"Among the world's most sought after CEO advisers, Charan has worked closely with executives at General Electric and DuPont. "
-BusinessWeek"Meet a wise man: Ram Charan's frenetic pace, fierce intelligence, and deep access have made him an unrivaled source of real world insights into what business does right - and all too often wrong."
-Fortune"We deeply appreciate the time spent and commitment you made in the Boardroom Forum series. More importantly, we value the wonderful contribution your comments, experience and insight made to the success of the event. The feedback has been overwhelming, with many participants saying this was the best Boardroom Forum yet. We recognize that without experienced and highly sought after speakers such as you, the event would simply not be the same. Thank you for taking the time to join us as speaker and for helping us make this a truly world-class event."
-Fortune"One word sums up your work with us at the Leadership meeting and the workshop the week before- WOW! Never in my 21 years with the Company has the company's leadership team been so united, energized and optimistic. Now we have to learn and execute."
-Bridgestone Americas, Inc."You are fantastic! Thanks for inspiring us to EXECUTE!"
-U.S. Chamber of Commerce"Thank you for all your preparation and dedication in delivering the message to us on how to become better at execution and getting things done. The day was really excellent and right on point. I believe that, as you have in the past with our company ('Shift or be shifted'), you've once again added to the language of our company. Already people are talking about dominant priorities, getting the right people in the right job, follow through, truly understanding the guts of the business, and getting things simple and clear. That's a language that I will continue to push through our organization. You have helped our company immensely."
-Arthur J. Gallagher & Co."A huge thank you for all your many great contributions to the success of the Microsoft CEO Summit. You handled the opening session absolutely perfectly! Your scores from the workshop were fabulous. THANK YOU."
-Needham Partners"Ram is a catalyst in the real sense of that word. He facilitates things happening but doesn't take part in them himself. And he is an immense source of energy. When you're trying to get large organizations to do things, energy is extremely important. He forces you to tell him what it is you want to do, and he forces you to really be clear in your own mind what those things are and what steps have to be taken. Often it's getting the wrong guy out of a job. But the point is, he starts out by basically forcing you to think with him and be very clear."
-Citicorp"What a dynamic presenter you are! You not only do an excellent job adjusting from one company session to another, but you deliver the information in a style that entertains as well as educates."
-Denny's"Your presentations, as always, were outstanding."
-Ernst & Young"When Ram Charan speaks, Fortune 100 CEOs listen. Literally. Ever since he gave up teaching more than three decades ago to 'do something that's useful to business people', Charan has built a reputation as a one-man CEO consulting industry. Charan excels at reducing an overwhelmingly complex picture down to its most pertinent point. It's not his style to breeze into a corner-room emergency and pretend to have all the answers."
-The Economic TimesLeading Your Business Through the Global Tilt
It is quite obvious the business world is in a state of flux. We have plummeted from the highs of the last economic boom into the most troubled economy of the past fifty years - an economy that is now globally interconnected and immensely complex. Businesses are frantically trying to find their way in the newly reworked landscape, where the rules of the game seem unclear and sometimes unfair. Drawing on his experience with businesses worldwide, Ram Charan offers perspective and insight for business leaders operating in this new competitive arena, where the balance of economic power has dramatically shifted. The audience will learn:
Execution
The wide gulf between strategizing and getting things done is a growing problem in today's increasingly complex business world. For businesses to prosper and grow, particularly in a challenging business environment, the gap between promising results and delivering them must be closed. Charan argues execution takes place as a result of robust dialogue that links people, strategy and operations. What's more, he contends that leading the three core processes of an organization (people, strategy and operations) is the real job of running a business and espouses the need for deeply and passionately engaged leaders. The audience gains:
Growth
Growth is vital to economic recovery and is among the most pressing issues facing companies today, but growth doesn't happen because managers decide to broaden the product line, spend more money on technology, beef up the sales force or acquire another business. Instead, growth starts with a mindset and insatiable curiosity about the world's needs. This speech helps the audience:
Talent
The need for talented people in the right jobs can be summed up in a simple way: no talent, no numbers. Talent is a leading indicator of whether the business is headed up or down. Smart leaders put people before numbers, because it is talent, in the end, that delivers the numbers necessary to keep a business strong and healthy. The audience will gain:
Innovation
