Usually one knows only 5 percent of what is needed at the stage where 70 percent of the product's cost is determined. Fortunately, there is some predictability, since return on investment and risk go hand in hand.

A few days ago I read an interview with the famed Russian ballet dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and one of his comments sent me into an hour of business thinking. It may be the first time that a person often seen in public wearing tights has given me a business lesson!

Over the last couple of days I have been receiving emails asking how to put together a winning strategy for 2012. To be honest, it's a loaded question.

Here's my offering to help you create a corporate culture that works, hoping that you will give it serious thought for the sake of your employees.

Remember this iconic slogan? Its meaning is more important than ever. Our social networking medium is amazing, but what if you picked up the phone and made a more lasting connection?

How great would the professional world be if only the genuinely talented players made the "team" and only the best companies "won?" Here's why football makes for the greatest work analogy.

There are three keys to ensuring that a reasonable dependence on systems and processes doesn't swell into arthritic bureaucracy.

My strategic plan is all about heart. More than ever, my heart leads and my head follows. I am not saying to stop marketing, stop selling, stop accounting and operations. I am just suggesting you lead from a different place.

Fund-raising is an awkward and often uncomfortable effort for those raising funds. But when the person asking is a women entrepreneur, the dance takes on many more nuances.

In today's world of information overload and global reach, marketing and selling skills are critical to the success of every startup.

It's time for the biosphere to figure into more strategic plans -- as a partner and a competitor -- that is constantly adapting.

By understanding that our brains automatically crank up the perceived urgency of here-and-now problems, we can set these perceived emergencies aside for just a few moments in order to think big.

Sometimes I get a strange reaction when I explain that there isn't any difference between marketing and training. People have a hard time grasping th...

The good news is that you just survived the most recent round of layoffs. The bad news is that your job just got bigger. How do you keep up with your workload when more is being piled on?

Mobile marketing offers an interactive experience for consumers and allows them to interact with a brand or advertiser at their convenience, with urgency and spontaneity.

If you believe that employees are your "most precious resource" and that their engagement is tied to their productivity and thus your bottom line, than you'd be wise to embrace social media in the workplace.