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Speaking
If you want provocative
perspectives and deep business insight for your next business
gathering, we should
talk.

Delivering
the keynote presentation at the Microsoft CEO Summit 2003
Your participants are
becoming more demanding - their time is in ever shorter supply and they
want a tangible return on their attention. I speak on a broad range of
topics regarding the interplay between business strategy and information
technology, helping executives to understand how to create more business
value.
Principles
Businesses need creative
new approaches to generate more value with fewer resources - cash,
assets and talent. This is the broad theme underlying all my speaking
topics. As competitive pressures intensify, management must focus on some
basic principles:
- Anticipate threats, but shape opportunities
- Work two time horizons simultaneously - 10 years and 6-12 months -
and don't spend a lot of time worrying about the years in between
- Move incrementally with explicit and aggressive
performance milestones at short intervals - avoid "big bang"
initiatives with long lead-times
- Reduce costs relentlessly, especially at the edge of the
enterprise where connections are proliferating with business partners
- Couple focus with flexibility - placing many small bets dilutes
impact, instead of magnifying impact
- Unbundle the enterprise to gain more focus - concentrate
on the 20% of the assets (products, customer relationships, business
processes, people) that generate 80% of the economic value
- Design loosely coupled business processes and organizations
to create more flexibility and enhance innovation
- Use economic incentives and trust-based relationships
to access and mobilize third party resources - this is ultimately the
key to deliver more value with fewer resources
- Develop creative
marketing approaches to increase return on attention for customers
- Debottleneck the organization to facilitate even more rapid
movement towards long-term goals
- Focus on a few operational metrics to measure success
contact
me
Sample
Topics
These are some examples of the topics that I can address either in presentations
to business gatherings or in seminars for management teams:
Back
to Strategy - Has Anything Changed?
In the peak of the dot com bubble, business strategy seemed a quaint relic
from the past. Business strategy is now clearly back with a vengeance.
The real question is: does business strategy have to adapt to changing
needs?
I focus on underlying economic forces and maintain that a different
approach to strategy is required in times of high uncertainty. Drawing
on examples from a variety of industries, I show where traditional strategic
principles still apply and where they need to change. Most importantly,
I lay out a basic approach to strategy that promises to improve both near-term
economic performance and long-term advantage.contact me
Harnessing
the Real Economic Value of Offshoring
Companies are becoming increasingly intrigued with the potential of offshoring.
They are also rightly concerned about strategic and executional risks
- everything from protection of intellectual property to loss of control
over key operations. Most companies view offshoring choices much too narrowly.
As a result, they create even more risk and forego significant potential
rewards. With the right approach, offshoring can become a significant
operational and strategic weapon, with potential for significant profits.
The stakes are high and the game is picking up speed - are you playing
to win? contact me
Pursuing
a New Innovation Agenda
Companies are beginning to realize that cost-cutting delivers diminishing
returns. Executives are reassessing their innovation needs. Traditional
forms of innovation - product innovation and managerial innovation are
necessary but not sufficient. Growing competitive pressures require a
more aggressive institutional innovation across multiple levels of business
activity. In the process, the boundaries and even the role of the firm
will be redefined. Rather than attempting "big bang" transformations,
executives will be far more successful pursuing a pragmatic approach,
focusing on delivering tangible operational performance improvement in
short-term waves of initiatives. contact me
Tackling
the Shadow Economy of the Enterprise
Look around any large enterprise today and take a hard look at where operating
expense and assets concentrate. Two areas emerge: local workgroups scrambling
to address exceptions in our internal processes and in processes encompassing
our business partners. These activities operate in the shadow because
we prefer to believe that our expensive systems have automated, or at
least standardized, the processes that run our business. By focusing on
how to make the people in this shadow economy more productive, we can
unleash significant new economic value. This may in fact be the fertile
field where the next wave of learning, business innovation and performance
improvement will take shape. contact me
Does
IT Matter?
A backlash
against IT is sweeping through executive boardrooms, influenced in part by a provocative
article entitled IT Doesnt Matter in Harvard Business Review.
Executives are much more skeptical than they were in the late 1990s
about the power of IT to generate meaningful strategic advantage or even
acceptable return on investment. They acknowledge that it has become a
necessary cost of doing business, but their objective is to minimize spending
in this area as much as possible.
