Though faced with the realities of dramatic economic change, the reconfiguration of the business landscape, and globalization, U.S. companies continue to go down the wrong path. Former U.S. Treasury Department official Michael Jacobs calls it "business myopia."

It may be argued that "enhancing shareholder value" drives the myopic vision of publicly-traded companies, but "shareholder demand" is perhaps more accurate. In privately held companies, myopic thinking results from a desire to increase market share or simply beat last month's figures.

SAMPLE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION POLICY by Steve Anderson Every firm with a computer network, Internet access, or e-mail should have a policy for using them. Without one, you ris...

SENDING THE WRONG MESSAGES: 18 WAYS TO BRAND A BUSINESS ... BADLY by John Graham In the West, cattle ranchers still brand cattle. Once the brand has been burned into the ...

Selling today is filled with contradictions. E-mail enhances our connectivity, but the number of E-mail messages is often so overwhelming that they go unanswered. Voice mail brings us together, but voice mailboxes are often clogged.

WORLD-CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE by Diane Herbert and Pamela Millard What sets your agency apart? What do you do better than othe...