Knowledge Network: Podcasts

Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls

jamesd — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:40:14 +0000

Mavis Leno, wife of “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, first learned about the Taliban’s abuse of Afghan women in 1997 when she joined the Feminist Majority Foundation board in the United States. That was four years before the 9/11 terrorist attacks that jolted the Western world awake to the dangers of the new regime. “This was getting virtually no coverage, no reporting of any kind at the time,” Leno said April 10, 2012, during a YWCA forum with U.S. Ambassador Barbara Barrett, the Interim President Designate at Thunderbird School of Global Management. “When I learned about it, I shot up out of my seat at the board meeting and said, ‘This is mine. I will tackle it.’” Since then Leno has asserted herself as an advocate for Afghan women. Barrett, who moderated the luncheon discussion, also has served as a champion for Afghan women through programs such as Project Artemis at Thunderbird. The event was part of the YWCA Maricopa County Women’s Empowerment Series at the Renaissance Downtown Phoenix. Watch the video or download the full audio podcast here. | Podcast: Campaign for Afghan Women (43:23)

Business Leadership Toward a Low-Carbon Economy

jamesd — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:16:13 +0000

Global leaders will have opportunities to create a more inclusive, more sustainable society in the next 15 years as the world moves toward a low-carbon economy. “It is an opportunity to reinvent our lives — the way we work, the way we transport ourselves, and the way we interact in society,” former Costa Rican President José María Figueres said Nov. 10, 2011, in the evening keynote at the inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue in Glendale, Arizona. Figueres said a successful transition to the “Industrial Revolution 2.0″ will hinge on society’s ability to navigate three complex issues. The first two issues include population growth and energy consumption. These create pressure to solve the third issue, which is climate change. “It is here,” Figueres said. “It is not about the future.” Download the full podcast here from Thunderbird School of Global Management. | Podcast: Toward a Low-Carbon Economy (45:57)

“Listening to the Quietest Voice in the Room”

jamesd — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:03:01 +0000

As a leader, BP Group CEO Bob Dudley ‘79 spends most of his time listening. “Many leadership problems can be traced to poor communication,” he said Nov. 10, 2011, during the opening keynote at the inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue in Glendale, Arizona. “In BP we talk about listening to the quietest voice in the room.” He said BP managers must train themselves to pick up “weak signals” that come from people reluctant to shout when they have something important to say. “We must listen to people on the front lines,” said Dudley, who provided a behind-the-scenes look at BP’s response to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Download the full podcast here from Thunderbird School of Global Management. | Podcast: Leading in Times of Crisis (47:09)

Fortune Cookie Wisdom for Winning in an Era of Global Transition

jamesd — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:10:33 +0000

Individuals, organizations and countries looking for an edge in the new global economy can find all the wisdom they need from three fortune cookies collected by retired Intel CEO and Chairman Craig Barrett. “During any period of transition, people win and lose market share,” Barrett said Nov. 10, 2011, during a keynote luncheon at the inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue in Glendale, Arizona. “These three fortunes contain all the wisdom you need to win in an era of historic transformation.” The first fortune says: “The world will always accept talent with open arms.” Barrett said this message highlights the importance of education, the process of discovering passion and harnessing the human potential. The second fortune says: “You cannot win unless you choose to compete.” Barrett said too many people in mature markets resent the upstarts from China, India and elsewhere. Instead of complaining about the new global economy, they need to start competing. The third fortune says: “A small deed done is better than a great deed planned.” Barrett said people need to recognize that the power to win lies within themselves if they are willing to take action. “Stop looking to others to solve your problems,” he said. “Stop waiting on government.” Download the full podcast here from Thunderbird School of Global Management. | Podcast: Global Reputation Management (37:39)

Numbers + Creativity = Strategy

jamesd — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:45:14 +0000

As global CEO of public relations and communications firm Burson-Marsteller, Mark Penn follows a simple formula to help his clients get the results they want: Numbers + creativity = strategy. Penn used the approach in the 1990s to help U.S. President Bill Clinton win re-election. The same formula has worked for Burson-Marsteller clients in dozens of countries. “I encounter a number of CEOs and others who want to operate by their gut,” Penn said Nov. 11, 2011, during a keynote address at the inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue in Glendale, Arizona. “They have great ideas, they have an inspiration, and they don’t want to be bothered by the numbers.” He also meets people at the other extreme who are completely numbers driven. “What I try to preach is, you’ve got to have the right combination for long-term renewal and success,” he said. Download the full podcast here from Thunderbird School of Global Management. | Podcast: Global Reputation Management (37:39)

Executive Certificate in Global Negotiations: International Versus Global

jamesd — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:43:13 +0000

Many people use “international” and “global” as interchangeable terms, but Thunderbird Professor Denis Leclerc, Ph.D., makes an important distinction. “Most international organizations have a center of gravity at corporate headquarters,” says Leclerc, who teaches in the Executive Certificate in Global Negotiations program through Thunderbird Online. “They might sell products around the world, but they truly have a center of gravity.” Global organizations, which have multiplied in the past 10 to 15 years, embed themselves more deeply in the markets where they operate and share knowledge in multiple directions. “Rather than having one center of gravity, they have nodes of knowledge around the world,” Leclerc says. Leclerc says cross-cultural communication skills become increasingly important as companies make the transition from international to global. | Audio: International Versus Global (9:27)

Executive Certificate in Global Negotiations: Defining Culture

jamesd — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:48:04 +0000

Anthropologists, economists and linguists all talk about culture. But settling on one clear definition is difficult. “One reason is because culture remains largely invisible, especially when looking inward,” says Thunderbird Professor Denis Leclerc, Ph.D., who teaches in the Executive Certificate in Global Negotiations program through Thunderbird Online. “It is hard to see one’s own culture.” Culture is often described as a set of shared and learned preferences that bind people together, but Leclerc says his students struggle when he asks them what it means to be from a specific country, organization or group. When pressed, many people mention the importance of family — without realizing that people from all cultures say the same thing. “I have not yet found anybody who says they don’t care about their family,” Leclerc says. Despite the ambiguities, Leclerc says global managers cannot afford to overlook culture because it shapes the way people do business. | Audio: Defining Culture (9:55)