I address this skepticism head on and maintain that continuing
innovations in IT are actually expanding, rather than diminishing, the
potential for strategic differentiation. I pinpoint where this potential
resides today and outline what companies need to do in order to realize
this potential and generate superior financial returns.contact me
The
Changing Role of Outsourcing
Outsourcing has evolved significantly over the past several decades. Originally
viewed as a way to reduce costs and leverage assets, outsourcing is now
becoming a catalyst for specialization and competitive differentiation.
As this evolution continues, the techniques required to manage outsourcing
relationships are changing. Outsourcing also poses fundamental strategic
choices. Few companies are prepared to exploit the capabilities available
through outsourcing. This presentation highlights both the potential pitfalls
and the opportunities created by outsourcing. contact me
Cutting
Costs: Turning a Necessity into an Opportunity
All businesses are being forced to cut operating costs just to stay in
business. Most companies understandably approach this task with dread
and a defensive mindset. The result? Cost reductions occur in painful
increments, with each slice presented as the last, only to lead to the
next slice. I make the case that management should approach cost reduction
as an opportunity to fundamentally rethink the business, rather than
trying to do the same thing with fewer resources. Instead of simply shrinking
the business, management should be searching for ways to save money in
the near-term while positioning the company for aggressive growth. I outline
a practical game plan for proceeding, drawing on lessons learned
from other companies.contact me
Leveraging
Assets: How to Do More with Less
Most companies today are taking a sharp look at all operating expenses
in an effort to increase efficiency and financial returns. Asset investment
tends to get far less attention, except to clean up excess inventories
and squeeze receivables. I show how new generations of technology
can radically reduce asset investments while at the same time delivering
increasing value to the customer. Exploiting the potential of this
technology requires a very different management mindset, but can lead
to much higher near-term profitability and create a platform for long-term
growth.
contact me
Pragmatic
Technology Strategies - Harnessing the Power of New IT Architectures
Businesses are just beginning to understand the economic potential of
a fundamental new technology architecture, enabled by Web services.
I explore both the long-term economic potential of Web services
technology and the pragmatic adoption approaches that can help
businesses get near-term cost savings while managing risk. Using examples
of leading enterprises that have become early adopters of Web services
technology, I present specific principles management can apply to navigate
safely through the adoption process.contact me
Focus
on Fundamentals, not Fads - The Key to Managing in Uncertainty
We have never experienced a more volatile economic or competitive environment.
In times of high uncertainty, companies understandably tend to get
carried away by a dizzying array of management fads. The dot
com bubble is only the most recent example - remember the conglomerate
craze of the 1970's? To avoid distraction, management must stay focused
on the economic fundamentals shaping our business landscape. I discuss
these economic fundamentals and explore the implications for who will
make money in the future. Building upon these economic fundamentals, I
propose a set of guidelines to keep companies firmly focused on profitable
business initiatives.contact me
The
Evolving Role of Brand - Delivering More Value to the Customer
Customers wield increasing power in markets today. Rather than
abating, this trend will only become more pronounced over time. To survive
in these markets, companies will need to offer a new kind of brand
promise. This brand promise creates an opportunity to build a more
lasting relationship with customers and generate more value both for the
customer and for the business. At the same time, it requires wrenching
changes for companies, including a much higher degree of collaboration
with business partners. I present a compelling rationale for a new brand
promise, discuss the changes required to deliver the new promise and describe
the approach companies can take to implement these changes. Using examples
from both consumer and business markets, I demonstrate the power of the
new brand promise and the rewards it can generate.contact me
Collaborative
Business Processes - Start Simple and Stay Profitable
Enterprises need to coordinate business processes across multiple companies
in order to become even more efficient. A very different management
approach will be required to coordinate business processes spanning multiple
companies versus business processes that reside within a single enterprise.
