As Cisco goes to show, the key to really taking advantage of telecommuting is seeing beyond a simple trend! At the company, mobile work is an organizational tool that supports a structured, thought-out flexible work policy. Based on “Companies Pay the Price for Inflexibility” by Rebecca Knight, The Financial Times Blogs, June 2011; et “Flex and the C-Suite: John Parry, CEO of Solix, Removes the Noise From the System” by Cali Williams Yost, FastCompany, March 2011, and the interview with Caroline Jessen, DRH, Cisco France, June 2011.

The integration of “green” into company strategy doesn’t mean sacrificing growth and profit—much the opposite! Based on Better Green Business by Eric G. OLSON, Wharton School Publishing (November 2009), and the interviews with Peter Williams, CTO, Big Green Innovations, IBM, and Anne-Laure Denis, corporate environment manager, bioMérieux, May 2010.

During a crisis, statistical methods for chasing down defects are not necessarily constructive. Based on “Six Sigma is Out. Extreme Lean Manufacturing Is In” by Pete Engardio, BusinessWeek, March 2009, and on an interview with Harold V. Jones, general manger, environment, health and safety, Lean Six Sigma, GE Aviation, October 2009.

Strategy Execution: Adopting a Formal Framework for Lasting Success. Based on the book by Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton, "The Execution Premium, Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage" (Harvard Business School Press, 2008), and the interviews of John Rhodes, CEO, Luxfer Gas Cylinders (LGC) and David Rix, CEO Luxfer Gas Cylinders Europe.

There are many differing opinions between managers and other stakeholders when it comes to CSR. Why does this divergence exist and what’s the best way to minimise it? Based on an EU research project directed by Maurizio Zollo, “Understanding and Responding to Societal Demands on Corporate Responsibility”, 2007, and the interview with Giorgio Capurri, director of Sustainable Development and CSR at UniCredit (Italy), and Navi Radjou, VP, Forrester Research (USA).

Applyied to customer relations, the Lean method brings about a win-win situation with the supplier. Based on "Lean Solutions"', James P. Womack & Daniel T. Jones (Free Press, 2005), and the interview with José Ferro, president of Lean Institute Brazil and coordinator of the Lean Global Network, and Jean-Pierre Floris, Delegate-General to Brazil, Argentina and Chile, Saint-Gobain.

Conflict can generate progress and lead to process innovation. Focus based on the article “Productive Friction: How Difficult Business Partnerships Can Accelerate Innovation” by John Hagel III and John Seely Brown, Harvard Business Review, February 2005, and on an interview with Denis Losfelt, deputy director of purchasing at the SNCF.

Environmental laws are not the only elements that push companies to recycle. Other factors are also important: production cost reduction, the company’s brand image, consumer demands, production quality, and the desire to anticipate more restrictive legislation. Focus based on the article by Michael W. Toffel, “Strategic Management of Product Recovery”, California Management Review, vol. 46 n.2, Winter 2003, and on an interview with Bernard Poncelet, Director of Recycling and Standard Exchanges at Renault Group.

Trust-based relationships: myth or reality? Focus based on the article “Supply Chain Trust is Within,” by Stanley E. Fawcett, Gregory M. Magnan and Alvin J. Williams, Supply Chain Management Review, March 2004, and on an interview with Henk Akkermans, consultant and professor of Production Planning and Control, University of Technology of Eindhoven, Netherlands.