Category Archives: Leadership

Developing ‘Black Run’ Leaders

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Stuart Cross

I have just returned from a great week’s family skiing holiday in La Rosiere, France. It was the first time that my three boys had been skiing, but by the end of the week they were tackling the moderately difficult … Continue reading →

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The Big Society: What David Cameron Must Do Now

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Stuart Cross

Last summer I wrote about my concerns about how David Cameron was leading his Big Society project – see more here – and arguing that he was setting it up for failure. Recent reports – see here – suggest that … Continue reading →

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10 CEO Guidelines To Ensure Your Strategic Initiatives Succeed

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Stuart Cross

Ensure the program leader has the right capabilities for the job. I know that this is obvious, but I have seen too many instances where the program leader is totally unsuited to the work demanded by leading a major strategy … Continue reading →

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No Plan B?

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Stuart Cross

Despite the return to economic decline in the UK in the final quarter of 2010, the Chancellor, George Osborne, has re-iterated his view that there is no “Plan B” to his deficit reduction plans. Really? All effective business leaders set … Continue reading →

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5 Best Practice Lessons From Recent Projects

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Stuart Cross

Be willing to develop and consider radical alternatives – you never know what you might find. A few months ago I worked with a £400m financial services company that had established a 3-year plan that was solid but unspectacular. It … Continue reading →

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Learning To Love The Climbs

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Stuart Cross

The winner of the 2008 Tour de France was the Spanish rider, Carlos Sastre. After three weeks and nearly 90 hours of racing he beat second-place Cadel Evans by just under one minute. Sastre didn’t gain the race-lead in steady … Continue reading →

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An Elizabethan Lesson In Leadership

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Stuart Cross

I have just finished reading Elizabeth The Queen, a biography of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir. In it she describes the naval battle between the English and the Spanish Armada. England’s victory was a mixture of luck – the weather … Continue reading →

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Nothing Fails Like Success

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Stuart Cross

Many companies struggle and fail, not because they are bad at what they do, but because they are great at what they do. Look at Kodak. Its decline isn’t due to it being poor at film processing, but because it … Continue reading →

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The Secret Of The Chilean Mining Rescue Success

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Stuart Cross

There are many lessons we can take from the heroic recovery of all 33 Chilean miners last week. But one stuck with me more than any other: the clarity of the goal. The simple and uncompromising aim of recovering all … Continue reading →

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What’s Your Nuclear Deterrent?

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Stuart Cross

The UK effectively stopped being a superpower once the US entered WW2. Since then its empire has disappeared and its power and influence on the international stage has steadily reduced. Most US eyes look east, not west, when seeking strategic … Continue reading →

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