I focus on the key differences in management approach, using examples
from companies that are leading the way in managing collaborative business
processes. I demonstrate that these changes cannot be implemented overnight,
but instead must be carefully staged to reduce business risk and increase
the potential for substantial economic returns. contact
me
Speaking
Engagement Examples
World Economic Forum
Davos Annual Meeting - 1997-2003 and 2006 - Speaker and Panelist IT/Telecoms
Industry Partner Meeting - 2005 - Speaker
PC Forum
North America - 1997 - Panelist
Europe - 1997 - Panelist
North America - 2002 Panelist
North America - 2003 Panelist
North America - 2005 - Speaker
American Banking Association - 1999 - Speaker
AMR Research
- Annual Executive Conference - 2004 - Speaker
Aspen Institute
Roundtable on
Information Technology - 2001 - Session Leader Roundtable on Information
Technology - 2004 - Session Leader Roundtable on Information Technology
- 2005 - Session Leader
Association of National
Advertisers
- 1999 - Speaker
Banking Administration
Institute
- 2000 Speaker
BEA CIO Advisory Forum - 2003 Speaker
BMC Board Of Advisors - 2002 Speaker
Build Brand Value - 2000 CEO Forum - 2000 Speaker
Business 2.0 Rules and Tools Conference - 2001
Speaker
Business Process Sourcing Conference
- 2005 - Speaker
Comdex 2001 Technology
Summit - 2001
- Speaker
Churchill Club
- 2004 - Panelist
Clinical Trials
Congress - 2006 - Speaker
Consulting Summit
- 2005 - Speaker
Crimson - Investor
Conference - 2004 - Speaker
Dell - IT Leadership
Conference - 2004 - Speaker
Direct Marketing
Association
- 1999 - Speaker
Fortune Innovation
Forum - 2005 - Panelist
Grocery Manufacturers
of America
- 1999 - Speaker
Harvard Business
School
Burning Questions - 2000 and 2002 - Panelist
Innovative Leadership Forum - 2002 Panelist
Bottom Line Technology - 2002 - Speaker
Hewlett Packard
Corporate Leaders Forum - 2004 - Speaker
Asia Pacific Manufacturing Symposium - 2004 - Speaker
Innovation
Summit [AlwaysOn]
2003 Panel Moderator
Informatica
- International User Conference - 2004 - Speaker
Infosys - Client
Executive Summit - 2005 - Speaker
Knowledge Facilitation
Conference - 2005 - Speaker
McKinsey -
Global Partners Conference - 2005 - Speaker
Microsoft
Executive Circle Forum 2002 and 2003 Speaker
CEO Summit -
2003 - Speaker
CEO Summit - 2004 - Panelist
CEO Summit - 2005 - Session Leader
VC Summit - 2005 - Speaker
Global Leaders Summit - 2003 - Panelist
Executive Circle Forum - 2002 and 2003 - Speaker
Web Services Seminar - 2003 - Speaker
Architects Council - 2003 - Speaker

with Michael
Dell at the Microsoft CEO Summit 2003
Marketing Leadership
Council -
2001 - Speaker
Marketing on the Internet - 2001 - Speaker
Marketing Science
Institute
- 2000 - Speaker
Milken Institute - Global Conference - 2001 Panelist
Norwest Venture Partners
- Forum - 2005 - Speaker
Open Network For
Commerce Exchange
- 2003 - Speaker
Personalization Summit
San Francisco - 1999 - Speaker
Boston - 2000 - Speaker
London - 2000 - Speaker
San Francisco - 2000 Speaker
Research Board - 2003 Speaker
SAP Business Forum
New York
2003 - Speaker
San Francisco - 2003 - Speaker
Scala Corporate Client Council - 2002
Speaker
Securities Industry
Association
- Technology Management Conference - 2000 Speaker
Spacenet
- Executive Summit - 2004 - Speaker
SRC Annual User and Partner Conference
- 2003 Speaker
Stanford University - Globalization
of Services Conference - 2005 - Moderator
Supernova
2003 - Panelist
2004 - Speaker
United Arab Emirates GCC E-Commerce
Conference - 2005 - Speaker
Vortex - 2004 - Panelist
Wharton
Forum on Electronic Commerce - 2000 - Speaker
Winners and Losers in the E-Commerce Shakeout - 2000 - Speaker
The Internet, E-Strategies and Virtual Communities - 2001 - Speaker
Fellows Program - 2000-2002 - Speaker
Young Presidents
Organization
1999 - Panelist
2005 - Panelist
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