In the early 1980s, Royal Dutch/ Shell’s planning group uncovered some startling statistics: one-third of the companies listed in the Fortune 500 in 1970 had…

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” wrote…

Last month, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed what most businesses have known for some time—the United States economy is in a recession. But…

Most of us are familiar with the story of Sir Isaac Newton sitting underneath an apple tree and “discovering” the law of gravity when he…

Imagine a new manager at a beef packaging plant who knows nothing about the birthing process of calves. On the first day his workers show…

New England fishermen are in trouble, victims of a “get-it-while-you-can mentality” that could exhaust fish stocks beyond recovery and threaten the existence of one of…

An executive of a large automotive company tells the story of two engineers who were arguing about the correct angle of an engine mount. The…

We are in the midst of dramatic changes that are redefining and reshaping our world. Western Europe is consolidating into one common economic market. Eastern…

If accountants (“those bean-counters”) are so dumb and we (“who really know this business”) are so smart, why do they run our companies? We complain…

Imagine you have two new direct reports, Stan and Frank. Both seem equally qualified — a degree from a good school, a couple years of…