THE SPARK TO GREAT INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP By Carol Thompson I live in Austin, Texas, a city with more than its fair share of entrepreneurs. And while entrepreneurs are most often known as innovators, I think they share another important quality: PASSION. Some are passionate about creating a breakthrough product or service that solves [...]

CEOs, HELP YOUR CIO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS By Steve Schuckenbrock Think back over the last month – during that period it’s likely more time has been spent with the CFO than the CIO. While the CFO plays a critical role in the organization, the separation between the CIO and the business strategy in [...]

MAKING THE CASE FOR CFOS TO BE A CEO’S PRIMARY INFLUENCER By Jerry Dilettuso According to CristKolder Associates, a search firm specializing in C-suite searches, the number of Chief Operating Officers is in decline and has been since the year 2000. In that year 47.5 percent of all companies on the Fortune 500 and S&P [...]

FIVE LEADERSHIP TACTICS THAT WILL PUT YOUR COMPANY AHEAD By John Carlson With a sputtering economy and congressional gridlock, it’s not difficult to see where the challenges are in the construction industry. The biggest issue facing the industry today is funding. The federal government is deep in debt, and it sets the agenda for state, [...]

THE QUALITIES AND EDUCATION OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER, POST SARBANES-OXLEY By David Preng Over the last decade, corporate boards have undergone a marked change. Pre-2000, board members were often friends that were trusted.  They were people who went to school together, whose wives played tennis together. They would go to the same churches and see [...]

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF A GREAT LEADER By Jerry Dilettuso Several years ago a private equity firm recruited me to be the CEO of a troubled company that provided apparel, camps, and competitions to the cheerleading world. As part of my duties, I was invited to speak to coaches’ organizations that were made up of mostly [...]