Arab Spring part of global movement, McCain tells T-birds

jamesd — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:23:52 +0000

People who view the Mideast uprisings as an “Arab Spring” are missing the broader significance of a global movement, U.S. Sen. John McCain said Aug. 29, 2011, at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. “I don’t think Arab Spring is the right name for it,” McCain said. “It obviously has spread throughout the Arab world and is still going on. But I would argue that it’s going on all over the world, not just in the Arab world.” McCain said the only comparable time in recent history might be the end of the Cold War and fall of the Soviet Union. “We live in a time when we should be most excited,” he said. “Never in history have so many hundreds of millions of people had an opportunity to experience freedom and democracy and an observance of human rights.” | Audio: John McCain at Thunderbird (13:13)

Cross-cultural communication styles in Europe

jamesd — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:05:03 +0000

Western and Eastern European cultures share many things in common, but one distinction is the way people view their ability to change external conditions that affect their lives. “One of the key concepts in defining culture is how people perceive that they can affect their own environment,” says Thunderbird Professor Denis Leclerc, Ph.D. “Western Europeans have a belief that they can change their environment, while Eastern Europeans see more constraints.” Leclerc discusses European culture in this podcast from Thunderbird Online Executive Certificates. Thunderbird Online’s facilitated professional development programs are available to global business professionals around the world. These top-ranked programs are accessible, convenient and up-to-date with the most insightful global business content from the world’s No. 1-ranked school in international business. | Audio: Cross-cultural communications while traveling in Europe (10:01)

Cross-cultural communication styles in Asia

jamesd — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:49:45 +0000

Hierarchy matters in Asia, whether you are doing business in China, Japan or any other country in the region. “The hierarchy really shapes the way people interact with each other,” says Thunderbird Professor Denis Leclerc, Ph.D., who discusses Asian communication styles in this podcast from Thunderbird Online Executive Certificates. Thunderbird Online’s facilitated professional development programs are available to global business professionals around the world. These top-ranked programs are accessible, convenient and up-to-date with the most insightful global business content from the world’s No. 1-ranked school in international business. | Audio: Cross-cultural communications while traveling in Asia (9:40)

Cross-cultural communication styles in the Middle East

jamesd — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:36:50 +0000

Doing business in the Middle East starts with building relationships of trust through face-to-face interaction. “Nothing gets done in any of these countries if you have not spent the time to develop relationships,” says Thunderbird Professor Denis Leclerc, Ph.D., who discusses Middle East communication styles in this podcast from Thunderbird Online Executive Certificates. Thunderbird Online’s facilitated professional development programs are available to global business professionals around the world. These top-ranked programs are accessible, convenient and up-to-date with the most insightful global business content from the world’s No. 1-ranked school in international business. | Audio: Cross-cultural communications while traveling in the Middle East (8:22)

Cross-cultural communications while traveling in the Americas

jamesd — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:21:02 +0000

Blending cultures from North and Latin America is a little like mixing oil and water. “There are components of each culture that are almost on opposite ends of the spectrum,” says Thunderbird Professor Denis Leclerc, Ph.D., who discusses Canadian, U.S. and Latin American communication styles in this podcast from Thunderbird Online Executive Certificates. Thunderbird Online’s facilitated professional development programs are available to global business professionals around the world. These top-ranked programs are accessible, convenient and up-to-date with the most insightful global business content from the world’s No. 1-ranked school in international business. | Audio: Cross-cultural communications while traveling in the Americas (9:20)

From donkeys to bullet trains: China’s four miraculous transformations

jamesd — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:10:04 +0000

When Thunderbird Professor Mary Teagarden, Ph.D., arrived in China as a business consultant and researcher in 1978, car factories still relied on donkey power. “The donkeys would move the engines around to different stations to pick up buckets of tool and parts,” she says. “It was primitive at best.” She had to schedule an appointment two days in advance to make an overseas telephone call. And she had to pass through bureaucratic hurdles to use the library. “I had to write a paper about why I needed to use a book,” she says. Conditions have changed dramatically in the 33 years since then. In this podcast, recorded Aug. 5, 2011, Teagarden describes miraculous transformations she has witnessed in four areas: Manufacturing, telecommunications, information access and infrastructure. Learn more Oct. 4, 2011, when Teagarden speaks at the Houston Professional Speaker Series in Texas. Audio: China’s Four Miraculous Transformations (6:13)

Global Mindset science uncovers statistical value of international MBA

jamesd — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:50:41 +0000

What is the statistical benefit of an international business degree? New analysis of growing survey data at Thunderbird School of Global Management puts the value at roughly eight years abroad in four or more countries. “For the first time ever, we are able to show a return on investment for a global management degree,” said Garvin Distinguished Professor Mansour Javidan, Ph.D., director of Thunderbird’s Global Mindset® Institute in Glendale, Arizona. Javidan’s research team bases its conclusions on more than 10,000 survey results from the Global Mindset Instrument, a scientific self-assessment developed at Thunderbird to measure a manager’s capacity to thrive in unfamiliar environments with people from diverse backgrounds. Javidan said the 10,000 survey milestone — which Thunderbird passed on May 10, 2011 — means the sample size is large enough to identify trends, predict outcomes and make comparisons among subgroups. Audio: Turbo charge your Global Mindset (1:54)

Go local for global sales success

jamesd — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:26:08 +0000

Sales teams entering developing markets hurt their chances for success when they stay at Western brand hotels, eat familiar food and shield themselves from the local language and culture. “Unless your clients see you as locals — unless they see you interacting and making the effort — they will not think you are interested in what they are doing,” Thunderbird Professor Sundaresan Ram, Ph.D., said April 1, 2011, during a conversation about market entry strategy. Ram said the key is to assemble a team with local mindset. This means embracing local customs, stepping outside your comfort zone and withholding judgment about customer behavior and preferences. He said expatriates who take overseas assignments merely as a way to boost their careers at home give themselves away by the way they bide their time. “You can tell,” Ram said. “Do they go lock themselves up in a hotel room, do they stay within five square miles of where their Western hotel is, do they make a conscious effort to speak the language, do they stay after hours to see how the culture works? All of these are tell-tale signs.” | Podcast: Go local for global sales success (15:00)

