It’s almost 2017. The accounts payable (AP) manager has an abundance of technology innovations from which to choose to make the process run faster, better, and cheaper. For example, there are workflow automation solutions that help to reduce duplicate payments, late payments, strengthen internal…

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to this organizational development (OD) technique called Open Space Technology, originally created by Harrison Owen in the late 1980’s. Open Space is essentially a meeting facilitation technique that is much less scripted, and much more, well, open, than…

Amazon.  The Behemoth of Booksellers.  The Disruptor of Retail.   The Patron Saint of the US Postal Service (their Prime saved USPS’s bacon). Amazon. The Paragon of Predictive Analytics.  The Role Model of Recommendation Systems. Given Amazon’s obsession with data and…

As many of you know by now, I’m the proud parent of a high school student, with all the joys and frustrations that entails. I was recently struck with how much being a parent is like managing a business. Think about it. There are: performance measures to monitor—grades and standardized…

Driving a Rover on Mars? Touring Valen's Reef in the Bird’s Head Seascape international preserve? Reliving Hurricane Sandy as the waters rose? I had a chance to experience all three of these in virtual reality (VR) at the 2016 Aspen Ideas Festival.  All three experiences would have been…

Adam Grant is a supremely practical management guru with a well-deserved reputation based on his popularity as the youngest full professor at Wharton Business School, two best-selling books and a much-read Sunday New York Times contributor. (He might be the next Peter Drucker.) My very first BTBI…

If attending the Aspen Ideas Festival isn’t on your bucket list, you might consider adding it. Every summer, one thousand movers and shakers, CEOs, authors, politicians, pundits, and artists gather to share the biggest ideas of the day and seek solutions to the world’s pressing problems. I had…

APQC recently talked to Matts Rehnstrom of Clean Stream about the five keys to making sure your processes make the customer experience better. Matts Rehnstrom is the Shaper of Business Excellence and has more than 25 years of experience with leadership and business development.  He will be…

The evolving “Internet of Things” (IoT) is bringing about a new level of interconnectivity among devices, people, and organizations. The acceleration of IT interconnectivity in the supply chain function also creates potential risks if organizations do not ensure that they are making the right…

Today to win, organizations have to outmaneuver the competition, and this is where finance needs to step up and become a better business partner. But how are CFOs, and the finance functions they manage, driving process improvement efforts that lead to this outcome? To answer this question and more…