News of Interest: 5th Annual WPO Chicago Summit Wins Gold Medal For Quality

Our 5th Annual WPO Chicago Summit and No-Host Dinner on August 14th was a huge success thanks to our two key sponsors, Harris and IBM, who generously underwrote our program content and continue to bring us greater insights and connections.

Summit speakers Susan Hed from IBM, Jack Stack from SRC Holdings Corporation and Holly Hunt from HOLLY HUNT, demonstrated how to become an influential leader, inspire employees to think and act like CEOs, and continue to build a business up to a thriving $120 million enterprise.

As we said in our program, everyday we face business challenges head-on and inspire others with a sense of hope and purpose. But on August 14th we asked that all attendees (largest turnout ever) kick back, relax, get to know someone they had never met before and brainstorm about how to use the knowledge they gained to develop themselves, their business, their community, and their world tomorrow. We are proud to say that everyone walked away renewed, refreshed and empowered, because they realize the best is yet to come.

Thank you all for attending. We value your membership and sponsorship. Without it, the Women Presidents’ Organization would not be where it is today.

And special thanks to our national sponsors who help to make the WPO program possible.

See you August 13, 2009 at our 6th Annual WPO Chicago Summit and No Host Dinner!

Article of Interest: In Search of Growth Leaders

How do you find managers who can turbocharge organic growth -- that is, internally generated growth -- for your company? How do you nurture them?

That's the trick and this article, "In Search of Growth Leaders," addresses how to put entrepreneurial skills to work in your company to achieve breakout results.

Have you experienced a similar situation? We'd welcome a chance to hear from you. Please share your ideas to ldelaney(at)globetrade(dot)com and we will blog about your advice here so everyone benefits.

Article of Interest: Hiring a CEO From the Outside Is More Expensive

A new study by Equilar Inc. found that external hires for a CEO position recruited from outside a company earn more in their first year than those promoted from within.

The study looked at CEOs hired during fiscal years ended between April 30, 2007, and March 31, 2008. Its results can be found here. Outside hires tend to be paid more to offset the risks and expenses of leaving one company for another, including lost perks and equity.

Failing to plan for leader succession can be costly all around.

Articles of Interest: Using Innovation To Transform Your Business

Two great articles about small business innovation were featured recently in The Wall Street Journal and we wanted to make sure you saw them:

Tapping the Creativity of Downtime

Productive Brainstorms Take The Right Mix of Elements

If you have a story to share relative to how you use innovation to speed ahead of the curve with your business and are close to a million in annual revenue, we'll take it.

Send us an email (ldelaneyatglobetrade.com) describing what you did and how it has made a difference transforming your business. We'll feature you on this blog as a soon-to-be WPO Chicago member!

News of Interest: Eved Services Wins Stevie Award

Eved Services won a Stevie Award for Best Overall Company under 100 employees in The 2008 American Business Awards.

In accepting the Stevie, WPO Chicago member Talia Mashiach (pictured at microphone) said, "This is for the entire Eved team in Chicago who has worked so hard to make Eved Services the #1 Event Services company.”

Stevie Awards were presented in over 40 categories including Best Overall Company, Best Executive, and Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program. More than 2,600 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration.

This award means an incredible amount to Eved Services. At only four years old, the company has grown 1200% and continues to redefine the event space with new technology and exceptional service quality.

Videoclips of the award presentations are available online here (look for Eved Services under 8 p.m. ceremony -- in order of presentation).

We congratulate Talia and are extremely proud of her!

Article of Interest: Would You Hire Your Husband?

Are you comfortable running your own show and having your "life partner" work for you?

If you are, then you don't need to go any further. If you are not or are seriously considering it, read this interesting article to see if you have what it takes to delineate respective roles that play to each others' strengths and keep a relationship happy over the long haul.