Sustainability confusion and the ‘Seven Sins of Greenwashing’

jamesd — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:14:32 +0000

Global companies must consider many factors besides science when thinking about sustainability, Xerox sustainability chief Patricia Calkins says Feb. 22, 2011, at Thunderbird School of Global Management. “If it was just science, even that gets complicated,” Calkins says. “Be we’ve got various players.” Calkins, Vice President for Environment, Health and Safety at business process and document management company Xerox, says companies must navigate concerns from the public, the media, the government and nonprofit organizations. These concerns often vary from region to region, and different stakeholders often have different agendas. She says companies also must deal with misinformation and general confusion about sustainability. She says companies add to the confusion when they commit any of the “Seven Sins of Greenwashing,” as identified by Canadian research firm TerraChoice. | Audio Podcast: Sustainability confusion and the “Seven Sins of Greenwashing (11:12)

An internationalist? And still loyal to one’s tribe?

jamesd — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 23:51:24 +0000

Thunderbird Emeritus Professor Robert Moran, Ph.D., tried hard to be Japanese when he arrived from Canada as a young Catholic priest in the 1960s. Then he discovered a liberating concept. He could be Canadian and still have a global perspective. Acclaimed physicist Albert Einstein reached a similar conclusion. In a 1919 letter to a friend, Einstein wrote: “One can be an internationalist without being indifferent to members of one’s tribe.” Moran explores the concept in the eighth edition of his book, Managing Cultural Differences (McGraw-Hill, Nov. 25, 2010). He shares additional insights in this Dec. 9, 2010, conversation with the Thunderbird Knowledge Network. | Audio Podcast: An internationalist? And still loyal to one’s tribe? (10:13)

Richard C. Adkerson commencement speech: Prosperity through trade

jamesd — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 18:10:13 +0000

Critics who view emerging markets as a threat to the United States and other developed countries underestimate the power of free trade to create sustainable prosperity worldwide, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold President and CEO Richard C. Adkerson told Thunderbird graduates Dec. 17, 2010, in Glendale, Arizona. “In the United States many, if not most, people view free trade negatively,” Adkerson said during his keynote address. “You see it all the time in the media that free trade causes jobs to leave the United States and go overseas. In truth, if we can create relationships among the countries of the world that allow capital and resources and people to flow to the point where they can do things more efficiently, it creates value for everybody.” He said economic development in countries such as China and India causes dislocations elsewhere as a natural function of markets, but the process spurs innovation and drives growth worldwide. “It forces developed countries to become more competitive,” he said. “We have to learn how to do things that add more value than things moving overseas.” | Audio Podcast: Richard Adkerson commencement speech (13:47)

Doing ethical business in a culture of corruption

jamesd — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:18:51 +0000

Corrupt Venezuelan officials who ask Rum Santa Teresa Chairman and CEO Alberto Vollmer for bribes get something much different than cash or liquor under the table. The leader of the 200-year-old family distillery offers free enrollment instead to courses on anti-corruption, transparency and human rights. “At first they laugh,” Vollmer said Nov. 16, 2010, during a Thunder Radio interview with MBA student Rodrigo G. Castillo. “But the second or third time you do it, they might go to the course.” Vollmer offered several guidelines for other business leaders facing ethical dilemmas in emerging markets such as Venezuela. | Video: Alberto Vollmer on Thunder Radio (18:55) | Audio Podcast: Alberto Vollmer on Thunder Radio (18:36) | Blog: Alberto Vollmer turns enemies into allies

Finding innovation at Google Creative Lab

jamesd — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:11:45 +0000

High-tech companies need problem solvers, but Google Creative Lab Vice President Andy Berndt says engineers and other creative professionals first need scrappy managers who know how to define the right problems, assemble the right teams and provide the right resources. “Tackling a problem is great,” Berndt said Nov. 9, 2010, at Thunderbird School of Global Management in an interview with Thunder Radio. “But actually identifying the problem is often harder.” Berndt said companies get ahead of themselves and waste resources when they assign research and development teams to tackle fuzzy or low-priority problems. “If you can observe a problem that no one else has seen, and define it clearly, it becomes this amazing sort of thing that people can’t stay away from,” Berndt said. “One of the things I love about engineers is how they are drawn to a well-defined problem. They want to solve it.” | Video: Andy Berndt on Thunder Radio (9:35) | Audio Podcast: Andy Berndt on Thunder Radio (9:15)

Pantelion fills Hollywood gap with movie studio for Latinos

jamesd — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:50:52 +0000

A classic Jane Austen story will get a modern Latino makeover with the first release from Pantelion Films, a new Hollywood studio launched by Thunderbird alumnus James McNamara and two big-name partners. Pantelion will premiere “From Prada to Nada” at theaters across the United States on Jan. 28, 2011. Additional movies will follow each month, creating momentum for a brand that McNamara envisions as the new face of Hispanic entertainment in the United States. “The objective is to create the first Hollywood studio focused specifically on the U.S. Hispanic audience,” McNamara said during a campus interview with ThunderRadio on Nov. 4, 2010. | Video: Thunder Radio interview (5:59) | Video: “From Prada to Nada” trailer (2:28) | Audio: Thunder Radio interview (5:44)

Welcome to Thunderbird, home of the misfits

jamesd — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:13:38 +0000

Students who come to Thunderbird School of Global Management tend to have one thing in common. They are misfits. That’s the best description Thunderbird Professor Mansour Javidan, Ph.D., can find. Normal people prefer to live and work in familiar environments surrounded by others who speak the same language, share the same values and eat the same foods. Thunderbird students are different. They prefer cross-cultural adventures in unfamiliar locations. When they come to Thunderbird, they finally find a place where they belong. “You are coming home,” Javidan tells incoming students Aug. 11, 2010, during the orientation for Thunderbird’s Global MBA for Latin American Managers program. “This is your home. We are delighted to be with you for the journey you are starting.” Audio: Thunderbird Misfits (28:27)

