Chief Executive (U.S.) articles from May 2002

Chief Executive (U.S.) archives from May 2002

Feedback.(letters)
May 1, 2002... Privacy Preferred While I'm not a CEO at a Fortune 500 company, as a life-long successful entrepreneur in the CEO position, I have experienced the same isolation that's compounded by alcoholism ("CEOs Anonymous," CE: March 2002). The...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2002... Gregory Evans was incorrectly identified as a former employee of Franklin Telecom in an October 2001 article titled, From Prisoner to Entrepreneur. The article recounts Evan's criminal background prior to becoming CEO of Cyber Group Network,...

The $1 question. (Editors Note).(chief executive officer's role)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... One of the myriad problems that managing through a downturn presents for the CEO is that of focus. As one CEO friend describes the focus in his industry: "We're all like patients in a sick ward. None of us is doing well. So we make ourselves...

Counter-terrorism camp. (Members Only).(International Training Commission course)(related article: Who'd Make the Best CEO?)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... "At the International Training Commission, things happen in the middle of the night," warns Cathy Matheny, a single mother from Texas and CEO of AIT, a small private business in Freehold, N.J., that performs background checks for the insurance...

Time of the title. (Arrivals).(companies use multiple executive titles)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... ACCENTURE JOINED THE multi-title trend in March with the promotion of seven divisional managers to group chief executives. Group CEO titles went to Gregg Hartemayer in technology and outsourcing, Tim Breene in business consulting, Mark...

Headhunters loyal to Andersen. (Career Corner).(Arthur Andersen and Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... About 18 months ago, the country's largest temp firm for manual workers, Labor Ready in Tacoma, Wash., became the object of a campaign by the AFL-CIO to force from it greater disclosure about its labor practices. But when Enron's misdeeds...

Coverage is costly for top brass.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The face of directors-and-officers insurance has changed dramatically in recent years. During the bull market years between 1995 and 2000, terms of coverage expanded and premium prices declined. The 2001 market downturn deprived insurers of the...

The new Nobel? (Philanthropy Forum).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Andy Grove was a strong runner-up. Bill Gates was nominated, but didn't make the short list. Rudy Giuliani could have been a contender, but his nomination missed the deadline. Instead, the first recipients of the $1 million Dan David Prize,...

Parting advice from ad veteran. (Departures).(Philip Dusenberry)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... THE ADVERTISING WORLD LOSES a pioneer this month, as Philip Dusenberry retires as chairman of BBDO North America after 40 years in the industry, 33 of them at the New York-based ad agency. BBDO reported U.S. billings of $6.6 billion in 2001....

The art of good coaching. (Chief Concern).
May 1, 2002... Most CEOs know that people are a company's most important asset. But if you really believe that--and I do--then you must make a genuine effort to be a good coach. Good coaching is about trying to impart experience. You try to point out the...

Rumsfeld's rules for CEOs. (Capitol Ideas).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Pithy and brutal, Donald Rumsfeld's guidelines for surviving Washington were must reading long before the author of "Rumsfeld's rules" became defense secretary for a second time, long before a war against terrorism seemed possible, and before...

Need a CEO? Call Stockholm. (Market Horizons).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... No less an expert than Jack Welch has observed that "pound for pound, Sweden probably has more good managers than any other country." Swedish-style management is profoundly different from what's practiced elsewhere in the world. And it's...

The year of the Biotechs: when dozens of tech players fell off the CE 100 growth index, these scrappy survivors gladly took the top spots. (Management).(Statistical Data Included)(Industry Overview)
May 1, 2002... The storm may have passed, but the damage to shareholder value was done--and the companies who lost it paid the price on Chief Executive's 11th annual growth index, or the CE 100. Not all were wiped out, however. The market tidal wave that...

Domestic dispute: Fannie Mae is doing better than ever, but the man behind the "American Dream" faces tough criticism. (Cover Story).(Statistical Data Included)(Company Profile)
May 1, 2002... 2001 was a brutal year to run a business. Any CEO who led a company to record, knock-your-socks-off financial performance amid the twin gloom of recession and war, you'd think, would be showered with kudos. Not so for Franklin D. Raines,...

Fish or cut bait: luring directors to corporate boards has become a daunting task--one that requires ingenuity and time. (Corporate Governance).
May 1, 2002... The friendly voice on the telephone belonged to a recruiter wanting to know whether Paul Chellgren, chairman and CEO of the $8 billion chemical company Ashland, would consider filling a vacant seat on another major corporation's board. No...

Dressing the part: everything about them sends a message, so savvy execs make sure their attire hits just the right note. (Disposable Income).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... As CEO of a print procurement services firm in New York, Doug Evans does business and rubs shoulders with a cross section of people every day. He may have breakfast with his company's buttoned-down investors, meet with the funky art director of...

Leading the information enterprise: CEOs are instrumental in transforming traditional companies into knowledge powerhouses. Their challenge? Mixing creativity and standardization. (Roundtable).
May 1, 2002... Information forms the very core of Weight Watchers International's $273.2 million business. After all, the company's revenue depends entirely upon providing weight management information and counsel to its one million members in 30 countries....

