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November 22, 2024
 

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Mark Mccormack
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Apr 8, 2003
Who's minding the store? Keeping an eye on partnered projects
The multimillionaire developer had a long track record with a number of large resort properties. He figured that when he hired a Fortune 500 hotel chain to manage his latest development he would be freeing himself up to do what he did best -- building and creating -- while they did what they did best:...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Mar 25, 2003
The Rules of Clout: the whens and hows of granting favors safely
The story has passed its first blush now, and has faded in public memory into just another head-shaker about the apparently out-of-control lifestyles of CEOs. But the saga of how a star stock analyst, Jack Grubman, allegedly upgraded a stock as a favor for Sandy Weill of Citigroup, who in turn pressured...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Mar 11, 2003
Four essential errors that you should make before assuming the CEO mantle
Winter is here with a vengeance, and the ski slopes are alive with CEOs who have nothing better to do than hone their powder skills -- and think about what might have been. Many will no doubt be replaying the miscalculations and misjudgments that led to their current difficulties. Yet the curious thing...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Feb 25, 2003
The perils of package deals: When the client comes with a loved one, buckle your seatbelt
If there is one area of expertise that is perhaps underestimated in business, it is the need and ability to negotiate with the package deals that come with certain clients, customers, buyers or suppliers. I'm talking about those people whose talents or patronage you desire, but who come with strings...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Feb 11, 2003
Fatal Distraction: There's no such thing as a 'safe' investment, when it comes to a micromanaging CEO
A news story the other day included a list of a certain CEO's business activities, all on top of his "day" job: part-owner of a golf course, a hunt club and a new marina, each in a different part of the country; silent partner in his son's startup venture; prime mover behind a regional ski resort development;...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jan 28, 2003
Habit vs. mechanics: Going from good to great can necessitate a 'Tiger Woods' overhaul
Recently an executive returned from a trip with a story about the salesman he visited. Now in his late 50s, the fellow had been a proven performer since early in his career, hitting his numbers and accumulating bonuses at a prodigious clip. His sales approach was direct to the point of being confrontational,...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jan 14, 2003
The Bad News Bearer: How to look good even if the tidings aren't glad
The scene was a lavish business function, the type we're seeing less and less of these days. Asked by an earnest professor at a prestigious business school what sort of unorthodox job skills he would wish on today's generation of MBAs, the CEO -- and the party's host -- thought a moment before flashing...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Nov 19, 2002
Seagram's fall from grace is testimony to virtue of stockpiling crown jewels
When Shakespeare wrote, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" he was talking about royalty, but I'm sure the travails of today's business elite would have attracted his attention. The recent demise of the House of Seagram, for instance, might be worthy of a play -- the tale of how a third-generation...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Nov 5, 2002
Dealing with staff who are making money on the side
This is a story about your most delightful headache. Or perhaps your company's Achilles' heel. Why is the spectrum so wide? Because we're talking about the inner drive that made America great, and its consequences when it manifests itself in inappropriate places.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 22, 2002
Too smart for your own good
It was a merger made in heaven.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Sep 24, 2002
What the U.S. Open can teach you about managing big changes
The recent U.S. Open at the Bethpage Black Course has been bountifully praised, and for all the right reasons: for being the first true public Open, for restoring a historic course to its original design and playing conditions, and for attracting fans from a considerably more populist demographic. The...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Sep 3, 2002
Big raise, big head: Save the new executive from himself
A flattering article on an up-and-coming executive appeared in the business pages, followed by copycat stories in other media. When I complimented the boss on cultivating what seemed to be an extraordinary young talent, she looked me straight in the face and shook her head. "A major, major mistake. I...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Aug 6, 2002
Reducing icebergs to snowballs:How to avoid sinking the ship
"Ever had all your dreams come true, only to find yourself in the middle of a nightmare?" asked a wry acquaintance recently. In his case, he hand followed through on a lifelong dream starting his own advertising boutique. A careful planner, he had determined his own strengths and weaknesses and approached...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jul 23, 2002
Managing growth differs from growing one's firm
The news in business has been full of falling stars lately. "Is it just me," a friend asked the other day, "or does it seem as if half of the CEO supernovas from two years ago have crashed and burned?" In light of the economic turmoil I could understand how he had gotten this impression, but could not...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jul 9, 2002
Burning your bridges
There was a well-known shogun who at one point was considered one of the most powerful men in the country. He built his empire swiftly and, he would be the first to admit, ruthlessly, and in the process ran over a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges. Like many feudal warlords, he rarely left the...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jun 25, 2002
Nosy bosses foul up
Every CEO needs to know how to strike a balance between staying aloof from the nitty-gritty of his company's operations and getting too involved in the day-to-day details of those employees and divisions far from the corner office.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
May 28, 2002
Post-Enron dilemma: share value vs. honor
"Nobody goes down with the ship anymore," complained a pundit recently. "Whatever happened to the idea of personal integrity?" he opined.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
May 13, 2002
Training for success -- crash and learn
Car wrecks always draw a crowd, as every driver knows, and that's true for the equivalent in business, too. Rubber-necking at someone else's trouble, many executives thank their stars that they're not caught in the pileup; most take the opportunity to remind themselves to be extra careful to stay out...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Apr 30, 2002
Timing is everything in redoing contracts
Negotiating, often denigrated as a field for those with more attitude than aptitude, is often the place where very smart executives make glaringly dumb decisions. A good example of this surfaced when ABC attempted to woo David Letterman away from CBS.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Mar 12, 2002
Honesty as a policy
Although it seems that everybody now has an opinion on the Enron debacle, I still think that the business lessons to be learned have been slighted. In a sense, what has happened with this three-card monte version of a corporation is a reflection of the worst single tendency of the last quarter-century...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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