Facing Disaster, Trustmark Launched a Renaissance

Setting tradition aside, the 95-year-old insurance company looked to Apple and American Girl as a guide to its future

BusinessWeek, November 4, 2009 — On a sunny day in June 2006, David McDonough, chief executive of Trustmark Insurance, was roaming Chicago's Navy Pier, talking to strangers. "We needed to understand what made people tick," says McDonough of the exercise, which was part of a two-day workshop designed to get his executive team to look beyond actuarial tables and stimulate thinking about the company's future.

Strategy of New Chief at Motorola Appears Poised to Pay Off

New York Times, October 29, 2009 — Sanjay Jha’s honeymoon as co-chief executive at Motorola lasted just a few minutes into his first meeting with employees in 2008.

Why should we trust you?” one employee blurted. The frustration was understandable. Motorola, which pioneered cellphones and built such consumer favorites as the StarTac and the Razr, had not had a hit phone in years, and a succession of leaders could not find one.

Mr. Jha, 46, an engineer who worked his way up at Qualcomm from a chip designer to the No. 3 executive, answered the challenge, saying employees should not take him on faith but watch what he did.

Circle of Saturn

Hub, March 2, 2009 — Jill Lajdziak says it’s the retail experience that makes the Saturn difference.

Between the time we spoke with Jill Lajdziak and the publication of this interview, General Motors announced plans to close Saturn. Well, here’s another news flash: This doesn’t necessarily mean the end for Saturn. And it certainly does not change the enlightened view Saturn brings to automotive retailing.

With Saturn, G.M. Failed a Makeover

New York Times, December 4, 2008 — General At least G.M. knows how difficult the challenge will be.

A quarter-century ago, G.M. started Project Saturn with the same goals. And it worked, for a time. Saturn owners, including many who traded in their Hondas and Toyotas to own the first models in 1990, became cheerleaders for the division’s customer-friendly approach, while the United Automobile Workers union gave up many of its traditional restrictions to help Saturn succeed.

Motors has promised Congress that it can recreate itself as a different kind of car company — smaller, with a more cooperative relationship with its union, and a lineup of fuel-efficient cars to compete with the best of the foreign brands

How Reckitt Routed Rivals†

Thanks to Contrarian Strategy, It Outperforms L'Oreal, Unilever, P&G

Advertising Age, November 17, 2008 — The most successful major package-goods company of the past five years in sales and profit growth probably isn't the one you'd think — even if you thought very hard. Unheralded Reckitt Benckiser has been beating the likes of its more glamorous European neighbor L'Oreal, its seemingly more creative Anglo-Dutch big brother Unilever and industry powerhouse Procter & Gamble Co. on the top and bottom lines of late.

Schultz's Second Act Jolts Starbucks†

Already Intense, He Faces New Pressure: Peltz Owns a Stake

Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2008 — For two decades, Howard Schultz enjoyed uninterrupted success building Starbucks Corp. into a hip chain of coffee shops that richly rewarded shareholders.

But with profits off and the stock sinking, Mr. Schultz is cast in an unfamiliar new role: the person who must re-energize a company that has lost its edge. That has unleashed an intensity in him that is rattling the feel-good Starbucks culture.