Event of Interest: 5th Annual WPO Chicago Summit and No-Host Dinner

Thursday, August 14, 2008
11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

IBM Innovation Center
71 South Wacker Drive, 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606

Sponsored By:








We are in the final stages of planning our Summit -- sponsored by Harris N.A. and IBM -- and are proud to announce our lineup of keynote speakers:

Jack Stack (generously underwritten by Harris N.A.): Jack Stack will talk about what it really takes to build a business of business people by harnessing the most powerful management tool a company has.

He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SRC Holdings Corporation, an award-winning, employee-owned organization based in Springfield, Missouri. Under Jack’s stewardship, SRC has experienced phenomenal growth, spawning more than 40 new business ventures—and creating hundreds of new jobs—in only 22 years. Today SRC employs 1,200 people and generates annual revenue of $230 million.

Jack is the co-author of the best-selling business books The Great Game of Business (Doubleday/Currency, 1992) and A Stake in the Outcome (Doubleday/Currency, 2002). As a regular columnist for Inc. magazine, he writes about the business world, entrepreneurship, authentic leadership, employee ownership, and what it takes to succeed in today’s ever-changing marketplace.

Susan Hed, VP General Business, Oracle Alliance, IBM Corporation: Sue Hed will speak to us about the influence of leadership.

She is currently Vice President, General Business, Global Oracle Alliance. She is responsible for strategic growth of IBM Hardware, Software and Services business associated with Oracle’s application software in General Business. In this role she works closely with our Oracle and IBM Business partners to deliver best of breed solutions to midsize clients.

Sue brings more than twenty years of global leadership expertise in alliances and software solution sales to her current position. Prior to this position she was VP Global ISV Solution Sales in NE EMEA, responsible sales with strategic global ISV partners and IBM technology and services. She joined IBM in 1998, with prior sales experience in business consulting services with a specialization in CRM.

Holly Hunt: Inspiring design entrepreneur Holly Hunt will talk about what it takes to build a successful enterprise.

Holly runs an upscale design house that makes and markets home and office furnishings, fabrics, and lighting fixtures. The company has showrooms in Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. It also shows its products in other selected furniture stores.

Holly's introduction of French designer, Christian Liaigre, helped to secure the company's position in the furniture-with-flair niche. Other showcased furniture designers include Alison Berger, John Hutton, and Studio H. Holly Hunt founded the design firm as a single store in 1984.

Learn more about her company here.

We have three (3) WPO Chicago members sponsoring our reception immediately following our program and dinner is pre-arranged too.

This is a for-members-only event but it is not too late to join provided you pre-qualify and we have space in a chapter. Contact Laurel Delaney at the email address shown on our blog (right sidebar) or call 773-381-1700 for further information.

Special thanks to Harris N.A. and IBM for helping us make this year's event the best ever.

We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you soon!

P.S. WPO Chicago private wiki members register here.

News of Interest: Shelly Sun Is Living Her Dream

Find out how WPO Chicago member Shelly Sun (pictured), President, BrightStar Healthcare is living and doing her dream here. Be inspired to make a difference.

Congratulations Shelly for such great work and media coverage. We are very proud of you!

News of Interest: Angelika Coghlan Named NAWBO Chicago President

WPO Chicago suburban member Angelika Coghlan, President (pictured), Catwalk Consulting, takes home the additional title of President, NAWBO Chicago.

We wish her continued success in her new role and are very proud of her.

News of Interest: Michelle Hayward Seals S.H.E. Deal

Congratulations to WPO Chicago member Michelle Hayward, President of Bluedog Design (pictured with flowers from her WPO Chicago sisters), for being awarded 2008 Business of the Year through the ATHENA Power Link program at the S.H.E. reception last night.

We are very proud of Michelle who has worked hard to earn this wonderful achievement and wish her continued success growing Bluedog Design.

Learn more about ATHENA Power Link, here.

