Abstract: Most organizations use a planning system sometimes known as ‘make-and-sell’. This means that managers sit down once-a-year with their spreadsheets and decide which products he company will make and which services it will provide and then determine the required investment, price, costs, marketing and so forth to meet the plan. Needless to say, if customers don’t want to buy those products and services the company has a major problem. In this paper we look at an alternative view sometimes known as ‘sense-and-respond’.

Abstract: How you measure performance is a critical management discipline and determines what action is taken to improve performance. In the traditional organization most performance measures are aimed at tightening top-down control rather than helping managers to learn and improve. The assumption is that decisions are best made at a high-level. This is wrong when markets are changing rapidly and unpredictable events are becoming the norm. In this paper we will look at alternative ways to measure performance that enable managers at every level to continuously learn and improve.

Abstract: Most leaders believe in incentive compensation as a key ‘motivator’ and driver of higher levels of performance. However, the evidence that financial incentives motivate people is hard to find and there is plenty of evidence for the opposite view that incentives do more harm than good. So what is the alternative? This paper examines the evidence and looks at alternative approaches.

Abstract: The Finance team has been under intense pressure in recent times as business leaders have demanded faster, more relevant information, compliance regulators have demanded tighter controls and their own staff have complained about long hours and mental stress. But most CFOs are working with the wrong vision for change. In this paper we offer an alternative vision that leads to more clarity, simplicity, accountability and transparency.

Abstract: Many finance leaders assume that increasing customer service is a cost rather than a benefit. They need to understand the links in the company’s service-profit chain. Research done a numbers of years ago has borne out these vital connections time and again. In this paper we review the links in the chain and what you need to do to take full advantage of them

Abstract: Most marketing and finance managers suspect that many customers are unprofitable after applying all the ‘below the line’ costs of serving and supporting them but they don’t know who they are. If sales and marketing people did know this information it would change their work dramatically and make a huge difference to the bottom line. This paper looks at these issues and suggests that managers can use some simple techniques to gain a better understanding of these problems and what can be done about them.

Abstract: Customer satisfaction surveys are increasingly pervasive in the lives of both consumers and B2B customers. They are used by many organizations as a key performance indicator and the results are often tied to employee reward systems. But do they provide useful information? This paper looks at the evidence, drawing particularly on new research done by Bain & Co expert Fred Reichheld. The results are not what many marketing managers want to hear.

Abstract: Today’s organizations don’t just need to find and keep talented people their futures depend on them. That’s why recruitment and development needs to be a core competence. How leaders sell the benefits of working in a stimulating environment is a key element of a successful employee value proposition. This paper looks at these issues and how some organizations design and manage this process.