Nuggets from Behind Closed Doors

Inside every private Alliance meeting, there are hundreds of years of experience. While keeping confidentiality of the member who provided the challenge to their group, we’ve captured (with permission) just some of the insightful comments from a handful of members. Read what these members had to say to get a glimpse of what it is like to be an Alliance member.

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Organizational Design - Search Results (17)

Member Pat Lashinsky Speaks: Pursuing IPO? Invest Now in the Right People and Processes to Take You Over the Finish Line

When companies are faced with the opportunity to go public, their leaders can struggle to prioritize the right next step forward. Pat Lashinsky, Co-Founder of Momseze, suggests moving decisively and preparing immediately.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   Operations   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Alex Ashton Speaks: Get Binary With Complex Questions

Innovative technology can have seemingly endless applications. Business leaders in technology are often faced with the common yet overwhelming question of, “What type of company do I really have?” Alex Ashton, Founder & Principal of I/D.W, offers strategies to reach clarity.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Bernie Tobin Speaks: Growing Quickly? Sacrifice Speed to Find the Best Fit

When companies are faced with the need to quickly increase headcount, their leaders can struggle to decide on the next step forward. Bernie Tobin, General Manager of Natera, shares strategy into hiring the right candidates who can evolve with a rapidly changing organization.

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Insight categories include: Culture   Human Resources   Leadership   Operations   Organizational Design   

Member Joe Budelli Speaks: To Attract and Retain the Best, Invest in Your Employees’ Success

Business leaders are often looking to stimulate a productive company culture and increase employee retention. Joe Budelli, Chief Revenue Officer of Propy, shares insight into creating cross-functional, professional development programs to attract great talent.

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Insight categories include: Culture   Human Resources   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Jim Flatt Speaks: Scaling? Dust Off That Organizational Chart

When companies undergo rapid growth, their leaders often struggle to implement organizational structure and personnel in such a dynamic environment. Alliance member Jim Flatt, Co-Founder, CEO and President of Brightseed, shares his insights into creating an effective scaling process.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Peter Koshland Speaks: Share Fears, Empathize and Negotiate

Navigating a fifty-fifty percent ownership structure is difficult, and perhaps even impossible. Alliance member Peter Koshland, Founder of Koshland Pharm, describes the inherent difficulties in this arrangement and strategizes approaches to mitigate dysfunction.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Sheeroy Desai Speaks: Don’t Forget The Troops. They Win The War.

CEOs spend a lot of time in the C-suite and sometimes that warps perspective on strategic priorities. Alliance member Sheeroy Desai, Co-Founder and former CEO of Gild, suggests paying more attention to employees on the ground as the company ramps up for serious growth.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   Operations   Organizational Design   Sales   Strategy & Planning   Technology   

Member Jeff Cleland Speaks: How About a Win-Win-Win Situation?

Clever corporate actions of spin-off and licensing can create optimized arrangements where all parties win and future value is maximized. Jeff Cleland, President and CEO of Graybug Vision, suggests a tried-and-true maneuver that eschews acquisition in favor of equity swaps and licensing deals.

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Insight categories include: Finance   Leadership   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Glenda Anderson Speaks: License Back by Vertical

Does your company own intellectual property with a broad range of applications? Glenda Anderson, CEO & Founder of Farsight Genome Systems, shares a spin-off, license-back strategy to maximize overall IP value.

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Insight categories include: Finance   Organizational Design   Sales   Strategy & Planning   

Member Anne Bisagno Speaks: Make Sure Your Customer is Winning, Too

CEOs often wish to move from an “hourly billable” to a “fixed monthly price” model for their business services. Anne Bisagno, President of Xantrion, speaks from experience about how it is done – and where the pitfalls lie.

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Insight categories include: Operations   Organizational Design   Sales   Strategy & Planning   

Member Andy Barrons Speaks: Instead of a New Team, Consider a New Division

To seriously engage an emerging market, substantial upfront investment is needed to ensure the potential of success. Andy Barrons of Navis urges establishing process for real institutional buy-in.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Ebbe Altberg Speaks: Before You “Scale Up,” You Have Some Answering To Do

Scaling a business requires clear strategic vision. Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab, asks some hard, but necessary, questions for the CEO that seeks radical growth.

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Insight categories include: Entrepreneurship   Leadership   M&A   Organizational Design   Sales   Strategy & Planning   Technology   

Member Paul Finkle Speaks: How to Get to a Recurring Revenue Model

The golden goose of most service-based firms is to attain predictable, recurring revenue. Alliance Member Paul Finkle of ABD SharedHR gives some insight into how it can be done.

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Insight categories include: Operations   Organizational Design   Sales   Strategy & Planning   Technology   

Member John Weber Speaks: Be Honest With Yourself

The case at hand was brought to a recent Alliance meeting by an Alliance CEO who was considering whether or not to take the company public, but was concerned about his responsibility to employees who have been issued equity. Here's what John Weber, then President of CooperVision, shared with the Alliance member.

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Insight categories include: Finance   Leadership   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   

Member Israel Niv Speaks: Create a Fuller Solution

An Alliance CEO believed his company's stock price was extremely undervalued because of past missteps by prior management. Here's what Israel Niv, CEO of DCG Systems, Inc., shared with the Alliance member.

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Insight categories include: Finance   Organizational Design   Strategy & Planning   Technology   

Member Alain Couder Speaks: Wait, Then Make the Call

The case at hand was brought to a recent Alliance meeting by an Alliance CEO whose company had a major acquisition in the works. As a result of the acquisition, the CEO believed that the company needed to change from a functional structure to a business unit structure. In response, here's what Alain Couder, then CEO of Oclaro, a global provider of optical products for the telecommunications market, shared with the Alliance member.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   M&A   Organizational Design   

Member Prem Uppaluru Speaks: Be Careful About Switching to Product Business

Read what Prem Uppaluru, CEO of Transera Communications, shared with an Alliance member whose consulting company was considering whether to create a successful new product or transform itself into a product company.

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Insight categories include: Leadership   Marketing   Organizational Design   Sales   Strategy & Planning