Time to rethink expatriate assignments in emerging markets

jamesd — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:34:01 +0000

Expatriates need to rethink their roles in emerging markets if their organizations expect to stay relevant in the post-recession economy, said Thunderbird Professor Nathan Washburn, Ph.D. “They have seen their job as coming in and transferring their expertise to the emerging economies where they are assigned,” Washburn said. Expatriates who cling to this mindset will miss the innovation that increasingly flows the other direction. Washburn said expatriates sent to open factories or implement strategy still need to transfer knowledge in, but they also need to listen and gather information. “Emerging markets are the hotbeds for innovation,” he said. “The great innovations in the future are not going to happen in our mature markets.” | Podcast: Nokia’s hard lesson in India (5:23)

A greener, softer product line for HP

jamesd — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:35:44 +0000

Satjiv Chahil moved fast when he came to Hewlett-Packard in 2005 as Senior Vice President for Marketing. In less than 12 months, he helped the company reinvent its entire line of personal computers. “We started defining complete solutions and messages, segment by segment,” says Chahil, a 1976 Thunderbird graduate. He reached out to women with high-fashion personal computers designed by Vivienne Tam. He reached out to younger consumers with new eco-friendly products, including a $700 laptop packaged in nothing but a canvas bag. “Aim for the heart, and you will always get the wallet,” Chahil told Thunderbird students Oct. 7, 2010. Here is an excerpt from his presentation. | Podcast: Satjiv Chahil on making HP’s product line greener and softer (26:00)

Making the PC personal again at HP

jamesd — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:58:36 +0000

Hewlett-Packard was at a crossroads when Satjiv Chahil arrived in 2005 as Senior Vice President for Marketing. Industry analysts and others inside the company advised HP to exit the personal computer market, which was dominated by Dell. “In 2005 few people knew HP made PCs,” says Chahil, a 1976 Thunderbird graduate. “Everybody knew we made printers, but nobody knew we made PCs.” When Chahil researched the market, he saw an opportunity for HP to move fast and differentiate itself from other personal computer makers. “A personal computer had become just a PC — just a boring box or commodity,” Chahil says. Under his guidance, HP set out to make the PC personal again. He explains how during his presentation Oct. 7, 2010, at Thunderbird. | Podcast: Satjiv Chahil on making the PC personal again (26:58)

U.S. trade deficit improves, but don’t celebrate yet

jamesd — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:48:10 +0000

The U.S. trade deficit improved by $7 billion from June to July 2010, but Thunderbird School of Global Management Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., said that might not be a good thing. “The improvement is actually a negative thing,” Mathis said Sept. 9, 2010, on KFNN 1510 Financial News Radio. “Month to month, what it suggests is that expectations of economic activity in the United States are slowing down, and therefore we are importing fewer goods to the high-powered retail stores because consumers aren’t going to buy those goods.” Mathis reports on the U.S. trade balance each month on “Business for Breakfast,” a Phoenix-based radio news show. Click below to hear his latest report. | Podcast: Monthly report on KFNN 1510 Financial News Radio (6:44)

Thunderbird BRIC Series: Doing Business in Brazil

jamesd — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:16:04 +0000

The future finally has arrived for Brazil, Thunderbird Professor Roy C. Nelson, Ph.D., said Sept. 7, 2010, during the final installment of a four-part BRIC series organized by Thunderbird Executive MBA faculty and staff. “People have said Brazil is the country of the future, and it always will be the country of the future. It will never actually quite make it to that point of getting to the future,” Nelson said. “That pessimism is no longer warranted. Brazil finally is stable. It is a place where you can invest and do business with great confidence.” Nelson, author of Harnessing Globalization: The Promotion of Nontraditional Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America, shared the platform with Thunderbird Adjunct Professor Katia Kinney, a Portuguese instructor from the São Paulo countryside. Podcast: Doing Business in Brazil (37:35)

Behind the BP furor: Why some firms face ire and not others

jamesd — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:18:41 +0000

BP, Toyota and Goldman Sachs have taken public image beatings in 2010. Many would say deservedly so. But other firms linked to irresponsible behavior have escaped close scrutiny. Thunderbird Professor Nathan Washburn, Ph.D., has a theory why the public singles out some firms for criticism but not others. Working with Don Lange, Ph.D., at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, Washburn has identified three factors that shape public perceptions of corporate behavior. He says the first step in managing a corporate image is understanding how these factors work together when things go wrong. | Podcast: Why some firms face ire and not others (13:46)

U.S. trade balance report with F. John Mathis

jamesd — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:49:34 +0000

Monthly indicators suggest growth in the U.S. economy, Thunderbird Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., said Aug. 11, 2010, on KFNN 1510 Financial News Radio. Mathis said U.S. imports are growing, which indicates a recovery. Exports also are growing, but at a slower rate. The result is a larger deficit, year over year. But Mathis said the United States produced an $8 billion deficit turnaround from May to June 2010. Mathis reports on the U.S. trade balance each month on “Business for Breakfast,” a Phoenix-based radio show. His next scheduled appearance will be 6:30 a.m. Sept. 9, 2010. Click below to hear his latest report. | Podcast: Monthly report on KFNN 1510 Financial News Radio (7:20)

Thunderbird BRIC Series: Doing Business in China

jamesd — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:07:09 +0000

The difference between China and the United States can be felt on the street, Thunderbird Professor Roe Goddard, Ph.D., said July 22, 2010, during the third installment of a four-part BRIC series organized by Thunderbird Executive MBA faculty and staff. “You go to China, and they are very optimistic,” Goddard said. “It’s just a happier place to be. You come here, and everybody is depressed.” Goddard shared the platform with Thunderbird Professor Mary Teagarden, Ph.D., another scholar with expertise in China. | Podcast: Roe Goddard and Mary Teagarden (48:31)

