Article written by Willem S Eksteen, CE of Stone Before thinking about profits as a measure of business success, first ask yourself, do you serve others with what you do every day? A truly great business always delivers undeniable value and when you focus on giving value as a way of life, the money will

Howard Yu, Lego Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School in Switzerland, discusses how the industrial cluster in the Swiss city of Basel is a unique example of enduring competitive advantage. He explains how early dye makers were able to continually jump to new capabilities and thrive for generations. He says the

Article written by Stone The annual In Good Company Conference, taking place on 21 August 2018 with the theme South Africa Matters, is a highlight on the social investment calendar. The In Good Company Conference 2018 is hosted by Nation Builder, and proudly sponsored by the Mergon Foundation, King Price Insurance, strategy and communication consulting

Article written by Tertius Kleinhans, Stone Consultant Even today, many marketers and organisations are not sure how to measure the effectiveness and Return on Investment (ROI) of their investment into social media engagement. Answer this: Without knowing how it will be spent, what the expected benefits to your organisation are

Article written by Marana Brand, Stone Consultant Your company has an impact on the lives of many people and organisations. All of these people and organisations are your stakeholders – they have a stake in your company’s financial, environmental and social performance (triple bottom-line). Engaging with your stakeholders is a

Mentorship continues to be one of the most significant and crucial routes to professional learning. Junior executives are encouraged to seek out senior executives to learn them the ropes and to share their expertise and skills. But this relationship can be just as beneficial for the mentor as the mentee,

Article written by Willem Eksteen, Stone CE What South Africa can teach the world? Indeed. In contemplating the content for this blog, I had to ask myself and those close to me the same question. As a strategist I usually place the hard business goals as the pebble in the

Article written by Marana Brand, Stone Consultant It is unavoidable that at some point, your business will suffer a failure that disappoints customers. How your company reacts, explains, removes the pain, and takes accountability for its actions, signals how you think about customers and the collective heart of your organisation.

How do you engage employees to become self-motivated and perform well time and again? Here are a few tips.

When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations -- and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great