It's time to dive into realms where you don't have all the answers, says Chris Curran of PwC. Ditch outmoded ways of thinking, ask business managers and employees what they need to innovate, and find out what customers want before they even know.
The mere thought of negotiating a deal can unsettle the nerves: The heart races, the shoulders tense, the palms sweat. When faced with such a prospect, human beings are more likely to feel anxiety-fear, frustration, worry and apprehension-than any other emotion, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Most of the CEOs I know can handle bad news. But I don't know any that like surprises. The CIO who can help the boss more accurately predict the future and manage profitability across economic cycles can be indispensable.
Writing about leadership feels a bit like writing about unicorns, those mythical creatures that have inspired fairy tales since ancient times. There is that same elusive, almost unattainable quality to everything related to leadership: describing it, finding it, developing it.
Today, almost 50 per cent of companies have a centralized vendor management group in place, with 11 per cent planning to introduce one this year. Why are we seeing the growth of this unit within the organization? The main drivers for a business to invest in a VMO are to get more value out of existing suppliers and to lower overall costs through better rate negotiations and demand consolidation. Most often, the VMO is either housed in IT or procurement, depending on the business, and consists of two to ten people who are responsible for overseeing the big picture of vendor management.