Closing the Services Gap

jamesd — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:23:51 +0000

Services companies struggling to close the gap between their customers’ expectations and perceived experiences need to look at four areas where blunders occur, Thunderbird Professor Sundaresan Ram, Ph.D., said June 30. “If perceptions exactly match expectations, then the gap is zero, and you have an ideal service,” Ram said. “The problem is, expectations can be a moving target.” Ram said the Services Gap Model points to four crucial points in the process where companies can gain or lose ground. The first is the expectations gap, which occurs when customers arrive with unrealistic expectations. The second is the knowledge gap, which occurs when people designing the service do not know what their customers want. The third is the design gap, which occurs when a services company designs the wrong thing. The fourth is the delivery gap, which occurs when a services provider fails to deliver a service as promised. “I do not know any services organization where the gap is zero,” Ram said. “But if we can get it as close to zero as possible, then we have done a good job.” His comments came during a Thunderbird staff meeting, where Ram presented research on ways to improve customer service perceptions among students and other stakeholders at Thunderbird. | Podcast: Services Gap Model (30:24)

Start with your weakest link to fix service delivery

jamesd — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:24:12 +0000

Any customer service organization is only as good as its weakest employee, Thunderbird Professor Sundaresan Ram, Ph.D., said June 30 at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. “People who deal with others one-one-one create your brand,” said Ram, an associate professor of global marketing. “If the person does not belong in the front line dealing with customers, move him to the back office.” Ram said effective service delivery hinges on four components: 1. Hiring the right people, 2. Motivating them (through competitive pay and other perks, such as flexible hours.), 3. Training them, and 4. Consulting them. “Service delivery is always done in real time, in the face of the customer,” Ram said. “There is no room for error.” The comments came during a Thunderbird staff meeting, where Ram presented research on ways to improve customer service perceptions among students and other stakeholders at Thunderbird. | Podcast: Four Keys to Effective Customer Service Delivery (4:30)

Fastest way to build your brand

jamesd — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:26:16 +0000

The fastest way for any customer service organization to build its brand is to admit a problem and then fix it, Thunderbird Professor Sundaresan Ram, Ph.D., said June 30 at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. “We should not be afraid to say we are having problems,” said Ram, an associate professor of global marketing. “There is no service business without a problem.” He said businesses that disappoint their customers and then recover actually create stronger brand loyalty than businesses that keep their customers happy from the beginning. “The customer sees that you really care,” Ram said. “Service recovery is the fastest way to build your brand.” However, companies should not get into the habit of messing up. “Even the most disloyal customer will forgive you once,” Ram said. “The second time it happens, you have problems.” The comments came during a Thunderbird staff meeting, where Ram presented research on ways to improve customer service perceptions among students and Thunderbird Corporate Learning clients. | Podcast: Turning Your Weaknesses into Strengths (1:19)

Finding innovation at the interface between business and nonprofit

jamesd — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:13:21 +0000

Leaders with big ideas to change the world face a tough choice early in their careers. Or at least they think they do. If they want to make money and help themselves, they must choose the business sector. If they want to improve the planet and help others, they must choose the social sector. Historically, the paths do not cross. But lately the line between for-profit and not-for-profit has blurred. New cooperation and competition at the interface between the sectors has led to fascinating solutions to complex global problems at the base of the pyramid. Thunderbird President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., discusses the trend April 29, 2010, during the second annual American Express Emerging Social Sector Leadership Program developed at Thunderbird. Audio: Innovation at the Interface (20:20)

Thunderbird BRIC Series: India’s Promise and Pitfalls

jamesd — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:23:57 +0000

One Thunderbird professor makes the case for doing business in India, while a colleague does his best to prove the rosy projections wrong during a Thunderbird Executive MBA forum May 20 in Glendale, Arizona. The two Ph.D. professors, Kishore Dash and Sundaresan Ram, assumed the roles of optimist and pessimist during the first installment of a four-part BRIC series organized by Thunderbird Executive MBA faculty and staff. Audio: India’s Promise and Pitfalls (37:54)

New frontiers in emerging markets

jamesd — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:25:02 +0000

The world is in the midst of a massive economic shift led by China, India and other emerging economies, Thunderbird President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., said May 19, 2010, at Business Beyond Our Borders, a forum presented by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Cabrera said entrepreneurs with a global mindset will seize opportunities as they adapt to the new landscape, while others who cling to old business models will be left behind. Audio: New frontiers in emerging markets (24:06)

Canadian entrepreneur plans next moves after sushi success

jamesd — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:09:48 +0000

Canadian entrepreneur Ken Valvur never tasted sushi until he arrived at Thunderbird in 1987 and decided to learn Japanese to boost his international career. “On pure commercial grounds, I picked Japanese,” says the Thunderbird graduate. The decision has paid off for Valvur, who eventually returned from an expatriate assignment in Tokyo with the inspiration for Bento Nouveau. The company, which Valvur founded in 1996, sells more than 10 million servings of sushi per year in Canada and parts of New York. Valvur sold control of the enterprise to a private equity group in 2007 and is now exploring other ventures, including a possible saké brewery in Ontario. Audio: Betting on sushi (12:16)

Why the world needs more Goldman Sachs

jamesd — Thu, 06 May 2010 04:46:23 +0000

Rather than destroy Goldman Sachs, over-regulate them or view them as the source of the global financial meltdown, the more rational approach would be to create an environment in the United States that rewards financial services innovation and develops more companies like Goldman Sachs. Thunderbird Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., says U.S.-based competition at the top of the investment banking pyramid would benefit the United States and help create sustainable prosperity worldwide. Mathis, director of Thunderbird’s Global Financial Services Center, talks April 26, 2010, in a campus interview in Glendale, Arizona. Audio: Why the world needs more Goldman Sachs (5:47)

Straight talk on Goldman Sachs fraud allegations

jamesd — Thu, 06 May 2010 04:35:59 +0000

Confused about the fraud allegations against Goldman Sachs? Thunderbird Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., reviews the allegations and puts them into perspective April 26, 2010. Mathis, director of Thunderbird’s Global Financial Services Center, says the notion that Goldman Sachs deceived investors stems from misunderstandings about the bank’s duties as a market maker in the financial services industry. Audio: Straight talk on Goldman Sachs allegations (7:40)

Don’t blame Goldman Sachs: What really went wrong

jamesd — Thu, 06 May 2010 04:18:12 +0000

Critics anxious to blame Goldman Sachs as a key player in the recent financial crisis should point the finger elsewhere, Thunderbird Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., said April 26, 2010. Mathis, director of Thunderbird’s Global Financial Services Center, said the real problem was the failure of central banks to manage excess liquidity in global markets from 2003 to 2007. In this interview, he discusses lessons learned from the crisis and keys to avoid a similar meltdown in the future. Audio: What really went wrong (6:49)

