Most effective business leaders know: * Why did Apple sue Samsung while it continues to buy critical parts for its winning products from Samsung? * Why did Google create Android OS for mobile applications, and is now talking about opening its own retail stores? * Why did Amazon create Kindle when the market is already saturated by other tablets and similar products? * How did Nokia mobile phone lose its shine? * Why did Apple build its own retail presence? * How will shale gas discoveries in North America change the business world and perhaps the geo-political balance in the next 10 years? Do you? Win big time by using the wisdom of your business networks to create, innovate, deliver and profit. Read this book to find out how.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR? (see www.unchainyourcorporation.com for a lot more information and testimonials about this book) We are entering an era of super specialization and exceedingly targeted communication. Like other high level professionals, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to articulate my target audience very carefully and accurately. Now there are potentially 4 scenarios. If you are the target audience, then everything ticks perfect. If you are not the target audience, but you know somebody who can possibly use the book and its core message, in which case I would encourage you to recommend the book to him/her. Alternately, you might be in a position where you are not yet in the target audience, but you are aspiring to be, in which case this book might prove valuable to you. If you are in none of those 4 positions, then regrettably this book is not going to be to your liking. So who is the target audience of this book? At Global Supply Chain Group, since our foundation in January 2000, we have worked with CEOs, boards, executives and senior decision makers in large to mid-size companies around the world, helping them achieve positive and measurable business transformations. Needless to say, our experience has entirely been with these individuals and they are the target audience for our books and intellectual property. More specifically, our ideal clients and partners as well as the ideal readers for this book would be the influential and resourceful executives, and the CEOs who expect a big positive change, a big delta in results, in profits, and revenues as a result of business transformations. Thus, these are the companies and executives who do not wish to keep asking what the next step is. They acknowledge the internal challenges and changes in the external marketplace as their first step. They understand the need for change. They are prepared to take the action. Most of them are large businesses with huge manufacturing, distribution, logistics, inventory and other physical infrastructure in their footprints. They know that a business transformation every few years is required in order to keep the business relevant with the trends in the market place, with the trends in technology, consumer taste as well as the changes in the political legal environment. They want to maximize their profitability while minimizing their risk by using a tried and tested methodology for business transformations, and they create long term partnerships with best-of-breed thought leaders and leverage those partnerships for positive business transformations over a period of time.

Besides the 3 O’s of Outperforming & Outprofiting via Outsourcing, it also signifies that we are now into the third generation of outsourcing. In the first generation, before the 80’s, outsourcing was mainly cost driven. In the second generation, in the 90’s, arrived the capabilities and value driven outsourcing. The key focus was on how to extract the maximum value out of an outsourcing relationship. Only recently, in the third generation are we moving into the strategy driven outsourcing paradigm. This subtle shift is leading the business leaders to question that very underpinnings of a modern organisation. The key focus is “How can outsourcing assist in driving even more strategic advantage to our business?”. Let us have a quick exercise to warm up. Can you guess what the most outsourced service on earth today is? Think of all potential services in your company that can be outsourced; cast your mind far and wide. Try not to miss anything. Once you have thought of all the possibilities, make the guess again. What is the most outsourced service on earth today? If you guessed call centres, I would have to say no. In fact, if you guessed any of the following services – logistics, IT, sales training, fleet management or payrolls – all popular services to be outsourced, I would not nod my head once. The answer, which lies somewhere in this chapter, is going to be a surprise to you. Whether your guess is correct or not, there is a lot more to be explored. You will come to recognise how ubiquitous outsourcing has become in the modern-day commercial world, and how to keep your eyes open to recognise situations that are amenable to outsourcing. The full list of all outsourceable activities within a company may include an element of surprise. You will also know the answer to the second part of the $483 billion question, i.e. when you must NOT outsource. In our work, we frequently encounter people who are dogmatic about outsourcing – on both sides of the fence. We have worked closely with directors serving on boards of large organisations who are against outsourcing. On the other hand, we also talk to people at all levels in companies who would rather outsource than do the tasks internally. We have come across situations where companies are reluctant to outsource, and where that would have been the best course of action.

Part of our new "Quick Notes" series - this report answers your most pertinent questions of the topic. Do not be deceived by their short nature - these notes are only 36 pages or so. But these are 45 pages of potent dynamite that will supercharge your thinking in the right direction. Included are quick notes and some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on supply chain finance that we have encountered in our workshops, seminars, and other forums. Here are some of the topics and questions covered in these quick notes: It takes only two years to get a masters' degree in supply chain management today. After that it takes nearly twenty years of working under the tutelage of a supply chain master to get a modicum of mastery in the discipline itself. So, why strive towards supply chain mastery? What can masters do that other supply chain professionals cannot achieve? Are there any special powers that come with that title? How to achieve supply chain mastery? Are there levels of mastery? What are the five disciplines of supply chain in which you must achieve mastery? Who grants you the title of a supply chain master? Read these quick notes to get our take on the topic.

Part of our new "Quick Notes" series - this report answers your most pertinent questions of the topic. Do not be deceived by their short nature - these notes are only 28 pages or so. But these are 28 pages of potent dynamite that will supercharge your thinking in the right direction. Included are quick notes and some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on supply chain finance that we have encountered in our workshops, seminars, and other forums. Here are some of the topics and questions covered in these quick notes: What can you learn from the best examples of five flows of supply chain management to use in your company? What are the best examples of five flows of supply chain management? How did they get where they are now? Why are five flows important? How to integrate these into your business strategy?

Boards are Remarkably Good At Corporate Governance, and Yet Face the Flak For It Everybody who has spent any time with boards of directors lives and breathes corporate governance. The corporate governance process is designed and run with almost military precision to give effect to the legislative requirements and commercial exigencies with only a few board meetings a year. Due to the focused attention of some of the best people in the corporate world and significant budgetary allocation, the governance of what falls within the four walls of the company itself is done with a remarkable efficiency almost all the time. So, the natural question is why then such a lot of hoopla in the press about corporate governance. Where does it fail for the 3Ps (the press, the politicians, and the preachers from the NGOs) to make such a lot of noise about it? This question merits a little deeper exploration because almost all failures of corporate governance lie elsewhere. After visiting with numerous boards and having spent countless hours past midnight preparing board presentations, papers and submissions, we have become convinced that lack of corporate governance is not the real culprit in most cases. That infamy lies at the behest of supply chain governance.

Part of our new "Quick Notes" series - this report answers your most pertinent questions of the topic. Do not be deceived by their short nature - these notes are only 45 pages or so. But these are 45 pages of potent dynamite that will supercharge your thinking in the right direction. Included are quick notes and some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on supply chain finance that we have encountered in our workshops, seminars, and other forums. Here are some of the topics and questions covered in these quick notes: What is supply chain governance? Why do companies need it? What is the difference between supply chain governance, and corporate governance? Why many companies with good corporate goverance fall short in supply chain governance? What does it take to acquire supply chain governance? Which companies need directors with supply chain experience on their boards? What does it take to achieve supply chain mastery that leads to adequate supply chain governance from board level?