpts from a conversation...

Staying a step ahead of the rest: how do CEOs know what they know? The best have specific methods for capturing the knowledge--not just the information--they need.(BOOK EXCERPT)
June 1, 2006... Daniel Vasella, chief executive of Novartis, understands it. Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines, has applied it. Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com prods his marketplace with it. T. Boone Pickens, the oil and gas entrepreneur,...

Back from the brink: John Swainson stopped the bleeding at Computer Associates. But can he help it thrive?(TECHNOLOGY)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... In November of 2004, John Swainson faced one of the toughest challenges any first-time CEO ever does--parachuting into a company in crisis, in this case Computer Associates, where previous management had engaged in a $2-billion accounting...

The COO: friend or foe? Too many companies execute the COO role with poor results. How should the role be devised so that it creates value?(BOOK EXCERPT)
June 1, 2006... How important is a chief operating officer to the success of a CEO? Would Carly Fiorina still be leading Hewlett-Packard if she had ceded to pressure from the board to appoint a COO to help manage the Compaq merger? Almost certainly. ...

Picking the right charter: how to do due diligence on your air carrier.(BUSINESS TRAVEL)
June 1, 2006... Since the September 11 tragedy, air travel via scheduled carriers has become more difficult, more time consuming and more stressful. Many companies that had not used charter aircraft before 9/11 are now sending their top executives on business...

Winning in a multicultural market: rapidly changing demographics bring opportunities. But are companies adapting fast enough to serve emerging markets?(ROUNDTABLE)
June 1, 2006... Long heralded, the phenomenal potential of multicultural markets is now undeniably upon Corporate America. Hispanics accounted for about half of the growth in the U.S. population since 2000, according to a recent Census Bureau report. This...

Making innovation work: without sustainable innovation, companies are doomed. But how can invention and creativity be systemized?(ROUNDTABLE)(Company overview)
June 1, 2006... The U.S. economy, often depicted as a three-legged stool--manufacturing, services and invention--looks increasingly like it has but one leg to support itself. Manufacturing has been outsourced, and services are not far behind. That leaves...

Building a stellar cellar: plan the perfect wine collection.(EXECUTIVE LIFE)
June 1, 2006... Not too long ago after doing my best Zorro imitation by sabering the top off a Champagne bottle as the finale to a wine tasting, I was approached by a newly minted chief executive of a high tech company, who wanted some advice on stocking a new...

Divorce in the workplace: how to prevent a personal tragedy from spilling over.(LIFESTYLE)
June 1, 2006... Although divorce is primarily a personal tragedy, it can also spill into the workplace, even costing you your job--not to mention a good portion of your wealth and reputation. In recent years, a number of very public divorces involving chief...

The tragedy of enronicus rex.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
June 1, 2006... WITH THE CONVICTION of Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the CEOs who guided Enron through its meteoric rise and even more spectacular implosion of fraud and conspiracy, an era has come to an end. For Lay, who founded Enron's antecedent, Houston...