Note: The executives pictured (excluding Jasmine and Cheryl) all served on Michelle's award winning panel (L-R): Jasmine Moore, Program Director for CEC and manager of the ATHENA Power Link program, Mary Lou Wattman of Brightsocks, Michelle Hayward of Bluedog Design (award winner), David Houle of David Houle & Associates, Karen Hale of National City Bank, Dara Griffith of RSM McGladrey (look closely behind Scott), Scott Issen of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, Bess Gallanis of Bess Gallanis, Inc. and off to the right in the back is guest Cheryl Cryer, Marketing Services Director for RSM McGladrey who manages our WPO chapter meetings in the suburbs. Not shown is Susan Sentell of The Sentell Group.

Event of Interest: S.H.E. Reception 6/5

As a proud partner, join us Thursday, June 5, at the CEC as we celebrate the value that business advisors provide to entrepreneurs. The S.H.E. Reception connects successful women business owners with seasoned entrepreneurs and professionals. Both men and women are encouraged to attend.

Register today and find out who the 2008 Business of the Year and Advisory Panel of the Year awards go to.

Learn more about ATHENA Power Link, here.

See you there!

News of Interest: WPO Boston Conference Update

What a great post about our conference here. Many thanks to Athena Schindelheim at Inc.com's blog for covering our event so meticulously!

News of Interest: Enter 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Award

The UPS Store and Entrepreneur announced Entrepreneur magazine's 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year award. There are two awards: one for an emerging business (less than five years in business with fewer that five employees) and one for an established business owner. Candidates will be judged based on the positive impact they've had on their industries, customers, employees and communities.

Winners will be featured in Entrepreneur magazine and honored at a luncheon in Long Beach, CA, in December 2008.

For more information and to enter (deadline is 6/30/08) go here.

News of Interest: Next Level Learning

More often than not during WPO chapter sessions members claim when running their businesses that they just need to get out of their own way to move the company ahead.

Is that you, too? If it is, you might find the new initiatives offered by the Women's Entrepreneurship Institute (WEI) and the New York Times Knowledge Network of value.

For more information, read the press release here.

Article of Interest: New Breed of Business Gurus Rises

On May 6th, we sent out the following message privately to all WPO Chicago members:

Many of you participated in the WPO annual conference in Chicago 2006 when we had Gary Hamel as our keynote speaker. According to yesterday's WSJ article he continues to be ranked No. 1 as an author, consultant and key influential business thinker.

And for those who had the opportunity to attend this year's conference in Boston with Malcolm Gladwell, he's featured as No. 4 on the list.

The question becomes and the article points this out ... where are the women?

Afterwards, I followed up with the author of the article, Erin White, and mentioned how I had the great privilege of listening to Gary Hamel, Jim Collins and Malcolm Gladwell at WPO annual conferences over the past three years and that I am glad she asked the question, where are the women? I ended my message with "please remember my name" for perhaps some day I might be a part of the list (gutsy, I know).

I think we should all strive to make the A-list of business gurus, don't you?

This morning (5/10), I received an email from the top publicist at Babson College asking me if I care to comment on a professor's post regarding the same article.

Anyone else care to weigh in?

P.S. Rosabeth M. Kanter (pictured) is the only woman who made the list in 2003.

NOTE: Added 5/19/08:
The Dearth of Female "Management Gurus"

News of Interest: WPO Boston Conference Update

More, more, more on our fabulous Boston conference.

Pictured is Marc Lautenbach, General Manager of the Americas, IBM, addressing attendees in the America Ballroom at the Westin Copley Place on the changing nature of innovation for a globalized economy. He sees new technologies leading to the connectedness of everything.

My notes from one of his presentation slides indicates:

"Global integration is the new playing field ... and innovation is the way you win the game."

News of Interest: WPO Boston Conference Update

Speaker, blogger, author and entrepreneur-extraordinaire Marilynn Mobley, Senior Vice President, Strategic Counsel at Edelman, considered the absolute best public relations firm on the face of the earth, gave a knock'm dead presentation at our conference on how to generate great ideas that drive innovation.

