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By Edward D. Hess,
Adjunct Professor of Organization and Management, and
Executive Director - Center for Entrepreneurship and Corporate Growth,
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

edward_hess@bus.emory.edu

Over the past year, I have received many emails from readers and I truly appreciate your comments and feedback. This column arises out of questions I am frequently asked at speaking engagements, seminars, or by my students. I hope you find them thought provoking, and if not that, at least interesting.
 

1. Three Best Business Analytical Tools

The "must knows" for every businessperson:

1. Discovery Driven Planning by McGrath & McMillan;
2. Michael Porter's 5 Forces Analysis; and
3. Discounted Cash Flow Analysis.

2. Three Fundamental "Laws" of Business

1. Law of Supply & Demand;
2. The "S" Curve applies to everything; and
3. Know when to fold and know when to hold.

3. Three Surprising Conclusions

1. Intellect is not a good predictor of making money;
2. People skills are vastly underrated; and
3. Most entrepreneurial ventures fail, but there are few poor entrepreneurs.

4. Three Common Misconceptions

1. All growth is good;
2. IPOs are the best exit; and
3. Money buys loyalty.

5. Two Key Things Most B-Schools Don't Teach You

1. Execution Skills; and
2. Leadership Skills.

6. Two Key Things B-Schools Can't Teach You

1. Judgment; and
2. Intellectual fortitude

7. Two Reasons Successful Businesses Die Young

1. Arrogance; and
2. Inability to scale.

8. Three Best Business Reads for 2003

1. Why Smart Executives Fail;
2. The Smartest Guys In The Room; and
3. Primal Leadership.

9. The Most Underrated Management Training

The U.S. Army.

 

10. Two Unanswered Questions

1. Why do smart business people pay large sums of money to consultants who have never operated a business?
2. If the majority of IPOs, mergers and spin-offs do not create long-term value, why do companies continue to do them?

11. Three Bad Business Clichés

1. Win-Win situations
2. Synergies; and
3. Balance of work and family life.

12. Three Best Investments You Can Make

1. Taking care of your employees;
2. Hiring people smarter than you; and
3. Mentors.

13. Two Most Forgotten Principles

1. Stick to your knitting;
2. ?employees ? customers $$$

14. Underrated Business Knowledge

1. Process Engineering; and
2. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

15. Two Most Disappointing Results of The Recent Financial Scandals

1. The failure of Congress and regulators to deal with the underlying structural causes; and
2. The failure of good companies to take a stand as role models for doing business the right way.

16. Two Most Interesting Trends

1. The commodization and globalization of intellect; and
2. The dominance of low price as maybe the only meaningful long-term differentiator.

 
 

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