Leadership and Business

Last summer, William & Mary Business Professor Ram Ganeshan joined us on the podcast to talk about where supply chains stood in 2021. A year ago we were experiencing lumber shortages, new furniture was challenging to find, and chlorine for the backyard swimming pool was in short supply. Fast-forward one year to today and we're faced with new supply chain issues. Some we could never have imagined a...

There's no doubt change will play a major role in our future. We'll experience new business landscapes, new paradigms for leadership, and new approaches to work. The next 20 years of business in the world will be vastly different from the past. For many professionals, that constant change leads to uncertainty, which can increase burnout, exhaustion, and low morale. If not handled appropriately, it...

Retaining high quality employees. A priority today. As professionals change jobs faster than ever, businesses and organizations need to hang on to their best performers. While many employers increase salaries to retain people, our guest today says they're often overlooking something more important and more effective. Something that will keep top employees engaged and happy at work. David Long is a...

We all know that companies and employees expect businesses to do more than make money. Today, people expect organizations to contribute to society to make a difference. And we've seen how those efforts lead to a number of positive outcomes. When looking for role models in the doing good and doing well arena, one company jumps out: DICK'S Sporting Goods. America's largest sporting goods retailer go...

Few sectors were hit harder by the pandemic than the hospitality sector. Hotels in particular faced devastating losses as travel came to a halt. For Marriott International, the world's largest hotel company, that meant closing some hotels and laying off or furloughing many employees. Two years later, Marriott is experiencing a remarkable recovery; employees are back to work, hotels are open, and i...

The role of today's leader is quite different from the role leaders played in the past. Today's senior leaders are navigating several challenges simultaneously: Inflation, fast-moving technology, work from home - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Andrew White is a Senior Fellow in Management Practice at the University of Oxford's Said School of Business in England. A leadership coach to top...

To say Dan Akerson has had an exciting career is an understatement. He's held leadership positions such as CEO, Chairman, President, and Managing Director of top organizations - including MCI, General Instrument, Nextel, The Carlisle Group, and General Motors. He's been successful at each stop. He continues to be active, serving on the boards at American Express and Lockheed Martin, but it's his f...

As businesses, organizations, and professionals deal with change like we've never seen before, it makes sense the way we lead will also change. Our guest today says a new leadership paradigm is urgently needed. Nicholas Janni is a sought-after coach, teacher, speaker and author. He works with the world's top businesses and business schools transforming the way executives lead. He's written a new b...

How do you invest your money? Chances are, your gender plays a role in where you invest, how you invest, and the results you generate. When it comes to wealth management, there are considerable differences between the approaches men and women take. Molly Nissman is Vice President, Wealth Management and Portfolio Manager at UBS Financial Services in Norfolk, Virginia. She's spent her career helping...

More than ever before, companies and organizations are placing great emphasis on their employees by offering more flexible work schedules, or investing greatly in education and training programs. Some, like Microsoft, are focusing on the general wellbeing of their employees. Microsoft has created and launched its Holistic Wellbeing Program - a series of offerings that support employees in four spe...

We've all been there: You go to a local business, or visit a hotel, or go online to make a purchase, and the experience is awful. If it's bad enough, you decide to never go back again. Which means the business - at a minimum - has lost a customer. In today's competitive market, no business can afford to lose customers. That's where Chris Caracci steps in. He helps organizations improve their custo...

in 2017, when William & Mary graduate Michael Medline became CEO of Empire, he knew the organization was in need of major change. he'd been successful at PepsiCo Canada and as CEO of Canadian Tire but turning around Canada's second largest grocery retailer, would be a significant challenge. Fast forward to 2022. Medline has executed one of the most effective turnarounds in Canadian retail. Empire...

If you're looking for a new job, now is the time to look. Due to a number of factors, we're experiencing the hottest job market in decades. Salaries are up, the number of openings across sectors and industries has increased, benefits are improving, and employers are becoming more flexible. The news is great if you're a job seeker. Patrice Lincoln is a career coach. She's the Director of Graduate C...

Every aspect of business deals with continuous change, but one area has constantly evolved from the beginning: Marketing. The audience, tools, and channels change rapidly as marketing continues to grow in terms of complexity. It wasn't that long ago that reaching your audience was as easy as placing an ad in the newspaper. But now, marketing is more sophisticated, strategic, and segmented than eve...

As we've seen, the pandemic has changed just about everything; the way we live, the way we communicate, and no doubt the way we work. Transformational change is taking place at work and it will continue for the foreseeable future. And at the center of the changes: People. How can employers create a new work environment that attracts, retains, and satisfies the best people? One organization has its...

For those who've spent years in the military, or intelligence community, transitioning to the private sector (or any sector) can be daunting. That's why William & Mary, and its Center for Military Transition has created a unique two-week on campus program to be held in June called Flourishing Through Life's Transitions. Designed to be a transformational experience, the program will train veterans...

There is no one path to a leadership position; some people are asked to lead, some are assigned. For others, leadership is a goal. At an early age, Brad Martin sought leadership roles. As a 20 year old, with no political experience, he ran for public office and became the youngest person ever elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives where he served for five terms. Later he turned to busin...

In today's highly competitive environment, the best businesses, organizations, and professionals create value. How and for whom may differ somewhat, but the outcome's the same: Creating value helps you succeed. The target may be customers and organizations, stakeholders or others, but the goal is fairly consistent across sectors. Creating value often means delivering an outcome the client seeks. O...

Leadership is tough. For that matter, just about every job today is tough; the hours, the effort, the competition, the people, the pandemic. Success today requires a certain level of mental and physical fitness. As a result, exercise is key. And while it's important, it can be challenging to find the time to work out regularly. If you're ever in need of some motivation, look to Strauss Zelinick -...

Virtually every leader has been faced with a turnaround situation - bringing a failing organization back to its former successful state. Or finding a high-quality solution to a problem that can no longer continue. A new leader is brought in to direct the turnaround situation in some instances. In other cases, the current leadership team is expected to get things back on track. And most often soone...

What does your CEO think about marketing? Or if you're the CEO, what do YOU think about marketing? The way CEOs position marketing and the way they partner with the Chief Marketing Officer has a huge effect on results and the bottom line. Unfortunately, though, for many CEOs, marketing is nothing more than a source of frustration. In some cases, the marketing team has overpromised and under delive...

Every year over 200,000 US military personnel separate from active duty. Transitioning servicemen and women cite a number of reasons and motivations for their departures. For example, they may be retirement eligible, others have completed their service agreements, some are seeking a career change. For others, the move is related to family. Whatever the reason, transitioning from the military to th...

In the last decade, the interest in Diversity & Inclusion has grown significantly at companies and organizations. For the most part D&I has been accepted: It's seen as a positive contributor to employee engagement, employee retention, company culture, and a healthy bottom line. While D&I has become mainstream, not every organization has it figured out. For some, Diversity & Inclusion efforts are s...

The annual employee review. The performance evaluation. The employee appraisal. Whatever you call it, in many organizations, the process of evaluating employee performance is often ineffective. In many instances, the evaluations do little to help the employee, the supervisor, or the organization. Among other things, employees are rarely satisfied with the score they receive, and they find it chall...

For years, student athletes competing at colleges and universities governed by the NCAA were considered to be "amateur athletes." That amateur status meant they were prohibited from making money using their name, image, and likeness. Well that changed recently thanks to the NCAA's Name Image and Likeness policy, known as the NIL Policy. Now, any person, business, or organization can pay a college...