Marilynn continues to achieve standing-room only audiences (this is her third talk for WPO) because she has a way of captivating the audience with her knowledge and presentation skills. People arrive early to ensure they get in and they never seem to get enough of her despite the fact she's usually on for a good hour or two. Even I return to hear her presentations not once but twice (hence the very poor photo I took of her) because I know I will always miss a golden nugget of wisdom from her.

She really WOW'd us. Here's a post from Kristin Chessman at WomenEntrepreneur.com telling all about Marilynn's talk (scan to: Innovative Ideas to Reach Your Audience) and take a glimpse at some of the marvelous things Marilynn had to say (much nicer picture of her here I might add) about her WPO experience.

And rest assure that I am going to do everything in my power to see that Marilynn gets a main stage act at our 2009 conference in San Diego April 23-25th so everyone can be comfortably seated and experience her brilliance. She's worth it.

News of Interest: WPO Boston Conference Update

Were it not for our WPO founder, Dr. Marsha Firestone (pictured), none of this would be made possible.

Our thanks to Marsha and her team for putting on an absolutely amazing conference.

Read about the chat WomenEntrepreneur.com blogger Kristen Chessman had with Marsha under the title of Chatting With Marsha Firestone.

Stay tuned ... more still coming on our WPO conference in Boston!

News of Interest: WPO Boston Conference Update

We have returned from an exhilarating conference and will continue to blog about it.

Ms. Sung-Joo Kim (pictured), Chairperson & CEO, Sungjoo Group/MCM Group (provider of our fashionable conference bag), gave a very inspiring keynote on "Women's Strengths: 21st Century Competitiveness."

Her success is largely attributed to her ability to innovate -- as a designer, as a businesswoman, and as the re-inventor of world-renowned brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel and Marks & Spencer.

We learned her secrets on how to think and innovate in the midst of our ever-changing and highly competitive global marketplace in order to build a successful empire.

News of Interest: WPO Boston Conference Update

Yesterday was magnificent listening to Malcolm Gladwell's presentation on, "Learning From Picasso and Cezanne: Ways of Understanding Creativity," covering two great creative geniuses who may seem similar but are really quite different in terms of how long it took them (approach) to become great masters of work.

Gladwell described conceptual innovators as individuals with one BIG, bold revolutionary idea, offering a brand new way of doing something and who are more than capable of executing on it. These innovators, as Gladwell pointed out, "know how to express something easily. BOOM! They are a success."

What a wonderful presentation -- giving us much to think about in terms of how we grow our businesses.

Read more about our conference here.

News of Interest: In Boston Attending WPO Conference!

Our conference is set to begin shortly with our founder, Dr. Marsha Firestone, giving opening remarks and keynote speaker Malcolm Gladwell (pictured) is up first to address a crowd that is expected to be more than 600 members, sponsors, supporters and facilitators of the Women Presidents' Organization.

Will be reporting more, later. Stay tuned. And check out WomenEntrepreneur.com who is reporting (blogging) live about our conference.

News of Interest: Innovate in '08 (Boston)!

We are getting ready to head to Boston to take in all our WPO conference has to offer. If time permits, I will try to blog about what's happening. After all, with so many great keynote speakers -- from Malcolm Gladwell to Sung-Joo Kim to Marc Lautenbach -- there will be much to learn and talk about.

Here's what one Chicago member said about last year's annual conference:

"The WPO Conference provides a unique combination of inspiration and revelation. I have been truly inspired by the various journeys to success of the membership, and the thought-provoking conversations reveal new and innovative ideas and strategies to implement in my business."

I totally agree.

Until then, enjoy Spring -- a long time coming -- in Chicago. Back with you soon from Boston!

News of Interest: Innovate in '08 (Part II & III)

We wish to share more information about our annual conference in Boston April 23-26. Visit here (Part II) and here (Part III).

