Mark Mccormack - The Japan Times

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Apr 8, 2003

Who's minding the store? Keeping an eye on partnered projects

The multimillionaire developer had a long track record with a number of large resort properties. He figured that when he hired a Fortune 500 hotel chain to manage his latest development he would be freeing himself up to do what he did best -- building and creating -- while they did what they did best: Making a profit.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Mar 25, 2003

The Rules of Clout: the whens and hows of granting favors safely

The story has passed its first blush now, and has faded in public memory into just another head-shaker about the apparently out-of-control lifestyles of CEOs. But the saga of how a star stock analyst, Jack Grubman, allegedly upgraded a stock as a favor for Sandy Weill of Citigroup, who in turn pressured an elite preschool to admit Grubman's twin children, has raised so many questions about the abuse of power that those of us in corner offices can be assured of hearing it re-hashed for at least a decade.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Mar 11, 2003

Four essential errors that you should make before assuming the CEO mantle

Winter is here with a vengeance, and the ski slopes are alive with CEOs who have nothing better to do than hone their powder skills -- and think about what might have been. Many will no doubt be replaying the miscalculations and misjudgments that led to their current difficulties. Yet the curious thing is that these very errors, if made at an earlier stage of their lives and careers, might have saved them a lot of time and trouble.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Feb 25, 2003

The perils of package deals: When the client comes with a loved one, buckle your seatbelt

If there is one area of expertise that is perhaps underestimated in business, it is the need and ability to negotiate with the package deals that come with certain clients, customers, buyers or suppliers. I'm talking about those people whose talents or patronage you desire, but who come with strings attached: a spouse or sibling or in-law or parent of lesser, even disastrous, abilities.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Feb 11, 2003

Fatal Distraction: There's no such thing as a 'safe' investment, when it comes to a micromanaging CEO

A news story the other day included a list of a certain CEO's business activities, all on top of his "day" job: part-owner of a golf course, a hunt club and a new marina, each in a different part of the country; silent partner in his son's startup venture; prime mover behind a regional ski resort development; and boutique winemaker at his country estate, where he was also active in the local film festival.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Jan 28, 2003

Habit vs. mechanics: Going from good to great can necessitate a 'Tiger Woods' overhaul

Recently an executive returned from a trip with a story about the salesman he visited. Now in his late 50s, the fellow had been a proven performer since early in his career, hitting his numbers and accumulating bonuses at a prodigious clip. His sales approach was direct to the point of being confrontational, which he justified by saying that most clients were secretly relieved to be told what they needed to buy. "And if they don't go along with me, that just proves they weren't ready in the first place," he liked to quip.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Jan 14, 2003

The Bad News Bearer: How to look good even if the tidings aren't glad

The scene was a lavish business function, the type we're seeing less and less of these days. Asked by an earnest professor at a prestigious business school what sort of unorthodox job skills he would wish on today's generation of MBAs, the CEO -- and the party's host -- thought a moment before flashing a wry grin. "They don't teach you how to be the bearer of bad tidings in business school," he said. "And I suppose all of us have learned a bit about that this year."

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Nov 19, 2002

Seagram's fall from grace is testimony to virtue of stockpiling crown jewels

When Shakespeare wrote, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" he was talking about royalty, but I'm sure the travails of today's business elite would have attracted his attention. The recent demise of the House of Seagram, for instance, might be worthy of a play -- the tale of how a third-generation CEO loses the family empire.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Nov 5, 2002

Dealing with staff who are making money on the side

This is a story about your most delightful headache. Or perhaps your company's Achilles' heel. Why is the spectrum so wide? Because we're talking about the inner drive that made America great, and its consequences when it manifests itself in inappropriate places.