The CEO dilemma: competition for customer loyalty is war. Winners balance broad customer need with tight corporate focus. (Roundtable).(chief executive officer)(related article: Who's Who)
May 1, 2002... Getting an edge has never been so tough. As competition intensifies, segment boundaries blur and pressure on margins mounts, more and more companies are struggling to combat commoditization by enhancing customer relationships. Yet as many...

Sweet revenge: Office Depot CEO Bruce Nelson remembers the days when all brick-and-mortar companies were dinosaurs. Today his company is No. 2 on the Web. So who's laughing now? (Technology).(office-supply company)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... In the chronicles of office-supply powerhouse Office Depot, 1998 may well prove pivotal. It was then that the firm, still staggering from its failed sale two years earlier to rival Staples, acquired Viking Office Products. It was also the year...

Keeping pace in the boardroom. (Flip Side).(board members' behavior)(Brief Article)(Column)
May 1, 2002... Several months ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved a cutting-edge pacemaker that transmits vital data to the doctor's office as the patient conducts his daily business. Though originally conceived as a purely medical unit that...

Putting words into action. (First Words).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... For more than 70 years, The Leigh Bureau has brought leading thinkers to serious audiences. But, wanting to expand the benefits that we as an innovative speakers bureau could offer, we created Leigh Advisory Services -- essentially, putting...

Long live the information revolution. (Front Lines).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Is the Information Revolution Dead? That was the title of and central question at a debate among technology gurus W. Brian Arthur, Andrew Grove, and Lawrence Lessig, held in March in San Jose, Calif. Their answers, not surprisingly, suggested...

Economic recovery: wishing and hoping? (Front Lines).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Although Alan Greenspan pronounced the recession over and the U.S. economy on the rebound back in March, the real question is how steep the climb back up will be and how long it will take. Business executives surveyed by New Hampshire-based NFI...

Spreading the wealth through schools. (Front Lines).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... When Michael Hawley, Dreyfoos Professor of Media Technology at MIT and principal investigator for the "Things That Think" project at MIT's Media Lab, went on sabbatical, he decided to go someplace very different from the high-tech environment...

Strategy in the crosshairs. (Front Lines).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The U.S. Army's linear, hierarchical approach to strategy, operations, and tactics no longer meets the threats we face in today's volatile, fast-changing environment, says Jim Crupi. To spread his message, Crupi, a former Army Ranger, has been...

Healing the corporate soul: Lance Secretan is changing the world, one leader, one organization at a time. (Profile).
May 1, 2002... SITTING AT A CONFERENCE TABLE, A MIDDLE-AGED EXECUTIVE fidgets and repeatedly wipes his brow. Then he starts to tremble a bit, coughs involuntarily, and eventually reaches for a luncheon napkin and wipes the tears streaming from his eyes. Lance...

Innovation and discipline: an interview with Bob Herbold. (Cover Story).(Interview)
May 1, 2002... Are creativity and discipline in management diametrically opposed? They don't have to be, says Bob Herbold, who draws on his experience leading Microsoft and Procter & Gamble to advise CEOs how to integrate the two and achieve their goals. ...

Inside player: top management's new role; when pursuing short-term strategies for long-term gains, it is more important than ever to keep communication lines open inside the organization. Here's how three company leaders make it work. (Strategy).
May 1, 2002... When managing for the short term, it is essential that an organization's strategy and direction and all of its implications be understood from the top down and from the bottom up. The most effective way to do this is to increase interactive...

Execution as attitude. (Management).(Lawrence A. Bossidy)
May 1, 2002... When Lawrence Bossidy took the helm at Honeywell, the company was in the midst of chaos. Today, it's a $24 billion, customer-oriented powerhouse. Here, Bossidy shares some of the strategy and action that made it happen. There is a lot of...

The future of telecommunications. (Technology).
May 1, 2002... Despite its recent dramatic downturn, telecommunications is poised for a revolutionary resurgence, thanks to four technologies that will make it more personal and decentralized. The winners will be you and those companies that don't cling to...

Surviving the future. (Perspectives: Globalization).(Column)
May 1, 2002... Originally published in 1998, Patrick Dixon's Futurewise: Six Faces of Global Change outlined the dynamics that would affect business -- and the world -- in the years to come. Recent events have made his insights even more telling. Many...

Competing in the age of hypercapitalism: the networked economy is reshaping business by tearing down traditional boundaries. Is your company ready to show itself to the world? (Perspectives: The Economy).
May 1, 2002... The collapse of the dot-corns. Technology industry turmoil. The upheaval in capital markets. The horrific events of September 11 and their aftermath, including prolonged war, restricted mobility, fear, and economic disruption. When will things...

Communicate purpose and meaning: think your company is a tight ship? Consider how one captain turned traditional thinking on its head and made his ship the pride of the U.S. Navy. (Perspectives: Leadership).(Column)
May 1, 2002... The whole secret of leading a ship or managing a company is to articulate a common goal that inspires a diverse group of people to work hard together. That's what my sailors got: a purpose that transformed their lives and made USS Benfold a...

Saving democracy: the number of millionaires and billionaires doesn't move in tandem with democratic politics. Indeed, the two are often at loggerheads. (Perspectives: Politics).
May 1, 2002... Two hundred years ago, the American Republic began amidst disagreements between democrats allied with Thomas Jefferson and pro-wealth forces led by Alexander Hamilton. Recent events like the Enron scandal and the furor over campaign finance are...