A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a young analyst who had been given an assignment at his company, a startup that had become a unicorn. As with many other unicorns, the company was cash flow negative. His job was to look at major cost areas and highlight…
Anyone who has seen the classic film Casablanca remembers a scene in which a local government official who has been taking bribes for years from Rick, the café’s owner, needs to placate the German military…
He had always been a strong leader. He had demonstrated achievement after achievement, significant accomplishments from his college years onward. And then, something happened.This leader had built a NYSE company, one that Wall Street respected and…
The plan had been developed over multiple years. All the key people, acknowledged experts in their fields, had played a hand in creating the plan. Consultants had added value and reviewed the plans; compliance officers agreed; IT and Logistics had assigned off…
Although in this current woke period many have placed Winston Churchill on the ash heap of history (despite his amazing leadership during World War II), I have long admired Churchill. Yes, like Washington and Lincoln, he was a man of his time and a flawed leader. But…
A few weeks ago I wrote about the RFP process in banks. That newsletter received some helpful feedback, pointing out the need for banks to spotlight this area with greater intensity.At many banks the RFP process needs to be fundamentally rethought in light of…
Two decades ago many banks focused on developing their own technology solutions rather than relying on third party technology providers. The idea was that developing bespoke solutions would better serve their customers rather than offering a “canned” solution…
Like millions of Americans we gathered on the night of July 4th to enjoy good conversation (no politics), and typical summer food and drink, too much of each. We were sitting outside a North Miami family house on the Miami River. Whether we knew it or not…
Over a decade ago I remember sitting in a banking conference listening to a “consultant” speak about his company’s focus on helping banks capture and exploit overdraft fee income. The penalty charges were significant. Those fees took advantage of…
The technology told me the process would work perfectly. I made the appointment by phone to have the rug cleaned and almost daily I received texts reminding me of the day and hour of the appointment. Our condo has requirements concerning…