Proudfoot News

Business leaders confirm focus is on achieving operational excellence and leveraging human capital

People driven strategies are back in vogue as business leaders chart their course for growth according to the latest authoritative survey of business leaders from The Conference Board .

The defining characteristics that separate the best from the rest

With demand stagnating across most of the developed economies and faltering across many of the developing countries, identifying and steadfastly pursuing a path to prosperity is complex and demanding for the one at the helm, the company’s chief executive

As the Olympics and Paralympics bring a summer of memorable sporting endeavours to a close, we felt one last sporting metaphor would not go amiss. Throughout this summer’s games, we have witnessed the desire of sportsmen and sportswomen to outperform their rivals.

Harnessing the collective expertise of the management team to drive effective execution

The key to effective execution is to lead from the top. But, by top, we mean not just the chief executive rather the entire C-Suite team. By tapping into the combined strengths of the management team as a whole, exploiting their diversity and fully harnessing their collective expertise, a chief executive officer has, within easy grasp, the potential to achieve the company’s goals that much faster, thereby driving true competitive advantage.

Head, Heart and Hands
Shoulder–to–Shoulder Together

For a company to be successful, Chief Executives need to formulate the right strategy and then execute it. Sounds simple – in theory! Set this against the backdrop of a constantly evolving business landscape and the dynamics shift considerably.

Untapping the true potential of your sales organisation

The new priority is revenue growth. For companies looking to outperform peers and the market, it's time to untap the true potential that exists within the sales function of the organisation. Research shows the clear shift of emphasis towards growing the top line.

...but they don't always get the focus they deserve.

The industry is making great efforts to share best practice, witness Anglo American making its industry award winning Safety Risk Management Programme (SRMP) available to the rest of the industry in May last year. Since its inception in 2008 Anglo American credit it with a 29% reduction in fatalities and the number and severity of lost-time injuries by 27%.

In light of a series of recent high-profile corporate crises, CEOs know they need to act. Survey data appears to support this with many CEOs revealing they are planning major change in this area. And yet another survey reports that many have appeared to baulk at active personal intervention.

We read the quoted statistic that 70% of change programmes fail. Understanding why so many change programmes fail is an important step in driving successful change.

There're many barriers to change, but undoubtedly, the largest of them all is people. One can get a new software, develop new procedures, and prepare the most perfect system, but it will just not stand if it fails bringing people along.