Knowledge@wharton

The secret to long-term CEO success according to David Nadler is conceiving of a CEO’s tenure as a performance with a series of distinct acts. ”Each act requires the CEO to lead think and behave in fundamentally different ways. The successful ones are those who are able to make the transitions ” says Nadler a consultant to boards and senior executives who spoke during the recent 11th annual Wharton Leadership Conference. The theme of the conference sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Change Management the Center for Human Resources and Wharton Executive Education was ”Developing Leadership Talent.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Producing a feature-length motion picture is a daunting task especially if you do it without the support of a major studio using money you have raised yourself. But according to independent filmmaker Lance Weiler ”the real struggle” comes after the film is completed. Distributing a theatrical feature -- and doing so profitably -- poses an even greater challenge. As Weiler noted during a recent interview with Knowledge at Wharton ”making the film is easy in comparison.” Yet Weiler believes he has a solution. By expanding the movie into an interactive theatrical event Weiler has carved out a niche that he believes offers an economically viable model for independent cinema. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

U.S. stock markets are in a tizzy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 311 points on July 26 and most media companies interpreted this to mean the end of the buyout boom. Buyout firms such as the Fortress Investment Group and the Blackstone Group were hit especially hard. How long will the turmoil continue? Could the trouble spread overseas to international markets? What is the right strategy for investors in these times? In an update to the podcast that Knowledge at Wharton published on July 25 Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel offers his insights on these questions. In the earlier podcast he discussed the continuing crisis involving sub-prime housing loans and other issues -- including economic growth in China and the impact of the strong Indian rupee -- with Knowledge at Wharton. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Following accounting and governance scandals at Enron and other U.S. companies policymakers in the United States and elsewhere responded by establishing new corporate governance rules including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Now after complaints from the business community that regulations are hurting profits some countries are taking a second look at post-Enron reforms. But according to research presented during a recent conference on international corporate governance -- sponsored by the Weiss Center for International Financial Research at Wharton -- countries should think twice about loosening governance regulations. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wharton professor Serguei Netessine who recently had to spend the night in an airport hotel after being kicked off an overbooked evening flight is one of thousands of airline passengers this summer who have been stranded on runways or sleeping in airports. While airline service is no longer the white-glove experience it once was it has recently gone beyond bad food and snappish flight attendants. ”Previously airlines worried about dissatisfied customers. Now I don’t think they worry about it because the customer service at all airlines is so horrible ” says Netessine. Knowledge at Wharton looks at the current state of the airline industry. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For big-screen movie company IMAX the past several weeks must have seemed like the best of times and the worst of times. The recent opening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the largest and most successful in IMAX history. Yet despite the record box office the company’s stock price remained moribund as it delayed its financial filings to restate its revenue recognition for the years 2002-2005 and responded to an informal inquiry from the SEC. This was not the first challenge faced by Richard Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler who share the titles of chairman and CEO. Knowledge at Wharton recently spoke with Gelfond at IMAX’s corporate headquarters in New York about the company’s plans for the future. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Just a decade ago a company called Baby Einstein helped launch a new line of educational videos and toys that many parents believed would put their toddlers in the fast lane to success. The company was soon joined by others that promoted educational and entertainment products for babies and the under-three-year-old set including The Baby Prodigy Company and Brainy Baby. But recently some child advocacy groups -- and the author of a new book -- are warning parents to rethink the products and the messages behind these campaigns. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is about to find out that being a CEO is a lot different than being the ceremonious Chief Yahoo as he was called until last month. Yang who became Yahoo’s new CEO on June 18 faces a daunting to-do list that includes reinvigorating the company closing a performance gap with Google thwarting challenges from social media sites such as Facebook delivering financial results that make Wall Street cheer and charting a course for the future. His first deadline comes in about 100 days. Knowledge at Wharton asked faculty members for advice on how Yang should handle this management challenge. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Recent media reports detailing a series of quality problems with Chinese-made exports -- pet food tainted with prohibited chemicals toys covered with lead paint and tires that fall apart at high speed -- have alarmed the American public and resulted in a number of international product recalls. In this opinion piece Paul Midler founder and president of China Advantage  a services firm that provides outsourcing and supply chain management to U.S. and European companies discusses what he calls ”quality fade” and a number of related challenges that face Chinese manufacturing. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jon Spector a former Wharton vice dean and now CEO of the Conference Board spoke with participants at the Community 2.0 conference in Las Vegas earlier this year to explore how companies are trying to harness communities to reshape their businesses. In this podcast Spector speaks with Craig Newmark founder and ”customer service rep” of Craigslist.com. Spector is a co-author with Barry Libert of the forthcoming Wharton School Publishing book We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Google bought YouTube recently for $1.65 billion the world of business sat up to take serious notice of social networks. Today many companies are looking into how they can tap into -- or develop -- communities as a way to make better decisions and increase profits. Jon Spector a former Wharton vice dean and now CEO of the Conference Board spoke with participants at the Community 2.0 conference in Las Vegas earlier this year to explore how companies are trying to harness communities to reshape their businesses. In this podcast Spector speaks with Diane Davidson director of customer marketing at WebEx. Spector is a co-author with Barry Libert of the forthcoming Wharton School Publishing book We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A mathematical parrot. A Dutch-speaking orangutan. A chimp that can pass for a boy. These are the otherworldly characters -- and provocative thought experiments -- that anchor best-selling author Michael Crichton’s most recent novel Next. The book weaves together several storylines in order to trace the complex interplay of scientific innovation legal loopholes and economic opportunity. Along the way Crichton creates a troubling portrait of a biotech industry marred by corporate greed and moral uncertainty. Both thriller and policy piece the book is also a compelling contribution to the debate over genetic research according to our reviewer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From Reading Lolita in Tehran an award-winning account of an underground Iranian women’s book group to The Kite Runner a best-selling novel about modern Afghanistan tales of Islamic culture have entranced Western readers eager for a glimpse into a world that is at once far removed from theirs and yet fundamentally intertwined with it. A recent book adds to this genre. In Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil author Deborah Rodriguez opens a window onto the private lives of Afghan women by explaining what it’s like to try and launch a business -- in this case a beauty school -- in a remote unfamiliar area. The tale according to our reviewer is heartwarming eye-opening and ultimately chilling. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marshall Goldsmith the founder of executive coaching firm Marshall Goldsmith Partners has worked closely with more than 70 CEOs during his career. Forbes has named him one of the five most respected executive coaches. The Wall Street Journal ranks him among the top 10 executive educators. Now Goldsmith has assembled a book that distills the wisdom he and his stable of coaches usually dispense in person. Listed at $23.95 What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful written with Mark Reiter is a bargain compared to the six-figure cost of receiving Goldsmith’s wisdom in person. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In Marketing That Works: How Entrepreneurial Marketing Can Add Sustainable Value to Any Sized Company (Wharton School Publishing) the focus is on optimizing investments in every aspect of marketing whether it’s targeting the right customer delivering added value or generating better product ideas. Authors Leonard M. Lodish Howard L. Morgan and Shellye Archambeau offer tools tactics and strategies that companies can use to differentiate themselves in today’s marketplace. As the authors note ”Marketing more than technology is most often the reason for the success or failure of new ventures or new initiatives” in mature corporations. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In The Self Destructive Habits of Good Companies ... And How to Break Them (Wharton School Publishing) Jagdish N. Sheth a marketing professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University analyzes why companies that are at the top of their industry suddenly disappear from the landscape. He maintains that successful companies fall prey to complacency arrogance competency dependence competitive myopia territorial impulse volume obsession and denial and he then goes on to suggest ways companies can change course and avoid these traps. As Sheth notes in his introduction ”My view is that most companies can survive forever if they recognize and take steps to counter self-destructive habits or set up processes to keep them from arising in the first place.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