See you there!

News of Interest: Innovate in '08

Our annual conference held in Boston this year is just around the corner: April 23-26. Have you signed up yet? If not, don't wait a second longer.

Read more about it at our WPO headquarter office blog.

Hope to see you there!

News of Interest: Ann Sachs Takes Home the Coveted Award!

Our very own Ann Sachs (pictured), President & CEO, Sachs Morgan Studio, Theatre Design Specialists, earns the distinction of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. Each year, the Signature Awards (photos available for viewing here) recognizes women who best exemplify the commitment, determination and endurance that it takes to create a successful, long-term business.

Congratulations to Ann who is a WPO NY chapter member and facilitator of two WPO Chapters in NYC! We are very proud of her. She is an inspiration and role model for us all.

Article of Interest: Flowers, via Social Work

This is a wonderfully inspiring entrepreneurial story by Jim McCann, founder of 1-800-Flowers.com, as told to Patricia R. Olsen, at The New York Times (3/16/08). There are many important lessons in it for all of us who run a business. Why just look at how observant (sensitive) Jim was when he remembered this about his grandmother:

MY father was a painting contractor who ran the business out of my grandmother’s house. His father died when Dad was 19, and my grandmother had to continue the business. For a long time she made believe that my father was running it, but we all knew it was she, in the background.

So many twists and turns his career took but as he says in the end:

If you look at highly successful people, they make the same number of mistakes as others, but they recover quickly. They don’t sit around moaning about what they’ve done wrong.

Now isn't that the truth? Read the entire article here.

News of Interest: Sandye Lerner Honored

WPO Chicago downtown I chapter member Sandye Lerner, President of Comprehensive Therapeutics, is inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame by the University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Congratulations to Sandye (pictured). We are very proud of her and wish the best for continued success.

Read more about it here.

Article of Interest: Traits for Top Women Entrepreneurs

In 2007, the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) celebrated ten years of helping women presidents of multimillion dollar companies achieve even greater success. Over the course of those ten years, President and founder Dr. Marsha Firestone learned a lot about fast-growth businesses and has had first-hand exposure to their leaders.

In this article, "Traits of Top Women Entrepreneurs," she highlights the characteristics and trends of accomplished women entrepreneurs.

Article of Interest: Moving to a Small Company Can Lead to Big Rewards

To many, small is the new big (and beautiful!). Are you wooing top-notch corporate executives to work at your growing business? If not, you should be. With the U.S. economy faltering a bit, a growing number of seasoned workers are finding themselves moving from large companies toward smaller professional firms.

Find out what you should be doing (or saying) to attract the best-of-the-best to your company.

Read more here.

News of Interest: WPO Chicago Member Honored by NWE

We felt privileged to attend the inspiring celebration for WPO Chicago downtown II chapter member Mary Bahr on her being honored by the Network of Women Entrepreneurs (NWE) at their 15th Annual Entrepreneurial Achievement Awards Breakfast February 22nd.

The lovely photo captures the essence of the moment. (L-R: Miriam Sturm, Musician-Violin Player, Composer and Rock Star with The John Mellencamp Band, Mary Bahr, President and Creative Director, MAB Advertising Inc., Diane Middlebrooks, Vice President & Women's Initiative Coordinator, Itasca Bank & Trust Co. and Hedy Ratner, Founder and Co-President of the Women's Business Development (WBDC).

And we agree with what the NWE said in their brochure about Mary:

... an intelligent, giving and hands-on leadership style.

Congratulations Mary. We are very proud of you!

Article of Interest: More Firms Create Own Social Networks

Facebook and MySpace have made social networking famous -- but do you need to be a social-networking company to make use of social networks? A growing number of companies don't think so, and are beginning to create their own. What's their appeal and how will it help grow your business? Find out here.

