Language Creates Reality

I heard this statement at a Landmark Education seminar. I was reminded of this recently, as I was updating my profile on my alma mater’s web site for Northwestern University’s Graduate School of Management.

Not to pick on my B-school, but choosing “industry” from a fixed menu was not easy. I have been an interim exec for 12 years, and now run this network. While you and I know that we have our own specialty and this is becoming a profession in its own category, interim management is not yet known in the broader business world.

Another interesting point: there was no way to describe working in social or business networks. That’s more surprising. Social networks (or, in the case of interimCEOinterimCFO, a business network) have become major and massive forms of online marketing and search. Witness Google’s recent launch of real-time search results from Twitter and other social media.

We will know we’ve won when a category other than “consulting” presents itself…when we see interim management in its own right.

“The Government Has More Than Its Foot in the Door”

In Part 2 of our interview with Karen Kane, expert in strategic board communications, Kane says many directors were hoping that concerns over executive compensation would melt away as the stock market improved. In fact populist outrage over executive pay has only increased, which is reflected in the government’s growing intervention in the boardroom.

Karen Kane

“Today, the government has its torso in the door, not just its foot,” observed Pat McGurn of RiskMetrics. If boards aren’t responsive to shareholder concerns, they place the company’s reputation as well as their own reputations at risk. According to McGurn, “Investors expect boards to be more accountable because they see the directors as their elected representatives.”