Advice for CEOs

All organizations experience conflict, whether between board members, executives or management. As part of their formal governance processes or as a matter of their operating style and culture, well run companies establish formal processes to address conflicts.

In the first part of this article, I described the first step to implementing a successful strategy to improve profitability for a consumer products company, whether generic or branded: an approach that integrates sourcing, distribution and retail. In this part, I discuss the step two for improving profitability: coordinating between the different departments of your company and with your supply chain partners, especially retailers.

In the first part of this article, I described the need for every business owner to create a contingency plan to deal with the possibility (however unlikely it seems) of his or her death or disability. If unplanned for, such an event could lead your company into a chaotic situation that it might not be able to survive.

Entrepreneurs who head emerging growth companies generally recognize the need for planning. They see that they need to anticipate (formally or at least informally) for all kinds of risks and contingencies. What if they lose a key customer or supplier? What if commodity prices or foreign exchange rates rise or fall? Typically an entrepreneur has at least an informal plan in place to deal with such events—or can be persuaded of the need for one. As a business owner, you need to have a good contingency plan.