Ram Charan

Leading Your Business Through the Global Tilt

It is quite obvious the business world is in a state of flux. We have plummeted from the highs of the last economic boom into the most troubled economy of the past 50 years—an economy that is now globally interconnected and immensely complex. Businesses are frantically trying to find their way in the newly reworked landscape, where the rules of the game seem unclear and sometimes unfair. Drawing on his experience with businesses worldwide, Ram Charan offers perspective and insight for business leaders operating in the new competitive arena, where the balance of economic power has dramatically shifted. The audience will learn:

– The profound shift in economic power that is underway and the opportunities it presents
– How to formulate a clear-headed strategic response to new kinds of global competition
– What resources, skills, and talent will be needed to respond to the global kit
– How to reorient the organization’s psychology and decision making
– Specific companies in the North and South that are succeeding in today’s challenging environment

Execution

The wide gulf between strategizing and getting things done is a growing problem in today’s increasingly complex business world. For businesses to prosper and grow, particularly in a challenging business environment, the gap between promising results and delivering them must be closed. Charan argues execution takes place as a result of robust dialogue that links people, strategy, and operations. What’s more, he contends that leading the three core processes of an organization (people, strategy, and operations) is the real job of running a business and espouses the need for deeply and passionately entangled leaders. The audience gains:

– Recognition that execution cannot be delegated
– Insight how companies like Wal-Mart, Dell, and GE use execution to outcompete
– The framework of flawless execution
– Ability to use a robust, reality-based process for thinking about business in an integrated way

Growth

Growth is vital to economic recovery and is among the most pressing issues facing companies today, but growth doesn’t happen because managers decide to broaden the product line, spend more money on technology, beef up the sales force, or acquire another business. Instead, growth starts with a mindset and insatiable curiosity about the world’s needs. This speech helps the audience:

– Understand if the business isn’t growing sustainably and profitably, it’s dying
– Learn how to fund growth, the corporate mindset required to grow, and the factors that must be considered to achieve balanced growth
– Grasp a method of looking rationally at the risks involved in growth

Talent

The need for talented people in the right jobs can be summed up in a simple way: no talent, no numbers. Talent is a leading indicator of whether the business is headed up or down. Smart leaders put people before numbers, because it is talent, in the end, that delivers the numbers necessary to keep a business strong and healthy. The audience will gain:

– Insight into how world-class companies find and nurture leadership talent
– Understand of why intimacy with your talent and repetitive rhythm of review are the foundation for creating a steady, self-renewing stream of leaders for all levels of an organization
– Recognition that while financial results, market share, brand, and legacy products all have a half-life that seems to grow shorter by the year, talent is the only competency that endures
– Ability to pinpoint and build an individual’s leadership strengths
– Specific guidelines for assessing and improving your company’s talent mastery capabilities

Innovation

We live in a world of unprecedented change and massive volatility. What remains constant is the capital most companies hold in terms of innovation and creativity. “Innovation,” says Charan, “is the world’s best and perhaps only way to win in the face of fast commoditization.” Using examples such as Procter & Gamble, Honeywell, Nokia, LEGO, GE, HP, and DuPont—all of which harnessed the power of innovation—Charan offers both an instruction and inspiring look at transforming today’s companies and remaining profitable in the face of economic uncertainty. The audience will gain:

– How to put the customer at the center of innovation
– The building blocks of innovation
– How to view innovation as a social process
– Insight into reducing the risk of innovation failure
– The knowledge to become a leader in innovations

Profitability & Selling

The twin components of making a company profitable are a keen understanding of the operations underpinnings of the organization and creating a world-class sales team. Charan imparts the basics of business, the universals of success that apply whether you are selling fruit from a stand or running a Fortune 500 company. From this foundation, he then explains in detail how to run a company that is customer-centric—an absolute must in a world where pricing has collapsed and the consumer’s ability to comparison shop is unprecedented. Charan strips back the functions of running a company and making its sales team highly functioning, no matter the size of the organization or the current business climate. The audience will gain:

– Ability to get deeper and richer knowledge of your customer’s need and process for making purchase decisions
– Insight into how to help your customer improve margins and drive revenue growth
– Knowledge of how to connect sales with other key functions, such as finance and manufacturing
– Insight into how to design new, customized offerings
– Understanding of how to de-emphasize price in the selling process

Corporate Boards

In 30 years of helping directors deal with the practical challenges of governing well, Charan has become a leading authority on corporate boards. Directorship magazine named him “one of the most influential people in corporate governance and the board room.” He facilitates board self-evaluations, peer reviews, strategy retreats, and CEO evaluations, and advises on recruitment of new directors and compensation. Charan has served on several boards and on the National Association of Corporate Directors Blue Ribbon Commission on Corporate Governance. Participants will learn:

– Specific ways boards can add or destroy value
– How to define roles and assess performance for committees and the full board
– How to set the board agenda in a way that moves the business forward
– Principles of succession planning for the board
– How to make the board a competitive advantage

Leadership

Fortune magazine calls him “the most influential consultant alive”—a reputation earned through more than 30 years of wise counsel to top business leaders around the globe. Charan has a unique perspective on how great leaders differ from the rest. He breaks through the façade of leadership to explain the capabilities leaders must possess, how to build a leadership-driven company, how to lead in economic uncertainty, how to develop and grow your own leadership capability and, finally, how to plan for smooth succession. The audience will gain:

– Insight into what those teaching leadership tend to miss
– Knowledge of when and how personality matters
– Insight into how to build a pipeline of leaders who can deliver
– Understanding of how a company can develop leadership at every level of the organization
– Ability to implement the “Apprenticeship Model” to grow new leaders

Testimonials

“One word sums your work with at the Leadership meeting and the workshop before – WOW! Never in my 21 years with the company has the company’s leadership team been so united, energized, and optimistic. Now we have to learn and execute.”
– Gary Garfield, CEO and President, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. 

“A huge thank you for all your many great contributions to the success of the Microsoft CEO Summit. You handled the opening session absolutely perfectly! Your scores from the workshop were fabulous. THANK YOU!”
– John Needham, President, Needham Partners

“What a dynamic presenter you are! You not only do an excellent job adjusting from one company session to another, but you deliver the information in a style that entertains as well as educates.”
– John Reed, Former CEO Citicorp 

“You are fantastic! Thanks for inspiring us to EXECUTE!”
– J.P. Moery, CAE, Vice President Federation Relations, U.S. Chamber of Commerce