Blog
August 2020
This VUCA World: What Can You Do About It?
VUCA is an acronym coined at the US Army College in the 1990’s to sum up what the world would be like after the Soviet Union’s collapse: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. However, I think you will all agree that VUCA has never been more relevant for both the military and business than it is […]
August 2020
Executive on Demand: Why and How
Many people have asked me why we started the Executive on Demand offering here at Core Catalysts. Executive on Demand provides talented executives with skill sets ranging from COO, CFO, CIO, Sales/Marketing, and HR on a fractional, retained, or project basis. The need for this service offering came about because of two major trends. The […]
July 2020
Supply Chain: Re-Shoring, On-Shoring, and Buffer Options
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” -Attributed to Winston Churchill. For the last few decades, “off-shoring” (basing some of a company’s processes or services overseas, to take advantage of opportunities to lower costs), “vendor simplification”, and “just-in-time” (reducing stocks of raw-materials, work in progress, and finished goods within operating processes […]
June 2020
PowerPoint Tips to Nail Your Presentation
It’s hard to communicate ideas simply. In the right hands, PowerPoint can be a great tool to help you get your points across in an effective and easy way. If you want to make sure your next PowerPoint presentation to gets your point across effectively, try applying a few of these tips: THINK BEFORE YOU POWERPOINT Before […]
June 2020
Working With Private Equity
Reading an article about Kansas based Payless Shoes this weekend, I was reminded of a presentation I recently gave to local financial executives about what they needed to know when working with Private Equity (PE) firms, challenging perceptions versus reality. The article portrayed Private Equity firms in a very negative light, telling a story of […]
June 2020
Cash Management Post Lockdown
I don’t know about you, but if I hear another talking head on the TV using the phrase “new normal,” or read another newspaper article or blog post that suggests that anyone truly knows how business will change in the medium to long-term, I think I will explode. I plan to just build on my previous post […]
May 2020
Consulting Services Delivered in Today’s Crazy World – Part 3 of 3
A frequent question with potential clients recently is the ability to deliver value in a virtual environment. While we are providing targeted value for all our current clients virtually today, we will explore some of the most demanded services with the current economic environment in the last part of our 3-part series. There are existing […]
May 2020
Consulting Services Delivered in Today’s Crazy World – Part 2 of 3
A frequent question with potential clients recently is the ability to deliver value in a virtual environment. While we are providing targeted value for all our current clients virtually today, we will explore some of the most demanded services with the current economic environment in this 3-part series. Cash management and forecasting services – These […]
May 2020
Consulting Services Delivered in Today’s Crazy World – Part 1 of 3
A frequent question with potential clients recently is the ability to deliver value in a virtual environment. While we are providing targeted value for all our current clients virtually today, we will explore some of the most demanded services with the current economic environment in this 3-part series. Assessments are typically quick hitting engagements where we […]
April 2020
Controlling Costs in the Cloud – AWS and Azure – Part 1
Last year at the Intercon Conference in Las Vegas, I found myself queued in the bar line alongside the rest of the attendees after a long day of presentations. To pass the time I struck up a conversation with the man in front of me who I learned was the CIO of an ecommerce company […]