May 9, 2007 PDM: Top Management Night with Bob Herbold

"Seduced by Success: How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning"

Success is a huge business vulnerability. It can destroy an organization’s or an individual’s ability to understand the need for change and the motivation to creatively attack the status quo. This leads to various business traps that can bring down the company or the person. We will discuss why this happens and what to do about it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Space is limited for this event. Please Pre-pay on line when you register in order to secure your seat!

Program Overview:

In this new book, Herbold analyzes 44 companies in detail and shows that success can be a serious business vulnerability. Based on the lessons from such companies as Kodak, Sony, GM, Samsung, Toyota, Porsche, HP, P&G, Microsoft and Starbucks, he describes the 9 traps caused by success and how the best companies survive those traps.

From the Author:

"When leaders of organizations experience meaningful levels of success or periods of stability, they tend to believe that they are entitled to continued success into the future. In many cases, managers become complacent, comfortable, and mediocre. In fact, what they should be doing is building on all the things they’ve done well in the past. They should be probing to uncover fresh approaches, improving their products and services, and staying lean and agile. Unfortunately, the business pages are filled with sad stories of once-successful organizations that, after reaching the top, could not keep it going; could not sustain their success."

From the Back Cover:

Praise for Seduced by Success
• “Bob Herbold gets to the heart of why successful organizations and individuals often go into a tailspin, and how this can be avoided. His thorough reviews of specific companies we all know make this a very useful book, and I highly recommend it.”-Indra K.Nooyi, President & CEO, PepsiCo, Inc.
• “This book rings painfully true….Bob Herbold demonstrates with clinical precision that a company's fall from grace can frequently be traced back to its time of greatest achievement. Before you get too depressed, however, take heart-he also gives you all the tools you need to avoid that ignominious fate.”-Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer, WPP Group PLC
• “It's very instructive to read the detailed case studies showing how some successful companies lose their way, while others remain successful. Through these rich examples, Bob Herbold shows how to sustain success.”-Koh Boon Hwee, Chairman, DBS Group Holdings/DBS Bank, Asia
• “Seldom do you find a book with as many powerful, useful reminders that help you face up to reality and deal with problems. I strongly urge you to read it.”-Grant L. Kelley, Principal & CEO, Colony Capital Asia

Speaker Bio

Robert J. Herbold
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (Retired), Microsoft Corporation
Managing Director, Herbold Group, LLC

Robert J. (Bob) Herbold, retired executive vice president and chief operating officer of Microsoft Corporation, is the Managing Director of Herbold Group, LLC, a consulting business focused on profitability, operational, and marketing issues. Herbold serves on the Board of Directors of Agilent Technologies, Indachin Ltd. Hong Kong and First Mutual Bank. Also, in 2001 he was appointed by President Bush to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and currently chairs the Education Subcommittee of the Council.

Herbold joined Microsoft in November 1994 as executive vice president and chief operating officer. During his tenure in this position until spring 2001, he was responsible for finance, manufacturing and distribution, information systems, human resources, corporate marketing, market research, and public relations. During his 6.5 years as COO, Microsoft experienced a four fold increase in revenue and a seven fold increase in profits. From spring, 2001 until June, 2003 Herbold worked part time for Microsoft as Executive Vice President assisting in the government, industry, and customer areas.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Herbold spent 26 years at The Procter & Gamble Company. In his last 5 years with P&G, he served as senior vice president of advertising and information services. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s worldwide advertising/brand management operations as well as all marketing related services such as media and television program production. He was also responsible for management information systems and market research on a worldwide basis.

Herbold’s experiences at Microsoft and Procter & Gamble were the basis of an article he authored in the January, 2002 issue of the Harvard Business Review entitled “Inside Microsoft: Balancing Discipline and Creativity”, which focuses on how companies can improve their profitability and agility. In 2004 he authored a book (published by Doubleday) titled The Fiefdom Syndrome; The Turf Battles that Undermine Careers and Companies – and How to Overcome Them. His second book ( published by McGraw Hill) was just released; it’s titled: Seduced by Success; How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning.

Herbold has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati and both a master’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. Herbold is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Heritage Foundation, Nanyang Technological University and the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and is Senior Executive in Residence at INSEAD, Singapore Campus. He is also the President of The Herbold Foundation, which is primarily focused on providing college scholarships to science and engineering students.

Event Details

This event is sponsored by APICS-Puget Sound (APICS-NW). Click Here to return to the registration page.