News of Interest: 22 WPO Members Named Enterprising Women of the Year

Enterprising Women Magazine has announced the 2008 Women of the Year award winners. Out of the 76 winners, 22 of them are members of the WPO -- and two are from Chicago. We are so proud!

See who won here.

Blog Post of Interest: Analysis of a Superbowl Ad Rating Experiment Using Twitter

There has been a tremendous amount of chatter about social media and social networking over the past couple of months. Both mediums bring content and information sharing from a passive to an active experience for everyone from a President (like you) to an individual who makes coffee at your local Starbucks. Think Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter and Kaneva.

At any given moment, someone you know is someone you really don't know in the social Internet world (for example, they may be an Avatar on Second Life under a name you don't recognize). We are empowered by the way in which information can be and is being disseminated to one another anywhere at anytime and at a lightening speed.

So what's this have to do with an analysis of a Superbowl ad rating experiment using Twitter? Everything. After you read this fascinating post from Forrester Research, you might think twice about ignoring the social Internet revolution that's taking place as I write this. The Forrester post begins like this:

Josh Bernoff and I conducted an interesting experiment. I (Jeremiah) encouraged the twitter community (social media, marketing, advertising mavens) to join in on providing real-time ratings about ads during the superbowl.

The experiment was a huge success. They had over 2000 responses from over 70 people over a 4 hour period.

They then shift over to what's going on with Super Tuesday (2/5/08) and report this:

Coincidently, today is Super Tuesday where many Americans will be voting, and I see that Google and Twitter are working together to create a map mashup (read what a mashup is here) to show real-time voices of which user is voting for who.

Expect this trend of real-time rating through social media to continue, and by this time next year, I hope to work with a sophisticated group who can take our little experiment to the next level.

We encourage you to use these platforms as a way to grow your business, build meaningful user-generated content, interaction and long-lasting value for your clients, vendors, constituents, partners, visitors and shareholders. And if you are already, please let us know what you are doing and how you are doing it. We'd welcome a chance to share your success stories with the world.

News of Interest: New Rule Hurts Not Helps Women-Owned Businesses

The Women Presidents' Organization headquarter office in New York has responded against the enactment of the new proposed rule from the Small Business Administration that limits contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses. Though there are 7.7 million businesses that are 51% owned and controlled by women (approximately one-third of all privately-held companies), only a mere 3.4% of federal procurement contracts are awarded to women- owned businesses.

The new rule is a flawed amendment to Public Law 106-554. Public Law 106-544 was passed in 2000 to give federal contracting officers the ability to restrict competition for up to 5% of all prime contracts to women-owned businesses whose industries are under- represented. The amendment is flawed because it only identifies four industries in which women-owned businesses are under-represented in contracting: cabinetmaking, engraving, other motor vehicle dealers, and national security and international affairs.

Read more here.

Event of Interest: Accelerating the Growth of Businesses Owned By Women of Color

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I will be out of the office but wanted to take a moment to remind you of an important event coming up on Wednesday, January 23rd.

The Center for Women's Business Research's groundbreaking 3-year study -- Accelerating the Growth of Businesses Owned by Women of Color -- centers around a series of focused research forums across the country, where women business owners of color will participate, educate, network, and learn.

One of our very own WPO Chicago members, Tracey Alston, will be serving as a panelist.

More information can be found here. Hope to see you there!

News of Interest: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2007 Report Released

The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2007 Report has been released.

Download it here.

News of Interest: WPO Annual International Conference in Boston April 24-26

Read more about it here. We will report additional information at the end of the month. Stay tuned.

Malcolm Gladwell (pictured) is one of our keynote speakers!

Sound Advice: Trend Toolkit for 2008

Happy New Year!

To help you focus on now and the future, we have put together a batch of trends -- better referred to as a "trend toolkit" -- to watch and capitalize on in the coming year.

From the WPO Chicago hub we say this: Make it great in ’08!