Global Citizenship at PepsiCo in Asia, Middle East and Africa

jamesd — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:13:26 +0000

Corporate leaders who put short-term profits ahead of global citizenship lose in the end, Thunderbird graduate Saad Abdul-Latif said during a campus visit March 16, 2010. The CEO of PepsiCo’s Asia, Middle East and Africa Division said the key to sustainable prosperity is to reach out to local communities and find ways to make the world a better place. In this podcast, he talks about corporate social responsibility and explains why access to education and women’s empowerment are top priorities in his own social agenda. Podcast: Global Citizenship at PepsiCo in Asia, Middle East and Africa (7:54)

Global Mindset Lessons from PepsiCo executive Saad Abdul-Latif

jamesd — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:24:14 +0000

Thunderbird graduate Saad Abdul-Latif says a global mindset has helped propel him to the top of PepsiCo’s Asia, Middle East and Africa Division. He says managers sometimes succeed at home but stumble when their companies send them overseas because they overlook cultural differences and fail to develop a global mindset. Abdul-Latif talks March 16, 2010, about the development of his own global mindset and ways that PepsiCo adjusts in different markets. Podcast: Global Mindset Lessons from PepsiCo (6:32)

From Palestinian Childhood to PepsiCo ‘C Suite’

jamesd — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:27:05 +0000

Saad Abdul-Latif calls himself “a guy from the neighborhood.” The 1981 Thunderbird graduate grew up in East Jerusalem surrounded by poverty and violence. His Palestinian family was displaced after the Six-Day War in 1967, and he had little exposure to the outside world. The first time he stepped on a plane was after high school, when he flew to Lebanon to start college. Today, Abdul-Latif travels the world as CEO of PepsiCo’s Asia, Middle East and Africa Division. He talks about his path to the “C Suite” during a Thunderbird visit on March 16, 2010. Podcast: From Palestine to PepsiCo “C Suite” (10:45)

Arabic instructor finds peace after discrimination, violence in Iraq

jamesd — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:08:32 +0000

Thunderbird Arabic instructor Firdos Jawad, Ph.D., survived gender discrimination, political persecution and even gunshot wounds in Iraq. After attempts to resettle in Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey, she and her family eventually came to the United States. Dr. Jawad says her first “breath of peace” came on May 13, 2009, when she arrived in Phoenix, Arizona. | Podcast: Breathing Peace (9:07)

Climate change creates four areas of opportunity

jamesd — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:31 +0000

Politicians can set environmental policy and create incentives for sustainable business practices, but the innovations necessary for a low-carbon economy will come from entrepreneurs in the private sector, Thunderbird President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., said Nov. 6 in Macau. “Politicians are not very good at innovating,” Cabrera told an international audience at the Thunderbird School of Global Management alumni reunion. “It would be a mistake to expect them to try to choose the winning technologies.” | Blog: Read Dr. Cabrera’s blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network | Video: Entrepreneurs, not politicians (1:49) | Video: Thunderbird Oath of Honor explained in Macau (1:50) | Video: Thunderbird foreign language policy explained in Macau (2:45) | Podcast: Four areas of opportunity for entrepreneurs (8:51)

Questions that financial journalists should have asked

jamesd — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:29:46 +0000

Business journalists asked the wrong questions in the months leading up to the global financial crisis, Fast Company magazine co-founder Alan Webber said Nov. 3 at Thunderbird during a visit to promote his new book, Rules of Thumb. “If you ask the wrong questions, you get the wrong answers,” he said. “If all you worry about is who can make the most money the fastest and become the biggest celebrity, they did a great job.” Instead, Webber said business journalists should have taken a step back and asked bigger questions.
Podcast: Thunderbird student Janet El-Saad interviews Webber (9:51)

Why China has fared well in global financial crisis

jamesd — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:52:17 +0000

Thunderbird Professor Roe Goddard, Ph.D., sat down this month with Thunderbird Knowledge Network reporter Darien Carroll and discussed China’s emergence from the global financial crisis. Goddard teaches a course on the regional business environment of Asia, and he follows China closely. Overall, he has made 49 trips to the country. His most recent visit was Oct. 19-25 with 23 students in Thunderbird’s On-Demand Global MBA program. Watch highlights of the Goddard interview in the following videos, or listen to a podcast of the entire conversation. | Video: Why China Fared Well in Global Financial Crisis (3:28) | Video: No surprises from China (3:32) | Video: Thunderbird On-Demand in China (2:35) | Podcast: Full Goddard conversation (9:58)

Seven views on cross-cultural communication and the COI

jamesd — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:09:30 +0000

Thunderbird professors Denis Leclerc, Ph.D., and Karen Walch, Ph.D., enjoy watching students in their cross-cultural communication classes learn to thrive in diverse work environments. “The students realize that sometimes the issues they have in teams are not due to personalities but actually due to cultural misunderstandings and miscommunication,” Leclerc says. In this podcast, recorded July 16, 2009, Leclerc and Walch talk about the Cultural Orientation Indicator (COI), a self-assessment tool Thunderbird uses to help its students and corporate clients understand their own cultural preferences and the preferences of others. The professors are joined by five Thunderbird students from Italy and India, who talk about their own adventures in cross-cultural communication. Audio: Seven views on cross-cultural communication and the COI (15:25)

‘Less bad is the new good’ with U.S. GDP numbers

jamesd — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:45:02 +0000

Gross domestic product numbers in the United States were bad but not horrible in the second quarter of 2009, and Thunderbird Professor F. John Mathis calls that good news. “All these things really reflect a slowdown in the deterioration of the U.S. economy,” Mathis said. “So that’s good.” He said the U.S. economy may see positive numbers in consumer spending, exports and business investment by the end of the year. “We may actually get some positive numbes next quarter,” he said. Mathis spoke July 31, 2009, on Financial News Radio’s “Business for Breakfast” with Ken Morgan and Julie Dougherty (KFNN 1510 AM in Phoenix).
Audio: Mathis breaks down the second-quarter 2009 U.S. GDP numbers (7:07)

