A few days ago I posted some interesting figures related to large government investment funds (sovereign wealth funds) and their cash flow sources. So what do these funds in detail in their investments?
Well this matter is not directly related to strategic planning. However the current trends and financial investments of these funds should be considered carefully […]

Part One: What to do when your department was over-downsized
This question might be back on your agenda soon. Latest turmoil at the financial markets made the profits of banks and other investors drop sharply. Nobody knows how many more unrealized losses are to come. We have already seen first redundancies. With growing fears that a […]

A couple of months ago I discussed in this post capital market issues and the cash flow that is created in specific nations trough commodities. Recently in some nations discussions are underway that focus on the financial power, which arise from “government investment funds” - also known as sovereign wealth funds - (in the sense […]

That is an unusual headline, isn’t it? To be honest, the fundamental sentence was “pimp up my car” and all those measures that take place, when people bring their old, rusty cars to a particular TV show. However, this post has a strong link to the car industry; too…therefore I choose this headline.
Environmental issues have […]

Quite recently I have found a very interesting study concerning success factors. A large strategy consulting company did analyze these factors for Chinese companies abroad. To compete abroad four major success factors were described:
 

Productivity and quality need to be improved. It is expected that in the next couple of years the salary level in China […]

When starting the process of strategic planning it is crucial to focus on the key strategic issues. Hence there is a key question: What is a key issue for my organization?
If one walks around in a company and asks several managers you will end very likely with a number of very different ideas what such […]

I had an Auris experience yesterday which made me revisit my old post about the Auris advertising campaign in Germany in February. My little experience is definitely not representative for what is going on on Germany’s roads, since I haven’t been using my car very much over the last couple of months. However, yesterday’s strike […]

Early indicators are very popular in the business world. People normally like them because they see a lot of advantages, such as

Early indicators are perceived to provide some objectivity to otherwise fuzzy planning and forecasting processes.
They are most often based on external data, ideally from an institution with a very high reputation. That adds even […]

I am quite happy. Since yesterday Germany is back. Back in the club of technology driven countries, where technological options and brands are the main drivers for progress.
What’s on? Yesterday the sale of the world famous iPhone did start in Germany. One of the leading German newspapers, the FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) addicted nearly an […]