Prediction for 2008: Business and Website Globalization, Technology, and Business Models

Web Globalization Predictions: 2008 and Beyond

Resolutions To Do Business Globally in 2008

Eight Business Technology Trends To Watch

Advertising Trends to Watch in 2008

Top 10 Marketing Trends for 2008 (look for the listing and PDF file to download)

10 Media Trends to Watch in 2008

2008 Top Hotel and Restaurant Trends to Watch

Ten Wine Trends to Watch in 2008

Six Enterprise Application Trends to Watch in 2008

5 Wireless Trends to Watch in 2008

Small Business Trends (constantly updated)

Five Tech Trends to Watch in 2008

8 Important Consumer Trends for 2008

Seven Virtualization Trends to Watch in 2008

E-commerce Trends to Watch in 2008

E-business Trends to Watch in 2008

Packaging Trends to Watch in 2008

Pantone Fashion Color Report for Spring 2008

Financial Trends for 2008 by Wall Street & Technology

Stuck? Visit Google's Trends Lab

Have we missed your trend report? Let us know and we will post it.

Season's Greetings from WPO Chicago!

To our members, friends, colleagues, partners, hosts, and sponsors ... we extend our heartfelt best wishes for a joyous holiday season and successful new year!

Together ... let us grow, let us grow, let us grow!

Article of Interest: Leading Clever People

To make sure clever people do their best work at your company, you must harness their talents.

Who most determines your company’s success? Clever people—employees whose knowledge and skills enable them to produce disproportionate value for your firm. Think the pharmaceutical researcher who formulates a new drug, or the programmer who creates a new piece of code. Their single innovation may bankroll their entire organization for a decade.

To make sure clever people do their best work at your company, you must harness their talents. But that isn’t easy: Clever people don’t want to be led. They don’t care about titles or promotions. And they’re easily bored.

What to do? Find out more here.

Sound Advice: What Is a Wiki?

Cross-referencing to our headquarter blog. Interesting post. We have also created a private wiki (wetpaint) for WPO Chicago members and use it to communicate important events and share knowledge.

Are you using a wiki? If so, how?

Sound Advice: Books To Read in 2008

Strategy & Business published its seventh annual survey of the year’s Best Business Books in 2007, where noted business practitioners, scholars, and journalists select and judge the most significant and useful books in their areas of expertise. This is one of my favorite things to track.

See what you missed and get busy reading in 2008! Go here for list (may require quick registration).

Article of Interest: Do You Need To Redesign Your Organization for 2008?

Why is this different from the other articles you have read on organizational design?

First, it is clearly focused on communicating a process for creating any new or different organization. The emphasis is on how you get there, not what it looks like when the process is done.

Second, this process is flexible and can be used in large or small organizations.

Third, the authors (Diane Beakey, Phd, Kathleen Wells Webster, MBA and Jackie Rubin, PhD) have integrated the thinking of both those who emphasize process improvement (working from the bottom up) and those who operate from a more strategic perspective (working from the top down).

Start at the beginning. Take the "Pop Quiz" and find out if you need to redesign your organization.

Hint: Focus on "excellence."

Sound Advice: Books and Web Sites To Build Your Business

Recently, the Wall Street Journal featured books and Web sites to help business owners prepare for an eventual transfer. Here are a few:

1. Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness

Respects the time of a busy entrepreneur who's got to start thinking about succession.

2. Exit Strategy Planning: Grooming Your Business for Sale or Succession

Talks about the reality of selling versus succession.

3. Family Firm Institute

A broad resource for issues of business continuity, family-management strategies and ownership transfer.

4. National Center for Employee Ownership

A valuable resource when an Employee Stock Ownership Plan is a viable alternative.

To see more on this post, go to the WSJ's Independent Street.

Article of Interest: For CEOs, Off-Duty Isn't an Option

For priests, police officers and doctors, it isn't really possible to be completely off-duty. They may enjoy uninterrupted breaks when times are calm. But if a big enough crisis arises, it doesn't matter whether they are holding a tennis racket or taking a nap, they are expected to get back in action right away.