Perspective on election fallout in Iran

jamesd — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:15:43 +0000

More than 70 percent of Iran’s population is under 30 and social media savvy. Thunderbird Professor Paul Kinsinger says this makes technology the worst enemy for Iran’s hard-line leadership, which has attempted to block cell phone and social media use to quell protests over alleged election fraud. Kinsinger talked June 15, 2009, with Phoenix reporter Jim Cross on KTAR (620 AM) about this and other topics.
Article: America’s stake in Iran, by Paul Kinsinger
Audio 1: Kinsinger on potential spillover from Iran and the influence of social media (1:47)
Audio 2: Kinsinger talks June 22, 2009, with “Horizon” host Ted Simons (10:52)

Time for MBA schools to rethink ethics education

jamesd — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:46:28 +0000

Business schools leery of teaching MBA students the difference between right and wrong need to rethink their approach to ethics education, Thunderbird President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., said June 17, 2009, at a global conference in Phoenix. “Not only is it OK for us to tell future managers what is right and wrong, it is an absolute duty of ours,” said Cabrera, who received a standing ovation after his keynote address at the MBA Career Services Council annual meeting at the Arizona Biltmore.
Audio: Listen to the full keynote address (30:18)

The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging Your Business

jamesd — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:04:37 +0000

Whether it’s a standoffish coworker or an arrogant boss, incivility at the office doesn’t just affect the moods of a few employees. It hurts an entire company. Thunderbird Professor Christine Pearson and co-author Christine Porath provide a decade of research that shows how — and what you can do about it — in their new book, The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It (Portfolio Hardcover, July 2009). Pearson talks about the book May 15 at Thunderbird.
Audio 1: Research origins: From workplace homicide to incivility (02:27)
Audio 2: Incivility defined: What it looks like (04:22)
Audio 3: Incivility costs: How it hurts your business (02:17)
Audio 4: Habitual incivility: Beware of repeat offenders (02:21)
Audio 5: Coping with incivility: What to do about it (03:11)

Coca-Cola’s Neville Isdell calls for connected capitalism

jamesd — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:49:15 +0000

The troubled world of global business needs an updated version of capitalism that bridges the gap between fiscal and social responsibility, recently retired Coca-Cola chairman and CEO Neville Isdell told Thunderbird graduates May 1 in Glendale, Ariz. “We need leaders who will help update capitalism for the challenges the world faces today,” Isdell said. Audio: Neville Isdell’s commencement address at Thunderbird (14:47)

Professor shares insights on violence in Mexico

jamesd — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:23:22 +0000

What does violence in Mexico mean for tourists and global managers doing business in the country? What about stories of rogue taxi drivers who take foreigners to remote locations and extort money? Thunderbird Professor Roy C. Nelson, author of the new book, “Harnessing Globalization: The Promotion of Nontraditional Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America,” offers his insights April 23, 2009, during an interview on the Pat McMahon Show on AZTV (Channel 7) in Phoenix.
Audio: Roy C. Nelson on the Pat McMahon Show (14:08)

Marketing versus Finance: Reconcilable Differences

jamesd — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:59:46 +0000

Marketers and finance professionals have a “famously fractious relationship” that sometimes resembles a sibling rivalry, Thunderbird Professor Richard Ettenson, Ph.D., told representatives of both sides April 21 at the Advertising Financial Management Conference hosted by the Association of National Advertisers in Phoenix. The tension that results may seem irreconcilable, but Ettenson said marketers can get the chief financial officer on their side when they learn to articulate a business case for their activities. Learn more in the June 2007 issue of Harvard Business Review. Audio: Tea and Toyotas: Real Payoffs of Marketing (8:31)

Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World

jamesd — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:23:40 +0000

Billionaire Warren Buffett stood in the New York Public Library in June 2006 and announced plans to give away most of his wealth. Matthew Bishop, chief business writer for The Economist, left the library with the idea for his new book, “Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World.” He spoke March 6 at Thunderbird about the challenges of giving away money with maximum impact. Audio: Bishop on “Philanthrocapitalism” (13:45)

Avnet drives profits through employee engagement

jamesd — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:04:22 +0000

Profitable growth starts with employee engagement, Avnet Chairman and CEO Roy Vallee said March 19, 2009, at Thunderbird School of Global Management. He describes the “service value chain” that has become a primary focus at the Fortune 500 company based in Phoenix. “Engaged employees plus loyal customers equals profitable growth,” he says.
Audio: Roy Vallee on employee engagement (15:35)

Realities, past and present, of global oil

jamesd — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:35:31 +0000

Thunderbird Professor Michael Moffett, Ph.D., works closely with oil and gas industry leaders as the academic director for Thunderbird’s various International Consortia programs. “The expertise involved in the industry globally is absolutely amazing,” Moffett said March 6 during a special homecoming presentation. “And they’re pouring money constantly into further research and development.” Moffett updated alumni on five issues affecting the industry: complex global value chains, countries reaching peak production, the increasing difficulty of development, price volatility and alternative sources of energy. Audio: Five issues affecting global oil (17:34)

Fluor CEO tackles corruption through global initiative

jamesd — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:08:20 +0000

Ethical companies face disadvantages when competitors pay bribes and engage in bid rigging. Alan Boeckmann, chairman and CEO of Fluor Corp., watched the corruption in the engineering construction industry and decided to do something about it through the World Economic Forum. He talks Feb. 26, 2009, about the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative.
Audio: Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (06:19)

From corruption to ethics at IHS

jamesd — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:10:50 +0000

Jerre Stead got a call on Thanksgiving eight years ago. He was serving on the board of a large holding company that owned IHS, a Denver-based information solutions provider. Something was wrong at IHS, and Stead was asked to investigate. What he found was a culture of corruption that started at the top of the comany. What began as a two-day inquiry turned into an eight-year project for Stead, who is now chairman and CEO of the company that went public on Nov. 11, 2005. Stead talked Feb. 24, 2009, at Thunderbird about the process of bringing values-based leadership to IHS. Audio: Jerre Stead on values based leadership (14:27)

