America, Inc.
When I worked as a management consultant two types of companies came to us for help. The first type was companies seeking an edge, to go from good to great, maybe improve their ROE by a few points. The second type was companies that were in deep trouble and needed a new strategic direction, an overhaul in their operations, or a financial restructuring. Today I am a stakeholder in an...
Read MoreReshoring
There has been a lot of talk lately about the resurgence of American manufacturing, how companies are bringing their factories back from overseas and making things domestically, and that manufacturing is leading the economic recovery from the Meltdown of 2008. Any good news about manufacturing is entirely good news, but these assertions are only partially accurate, and perhaps not very...
Read MoreMake it in America
Andrew N. Liveris is an accomplished executive. Trained as a chemical engineer, he has spent his entire career at one company, working across every important business function including manufacturing, engineering, sales, marketing and general management. He now holds the top position at one of the world’s largest manufacturing companies. The Dow Chemical Company generates $57 billion in...
Read MoreHigh-Speed Rail
President Obama has proposed an $8 billion high-speed rail program. The Lincoln Institute for Land Policy recently completed a multi-year study of high-speed rail and included an action plan for moving forward. An ambitious program to develop high-speed rail in this country is said to improve our national infrastructure and would be a boon to manufacturers of rail equipment and supplies. ...
Read MoreMinimum Wage
The President in his 2013 State of the Union address called for a higher minimum wage. There is a lot of literature examining the impact of increased minimum wages and strong opinions about whether it is a good idea to do so. I’ll have some comments about this and in particular its bearing on manufacturing at a later date.
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