BUSINESS / Economy

Oct 22, 2002

Too smart for your own good

It was a merger made in heaven.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Sep 24, 2002

What the U.S. Open can teach you about managing big changes

The recent U.S. Open at the Bethpage Black Course has been bountifully praised, and for all the right reasons: for being the first true public Open, for restoring a historic course to its original design and playing conditions, and for attracting fans from a considerably more populist demographic. The golf that was played in challenging weather made for intriguing television, even if a certain drama was lacking at the end.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Sep 3, 2002

Big raise, big head: Save the new executive from himself

A flattering article on an up-and-coming executive appeared in the business pages, followed by copycat stories in other media. When I complimented the boss on cultivating what seemed to be an extraordinary young talent, she looked me straight in the face and shook her head. "A major, major mistake. I never should have promoted him," the CEO said. "But I had no choice he was the best manager in that position we've ever had."

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Aug 6, 2002

Reducing icebergs to snowballs:How to avoid sinking the ship

"Ever had all your dreams come true, only to find yourself in the middle of a nightmare?" asked a wry acquaintance recently. In his case, he hand followed through on a lifelong dream starting his own advertising boutique. A careful planner, he had determined his own strengths and weaknesses and approached a fellow executive, with whom he had worked for almost five years, to shore up those areas in which he felt least effective.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Jul 23, 2002

Managing growth differs from growing one's firm

The news in business has been full of falling stars lately. "Is it just me," a friend asked the other day, "or does it seem as if half of the CEO supernovas from two years ago have crashed and burned?" In light of the economic turmoil I could understand how he had gotten this impression, but could not really agree that we have seen a marked increase in flameouts. What I believe we are seeing, instead, is the usually hidden processes of management selection highlighted by the sudden glare of publicity, which has been fired by the dot-com collapse, the accounting scandals, and Wall Street's reversals.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Jul 9, 2002

Burning your bridges

There was a well-known shogun who at one point was considered one of the most powerful men in the country. He built his empire swiftly and, he would be the first to admit, ruthlessly, and in the process ran over a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges. Like many feudal warlords, he rarely left the security of his own castle, letting his efficient minions roam far afield to do his work. Then he made a single miscalculation: He decided to change castles. There was one just over the border much more attractive than his, or maybe it was just that he was bored. With great pomp and an entourage of musicians and entertainers he marched to the new castle. After he settled in, he sent for his minions and warrior chiefs. Not one returned. Instead, they occupied his old castle and proceeded to chop his empire up among themselves. In a short while the shogun was surrounded in his new castle by enemies. When he tried to think of someone to ask for assistance, not a single name came to mind. He had offended everyone. That night he left the castle and retired to Aspen.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Jun 25, 2002

Nosy bosses foul up

Every CEO needs to know how to strike a balance between staying aloof from the nitty-gritty of his company's operations and getting too involved in the day-to-day details of those employees and divisions far from the corner office.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

May 28, 2002

Post-Enron dilemma: share value vs. honor

"Nobody goes down with the ship anymore," complained a pundit recently. "Whatever happened to the idea of personal integrity?" he opined.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

May 13, 2002

Training for success -- crash and learn

Car wrecks always draw a crowd, as every driver knows, and that's true for the equivalent in business, too. Rubber-necking at someone else's trouble, many executives thank their stars that they're not caught in the pileup; most take the opportunity to remind themselves to be extra careful to stay out of risky situations.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Apr 30, 2002

Timing is everything in redoing contracts

Negotiating, often denigrated as a field for those with more attitude than aptitude, is often the place where very smart executives make glaringly dumb decisions. A good example of this surfaced when ABC attempted to woo David Letterman away from CBS.

BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT

Mar 12, 2002

Honesty as a policy

Although it seems that everybody now has an opinion on the Enron debacle, I still think that the business lessons to be learned have been slighted. In a sense, what has happened with this three-card monte version of a corporation is a reflection of the worst single tendency of the last quarter-century of American business: A reliance on short-term results in order to influence Wall Street. That Enron exploited the weaknesses of this rigid and unrealistic form of measurement and used it to manipulate the market can certainly be seen as poetic justice, but that's hardly consolation to the thousands of employees and investors who were lured into losing their retirement savings.

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