Humanize your selling strategy to win

jamesd — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:23:58 +0000

“Swim with the Sharks” author and syndicated columnist Harvey Mackay built a multimillion dollar envelope company in Minnesota by learning people’s names and humanizing his selling strategy, the entrepreneur says Feb. 17, 2009, at Thunderbird School of Global Management. Part of the strategy includes a 66-question customer profile for every client.
Audio: Win with 66-question customer profile (15:45)

Saving world heritage sites through cultural tourism

jamesd — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:56:54 +0000

The ruins of great civilizations often are found in some of the poorest nations of the world. Jeff Morgan, executive director of the Global Heritage Fund, works in places such as Laos, India and Guatamala to preserve these sites. He speaks Feb. 12 at Thunderbird about blending cultural tourism with development.
Full length: Creating cultural windows into history (29:37)
Condensed: Guatamalan project avoids Mexico’s mistakes (03:28)

Microfinance pioneer defends commercial model in Mexico

jamesd — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:10:53 +0000

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and others accuse Carlos Danel of exploiting low-income families in Mexico by using a commercial microfinance model at Compartamos Banco. Danel defends the commercial model Feb. 10 at Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Full length: Serving clients and shareholders together (28:40)
Condensed: Reality check for microfinance banks (00:40)

Feeling stressed? Try these crisis management tips

jamesd — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:34:27 +0000

Business managers and others dealing with stress during the economic downturn need to stop and take a deep breath. “You can have a sense of paralysis because the anxiety is so high,” Thunderbird Professor Christine Pearson, Ph.D., says during a roundtable discussion Feb. 5 that included input from two other Thunderbird professors and several students.
Audio: Dealing with workplace stress and incivility (09:08)

The power of optimism in a world turned upside down

jamesd — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:12:18 +0000

Thunderbird Professor Karen Walch, Ph.D., remains optimistic about the future despite a global recession that has turned the world upside down. The cross-cultural negotiation and brain science expert says the world is on the edge of a new frontier. “The new frontier is exploring what we can do with our minds,” she says Feb. 5 during a faculty roundtable discussion.
Audio: Exploring the new frontier of the mind (05:31)

Beware of protectionism as Asia falters

jamesd — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:22:23 +0000

For awhile, some economists thought that Asia would survive the global recession and come to the rescue of the West. Thunderbird Professor Roe Goddard, Ph.D., says Feb. 5 during a faculty roundtable discussion that that was wishful thinking. The challenge now is to avoid a knee-jerk reaction in the U.S. and Europe toward protectionism.
Audio: Unrest in China as unemployment rates soar (06:52)

Private equity’s new world: 2008 conference highlights

jamesd — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:04:36 +0000

Private equity industry leaders gathered April 3-4, 2008, at Thunderbird for the fourth annual Global Private Equity Investing Conference. Susan Boedy, a 2002 Thunderbird graduate and director of the Thunderbird Global Private Equity Center, discusses conference highlights, which are featured in the November/ December 2008 issue of Thunderbird International Business Review. Audio: Private Equity’s New World (1:39)

Bankers fail to grasp complexities of globalization

jamesd — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:04:37 +0000

Business leaders can no longer pretend to be working in a fragmented world, the president of Inter-American Development Bank tells Thunderbird graduates Dec. 12. “Every decision you make as a corporate executive, a government official or even as a consumer in the grocery store has a connection in the broader world,” says Luis Alberto Moreno, a 1977 Thunderbird graduate.
Audio: Increased power comes with globalization (14:29)

J.P. Morgan executive on sustainable value creation

jamesd — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:01:41 +0000

As managing director of J.P. Morgan’s private banking operations in the Middle East, Steve Klemme spends time with many ultra-high-net-worth families. Klemme, a 1985 Thunderbird graduate who lives and works in Geneva, says corporate leaders can learn lessons from these families about sustaining wealth in turbulant times and passing it on to future generations.
Audio: Steve Klemme on the global recession (04:46)

Pioneer businesswoman discusses leadership, ethics

jamesd — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:05:38 +0000

When Marilyn Carlson Nelson got her first job as a securities analyst, her boss asked her to sign her name “M.C. Nelson” to disguise her gender. Women have come a long way since then. Nelson talks Oct. 30, 2008, about her personal journey and her philosophy as chairman and former CEO of Carlson Companies.
Full length: How we lead matters (28:24)
Condensed: Fighting gender barriers (2:30)

Lessons from Tyco for today’s financial crisis

jamesd — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:20:23 +0000

Consultant Eric Pillmore, who helped engineer Tyco’s turnaround as the company’s senior vice president of corporate governance, shares lessons learned from the Wall Street scanals of 2002. Pillmore spoke Oct. 28, 2008, at Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Full length: Lessons from Tyco for today’s financial crisis (16:25)
Condensed: Are you willing to lose your job? (4:40)

Accelerating growth in a high-tech company

jamesd — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:24:57 +0000

Bob Cremin, chairman, president and CEO of defense contractor Esterline Technologies, talks Sept. 25, 2008, at Thunderbird School of Global Management about streamlining operations, boosting stock values, empowering employees and “doing the right thing.”
Full length: Accelerating growth in a high-tech company (29:37)
Condensed: Empowering employees (4:57)

The science behind global mindset

jamesd — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:44:15 +0000

Some business leaders excel when their companies send them overseas to do business in foreign environments. Others flop. Thunderbird Professor Mansour Javidan, Ph.D., decided to find out why. The result was the Global Mindset Inventory, a scientific instrument that measures a person’s capacity to influence people from different cultural backgrounds.
Audio: What makes a global leader special? (2:17)

Steve Forbes shares 5 keys for stimulating innovation

jamesd — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:33:04 +0000

Thunderbird commencement speaker Steve Forbes outlines five keys for stimulating innovation and economic growth. These include: 1. Applying the rule of law, 2. Stabilizing money, 3. Lowering taxes, 4. Removing barriers that hinder enterprise, and 5. Developing a hobby. Forbes delivers the keynote address May 2 in Glendale, Ariz.
Audio: Steve Forbes gives advice to graduates (18:54)