Verne Harnish

Companies are like living organisms that need to adapt to survive.

Entrepreneurs work for years building up the value in their business, only to give a big chunk of it away when it comes time to sell. Why?

YOUR team is probably fired up about grabbing more market share this year. If you want to achieve that goal, however, it’s time to look at your operation through a fresh lens.

HUNKERING down in year-end strategic planning sessions, you and your team are probably thinking hard about what’s next for the economy and how that will affect your business.

AS Jim Collins notes in the introduction to my new book, The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, we’re living in times of tremendous uncertainty; many growth-company CEOs feel rudderless.

In a world where a Sri Lankan-based company can provide unlimited tech support for $149 a year to a business owner in Sioux City, Iowa, no company can escape the new realities of global competition or hide in its local markets anymore.

A business acquaintance of mine, the founder of a leading manufacturer of industrial blinds and awnings, had always sold through a dedicated network of distribution representatives.

Four must-read books that will help you thrive, no matter what the economy throws at you in 2012 and beyond.

JOHN Rauschkolb, founder and CEO of Panama-based La Hipotecaria, faced an ongoing dilemma.