According to Daniel M. Cable what characterizes successful companies these days is ”a strikingly different obsessively focused” workforce one that -- compared to competitors’ workforces -- is ”downright strange.” Cable a management professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina makes his case in a new book titled Change to Strange: Create a Great Organization by Building a Strange Workforce (Wharton School Publishing). To get the best results Cable says companies have to build a workforce ”that is extraordinary in a way that customers care about.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Larry Huston was vice president of knowledge and innovation for many years at Procter & Gamble. During that time he was the architect of its Connect + Develop program the creator of P&G’s Brand Bootcamp operation and innovation leader for the company’s global fabric and homecare business among other initiatives. He is now managing partner of 4INNO and recently joined Wharton’s Mack Center for Technological Innovation as a senior fellow. Knowledge at Wharton asked Huston to talk about innovation and its role in the global economy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David G. Marshall CEO of Amerimar Realty in Philadelphia has made a career of seeking out bitter lemons and turning them into sweet -- and profitable -- lemonade. Through the years he has taken over distressed properties -- such as The Rittenhouse in Philadelphia Pier 39 in San Francisco and Denver Place in Colorado -- and made them into successful enterprises. Marshall recently went to Shanghai as part of the Wharton Fellows program and came to the conclusion that what is happening in Chinese real estate ought to be a wake-up call for the U.S. market. Knowledge at Wharton spoke to Marshall about his visit to China and other issues. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One pitch for charity described the needs of Rokia a young girl in Africa who is desperately poor and faces starvation. Another pitch talks about food shortages affecting more than three million children many of whom are homeless. Which pitch is more effective? Not surprisingly it’s the first but Wharton marketing professor Deborah Small and two co-authors delve deeper into the issue of sympathy and how it relates to charitable giving. Their paper is titled ”Sympathy and Callousness: The Impact of Deliberative Thought on Donations to Identifiable and Statistical Victims.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.