We live in a world of unprecedented change and massive volatility. What remains constant is the capital most companies hold in terms of innovation and creativity. "Innovation," says Charan, "is the world' s best and perhaps only way to win in the face of fast commoditization." Using examples such as Procter & Gamble, Honeywell, Nokia, LEGO, GE, HP and DuPont, all of which harnessed the power of innovation, Charan offers both an instructive and inspiring look at transforming today's companies and remaining profitable in the face of economic uncertainty. The audience will gain:
Profitability /Selling
The twin components of making a company profitable are a keen understanding of the operational underpinnings of the organization and creating a world-class sales team. Charan imparts the basics of business, the universals of success that apply whether you are selling fruit from a stand or running a Fortune 500 company. From this foundation, he then explains in detail how to run a company that is customer-centric- an absolute must in a world where pricing has collapsed and the consumer 's ability to comparison shop is unprecedented. Charan strips back the functions of running a company and making its sales team high functioning, no matter the size of the organization or the current business climate. The audience will gain:
Corporate Boards
In 30 years of helping directors deal with the practical challenges of governing well, Charan has become a leading authority on corporate boards. Directorship magazine named him "one of the most influential people in corporate governance and the board room." He facilitates board self-evaluations, peer reviews, strategy retreats, and CEO evaluations, and advises on recruitment of new directors and compensation. Charan has served on several boards and on the National Association of Corporate Directors Blue Ribbon Commission on Corporate Governance. Participants will learn:
Leadership
Fortune magazine calls him "the most influential consultant alive" - a reputation earned through more than 30 years of wise counsel to top business leaders around the globe. Charan has a unique perspective on how great leaders differ from the rest. He breaks through the fac;:ade of leadership to explain the capabilities leaders must possess, how to build a leadership-driven company, how to lead in economic uncertainty, how to develop and grow your own leadership capability, and finally, how to plan for smooth succession. The audience will gain:
Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor, author and speaker who has spent the past 35 years working with many top companies, CEOs, and boards of our time. In his work with companies including GE, MeadWestvaco, Bank of America, DuPont, Novartis, EMC, 3M, Verizon, Aditya Birla Group, Tata Group, GMR, Max Group, Yildiz Holdings, and Grupo RBS, he is known for cutting through the complexity of running a business in today’s fast changing environment to uncover the core business problem. His real-world solutions, shared with millions through his books and articles in top business publications, have been praised for being practical, relevant and highly actionable — the kind of advice you can use Monday morning.
Ram’s introduction to business came early while working in the family shoe shop in a small town in northern India, where he was raised. He earned an engineering degree in India and soon after took a job in Australia. When his talent for business was discovered, Ram was encouraged to develop it. He earned MBA and doctorate degrees from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction and was a Baker Scholar, then served on the faculties of Harvard Business School and Northwestern University before pursuing consulting full-time.
Ram’s work takes him around the globe non-stop and gives him an unparalleled, up-to-date insider view of how economies and leading companies operate. Through keen observation and analysis, he forms powerful insights that help business leaders face their toughest challenges in the areas of growth, talent development, corporate governance, and profitability. His timely concrete advice is a powerful tool in navigating today’s uncertain business climate. Former Chairman of GE Jack Welch says Ram “has the rare ability to distill meaningful from meaningless and transfer it in a quiet, effective way without destroying confidences,” while Ivan Seidenberg, the former CEO of Verizon, calls Ram his “secret weapon.”
Ram has coached more than a dozen leaders who went on to become CEOs. He reaches many more up-and-coming business leaders through in-house executive education programs. His energetic, interactive teaching style has won him several awards, including the Bell Ringer award at GE’s famous Crotonville Institute and best teacher award at Northwestern. He was among BusinessWeek‘s top ten resources for in-house executive development programs.
Ram has authored over 25 books since 1998 that have sold over 2 million copies in more than a dozen languages. Three of his books were Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including Execution, which he coauthored with former Honeywell CEO Larry Bossidy in 2002, which spent more than 150 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He also has written for publications including Harvard Business Review, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Time, Chief Executive and USA TODAY.
Ram was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and has served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Corporate Governance. He has served on the boards of Hindalco in India, Emaar, Austin Industries, Tyco Electronics, and Fischer and Porter. His newest book, Global Tilt (Crown, February 2013), is a guide to leading your business through the radical shift in economic power currently underway.