Can big business integrate corporate social responsibility into strategy to regain legitimacy? The legitimacy of business, the trust that people place in business, is at a low point. Business legitimacy is a matter of strategy, leadership, and responsible corporate behavior. Starting with that premise,
Category Archives: Organization
Angel Investors: Give Them Common or Preferred Stock?
Congratulations. You have convinced several angel investors to fund your startup. Do the angels get common stock or preferred stock? What's the difference between common and preferred stock? Why does it matter? This deal term has implications for future funding rounds and your relationship ...
Breaking Down The Silos That Separate Business People And Lawyers
In many companies, business and legal operate as separate silos. On the business side, there is business development, corporate development, marketing, finance, and human resources. On the legal side, there are in-house attorneys and outside counsel. Business sees legal as a cost ...
Why Strategy, Law, And Organization?
In this post, I advance a simple argument: A combined Strategy, Law, and Organization lens provides superior solutions to difficult business and legal problems. Good business lawyers understand that legal problems are necessarily business problems. Yet, understanding the law, by itself, is ...
Berkeley Stanford Smart Grid Conference Post Mortem
The recent Berkeley Stanford CleanTech Conference on the Smart Grid made clear that the smart grid is in its infancy. Energy providers must solve the challenges of new energy sources, regulatory organization, and the energy needs of electric vehicles. The Key Challenge For The Smart ...
How To Make High Tech Mergers Work
Mergers are difficult to make work. Many large mergers have failed to meet expectations for a variety of reasons. What can companies do to make high tech mergers work? Jon Schwarz, a member of the Executive Board of SAP with extensive merger and acquisition ...
Does Diversity On Boards Of Directors Improve Corporate Performance?
Panelists at a recent Stanford Law School conference made a case for diversity on corporate boards, citing data, anecdotal evidence, and principle based arguments in support. That raises the ultimate question: Does board diversity affect corporate performance? The Case For Diversity On Corporate Boards The ...
How Disney Will Impact Marvel
Now that Disney has acquired Marvel and its characters for $4 billion (a 29% premium), the question is how will Disney impact Marvel? Both Disney and Marvel touted the deal as huge win for both companies. Will Disney ...
Why Big Organizations Do Not Promote Learning And Innovation
Do big organizations promote learning? In today's Big Shift Blog on HarvardBusiness.org, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison argue that big organizations can and must help individuals learn, experiment, and innovate. However, big organizations are not best equipped to promote learning and innovation because ...
What Clients Want From Their Lawyers: Good Business Strategy Advice
What do clients want from their lawyers? According to a new survey by Clemente Communications Group, middle-market companies want their professional services firms (including lawyers) to help them increase revenue growth and diversify strategically. These companies are looking for advisors who understand the ...