First written on August 11, 2009 Revised on Friday, October 30, 2009 Leadership & Strategy - in this folder all articles are written by Madhavan Gopalachary Acquisition or Buying an existing business - In modern business management parlance, buying an existing business is known as an acquisition. After the business is bought, the process of integrating the business with that of the acquirer is known as a merger. Businesses need to grow as otherwise they will perish. There are two ways of growth: internal or organic and acquisitions Airline Mergers - The airline business is undergoing a metamorphosis and the industry seems to be in an acquisition, merger and consolidation spree with all airlines being quoted as potential targets. The airlines have brought in better customer service with more competition, but have not been able to keep their costs down and in control Model of business leadership - Dr. Andrew Grove - Dr. Grove is one of the most influential entrepreneurial leaders of the twentieth century. In leadership theory, it is well accepted that childhood experiences shape the characteristics of great leaders. Most great leaders have had a very difficult childhood. They remain fighters and survivors throughout their lives. Dr. Andy Grove is one of them Characteristics of bad leaders or bosses - My article titled 'Leadership examples from real life and history' is one of the most popular amongst various articles published in recent times. It has become a classic. I came across a number of Google Search queries for 'Bad Leaders Examples' at my site. It set me thinking and I went back 36 years of my career and evaluated my experience with both good and bad bosses Balancing size and profitability - Size is an advantage in any business. It gives you the economies of scale in a highly competitive world. It makes you a dominant force and player in any field. Size has always been an obsession with almost all well managed, well organized and ambitious companies from time immemorial. The bigger the company, bigger are the pay packet the CEO and other members of the TMT carry home The challenge, myth and role of corporate strategy - There was a time, the corporate or strategic planning function, responsible for developing the overall corporate strategy, was the most sought after in large companies. Fresh, bright and starry eyed grads of business schools want to become business strategists and shape the destinies of corporations all over the world. Today, everybody wants to join management consultancy or financial services or investment banks or IT services and become top honchos Are conglomerates really dead ? - Before we go further, let us understand what the term 'Conglomerate' means. A Product Mix of a business is the total variety of products offered for sale by it. Some offer a homogeneous range and some offer a totally varied basket, different and unrelated from each other, meeting the needs of diverse markets. Such a company offering a diversified range of products under a single umbrella is called a conglomerate Model of Business leadership - (Late) Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani  - Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani's life is a typical rag to riches story you normally come across in fairy tales. If he had been born in USA , he would have been the richest man in the world, because he always thought big and had global outlook in a time when India was an inward looking restricted economy. He did not have lineage, money and education. At that time, it was a probable impossibility to succeed in business with such a background Difference between Leadership and Management - Most raise the question 'What is leadership and what is the difference between leadership and management? -- Both have distinct meanings. One simple but rather incorrect and loose definition is Leaders lead people, whereas Managers manage tasks Model of Business Leadership - Mr. Donald Peterson - This profiles a great working leader of Ford Motor Company. Such leaders are required in future Goals and Goal Setting - This article was written for an internal presentation to the TMT of a client. It has become an all time classic and is one of the most popular articles Guerilla strategy in Marketing - It is used against a larger, stronger and well entrenched opponent who cannot be attacked directly without great losses. Surprise, Speed and Stealth are essential prerequisites of a guerilla attack, just like in flanking. It is also industry specific If Ford can do it why can’t GM and Chrysler do it? - I have often been accused of being biased in favor of Ford. After reading the above, people will realize why I have a soft corner for Ford and its managers Model of Business Leadership Dr Jack Welch - Dr. Welch was a mover and shaker. He made GE one of the top, most admired and valuable companies and it occupies an exalted position in the business world. Whatever the academics, critics, researchers and management scholars may say, they can't deny that his consistent results over four decades speak for themselves. Dr. Welch has proved that a great crisis manager can also be a great growth manager Model of Business Leadership - (Late) Sir John Harvey Jones - formerly of ICI, UK - In 'Anglo Culture' the results are important, not the means of achieving it. Sir John Harvey Jones is an Englishman and was working for a typically 'Anglo' culture firm like ICI. This is where Sir John Harvey Jones' greatness lies Leadership examples from real life - This article highlights some of the leadership qualities and traits of great leaders from history. This is an all-time classic and one of the most popular articles Mr. Lee Iacocca - The Transformational Leader - Business management is all about leadership. Management scholars like Tichy, Devanna, Westley, Mintzberg and James McGregor Burns studied various leaders and have written volumes on the subject. It was Burns who coined the term "Transformational Leader". Amongst all modern business leaders, Mr. Lee Iacocca epitomizes transformational leadership Secrets of successful leadership - Quick implementation of decisions taken - Very often people ask the secrets of successful leadership. There is enough literature available on the subject. However, successful people in all fields have one common quality across the board which is the ability to implement the decisions taken, quickly The Stalemate at Chrysler Continues - By applying the principles of natural justice, I request the US Government to force the banks that have availed TARP funds to write off (Write down in USA ) the debt. The workers and retirees must make sacrifices of their own The Principle of Strategic Direction - Leaders of successful companies follow the principle of strategic direction. Effective leaders and strategists start with their highest goals and then choose strategies carefully. Tacticians may start with actions, spending resources on efforts that do not help reach goals. A tactical approach generally leads to waste, inefficiency and poor image (Late) Mr. Robert Townsend - Model of Business Leadership - After leaving Avis, he became senior partner of Congressional Monitor (1969). He later became a management writer. One of the best ways of evaluating and judging people, if you can't meet them, is by studying their writings. I have tried my best to study his leadership pattern based on his writings in the absence of any specific information Anatomy of a Crisis - Vioxx Case - The USA based pharmaceutical giant Merck, introduced the anti arthritis drug 'Vioxx' during early part of 1999. It is a prescriptive drug. Initially, a few cases of deaths by heart attacks were noticed and some doctors and medical scientists suspected it may be due to Vioxx. Unfortunately, like many other crisis's, it was not taken seriously for reasons not known Vision Statement - This clears the confusion about various statements What is Strategy? - We come across this word "Strategy" everyday in our daily life. You have corporate strategy, business strategy, defense strategy, marketing strategy, product strategy and what have you. Newspapers mention of strategic options/initiatives for anything and everything and it becomes quite confusing for ordinary mortals Three most powerful women leaders the world has ever seen – Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meier - The entire above woman wore pants and most of the males around them were either nervous wrecks or bumbling idiots. They were all normal women with families and grown up children. None of them had extraordinary education or formal training. They achieved their greatness by sheer hard work, discipline and focus. They were self-driven, combative, aggressive, and assertive and at the same time retained their femininity, grace and charm. We all have a lesson to be learnt. Every one of us can become a good leader, if not a great one, but we must have vision, discipline and focus, backed by hard work The views, opinions and interpretations are personal. Sponsorship does not mean that the sponsors endorse them. © Copyright, Oct-09 . MMG Communications. 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