It's time to add big-company chief executives, small business owners and entrepreneurs to the list of jobs that involve always being "on." Regardless of whether bosses favor laid-back or intense management styles during normal times, they need to take command -- fast and in person -- when trouble hits, no matter how much it may disrupt their lives away from the office.

How true, how true. See for yourself here.

Article of Interest: Making Change

It isn't easy to manage change. That's true whether it be a change in a company's business, the way an organization is structured, people's responsibilities or compensation, or anything else that disturbs the status quo.

Among other things, an effective "change manager" has to know how to set up informal networks and delegate responsibilities, empowering people throughout the organization.

But perhaps the first step in managing change is to eliminate some common assumptions about the way change works. Here are eight of them:

1. Don't assume that individuals have a natural aptitude to adapt.
2. Don't assume that individuals will function rationally.
3. Don't assume that change is automatic.
4. Don't assume that organizations are naturally dynamic.
5. Don't assume that company culture is easy to change.
6. Don't assume that every aspect of the project will work out exactly as planned.
7. Don't assume the change manager can be effective without explicit authority.
8. Don't assume that anyone can improvise being a change manager.

To read the recommendations on steps companies should take to more effectively manage change, read the entire article here.

News of Interest: Sarah Stopek Hirsch Is Award Winner!

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to WPO member Sarah Stopek Hirsch, president of Sublime Promotions, Inc., in Chicago for her 2007 Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year Rising Star award. She is pictured holding roses (presented to her by her WPO sisters) and surrounded by her extremely proud family. She received her award at the 2007 Women's Business Development Center Conference in Chicago.

Article of Interest: Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership

When you put all the pieces together, a new picture (the cartoon says it all) emerges for why women don’t make it into the C-suite (and, of course, why they start businesses). It’s not the glass ceiling, but the sum of many obstacles along the way.

Here's a quick clip:

In 1986 the Wall Street Journal’s Carol Hymowitz and Timothy Schellhardt gave the world an answer: “Even those few women who rose steadily through the ranks eventually crashed into an invisible barrier. The executive suite seemed within their grasp, but they just couldn’t break through the glass ceiling.” The metaphor, driven home by the article’s accompanying illustration, resonated; it captured the frustration of a goal within sight but somehow unattainable. To be sure, there was a time when the barriers were absolute. Even within the career spans of 1980s-era executives, access to top posts had been explicitly denied. Consider comments made by President Richard Nixon, recorded on White House audiotapes and made public through the Freedom of Information Act. When explaining why he would not appoint a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, Nixon said, “I don’t think a woman should be in any government job whatsoever…mainly because they are erratic. And emotional. Men are erratic and emotional, too, but the point is a woman is more likely to be.” In a culture where such opinions were widely held, women had virtually no chance of attaining influential leadership roles.

Times have changed, however, and the glass ceiling metaphor is now more wrong than right.

Read more here at the Harvard Business Review article, Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership, authored by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli.

Let us know what you think.

Survey of Interest: Digital Marketing -- From Web Sites To Wikis

A global survey shows that marketers already regard digital tools as very important for advertising and for managing sales and service—but frequently don’t use them. Why? Although respondents to this McKinsey study are applying both established and Web 2.0 technologies to reach customers at every stage of decision making, they complain about a shortage of skilled people to run online vehicles and about a lack of metrics to assess them. Learn “How companies are marketing online” and how they expect to be doing so in 2010. Highly recommend. It requires a quick (free) registration but it's worth it.

And if you would like a simpler version to McKinsey's analysis, try this one on for size. It's a story, "Who Moved My Client Base?," about how a business owner who is faced with a slowing small business uses social media to turn things around and grow his business by tapping into a global client base. See if it strikes a chord with you. Feel free to comment and forward the story to whoever you think might benefit.