by Bruce | October 8, 2012 | Articles, Business Models, Globalization, Leadership, Profiles of Individuals, Strategy
Last week I had the chance to sit down with Jim Rishwain, the Chair of Pillsbury, in their New York office just off Times Square. He’s been chair since May 1, 2006, following the high-profile Mary Cranston, and when he assumed the role six years ago it had not...
by Bruce | September 10, 2012 | Articles, Business Models, Finance, Leadership, Strategy
Welcome to the second installment of “Growth is Dead:” Our topic for today is excess capacity. Let’s start with overall supply of new lawyers, which is the font of everything else. Thanks to the redoubtable Prof. Paul Campos (University of Colorado...
by Bruce | August 21, 2012 | Articles, Business Models, Leadership, Strategy
What does “The Cheesecake Factory” restaurant chain have to teach hospitals? According to Atul Gawande, writing in the current New Yorker, quite a lot. If you’re not familiar with Cheesecake Factory (I am only by reputation; I’ve never set foot...
by Bruce | August 9, 2012 | Articles, Business Models, Finance, Innovative Managing Partners, Leadership, Strategy
LegalWeek has released their annual “UK Top 50” ranking and it paints a rosy picture of strong revenue and profit growth in the teeth of global economic headwinds. Specifically: Total revenue of the Top 50 hit £12.96-billion (US$20.25-billion) This was a...
by Bruce | August 6, 2012 | Articles, Business Models, Leadership, Strategy
Not long ago, in their Soho offices, I had a chance to sit down with Mark Harris, CEO and Founder of Axiom, and a JD/BA grad of the University of Texas and former Ninth Circuit clerk and Davis Polk associate. To say that Mark has “views” on the state of...
by Bruce | March 23, 2012 | Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Strategy
The reaction to my last column on the developments at Dewey has been as strong as to any piece I can remember writing in the near-decade Adam Smith, Esq. has been around. But for those of you who may be feeling overdosed on Dewey coverage, events are not letting the...