think: act – The art of corporate recovery

Issue 12, 2008

In the current Standard & Poor’s 500, only 86 of the firms from the original list, compiled 50 years ago, are still in the index. Moreover, when the list was started, a firm that was added to the index could reckon that, statistically speaking, it would remain on the list for 65 years. Today the expected tenure is closer to 10. Change is much more than just a consultant’s buzzword.

It’s a constant of contemporary business, and failing to change in time is a good way to go under. How to prepare a company for rapid change and how to emerge stronger from a crisis are two key topics of our dossier, “The art of corporate recovery.” Change always offers opportunities. This issue of think:act highlights businesspeople and top managers who have transformed opportunities into business.

André Bergen and Rafal Juszczak, for example, were quick to recognize opportunities in central and eastern Europe, and to set their banks’ priorities accordingly. Vern Raburn’s very light jets are on their way to creating a whole new market for business travel. Ghazanfar Ali and Wiqar Ali Khan are bringing MTV, music television, to Pakistan. Excellent examples of successful and consistent mastery of change can be seen in the winners of our “Best of European Business” competition, whose results we summarize in this issue. They demonstrate how strong and competitive European businesses are today. It is no accident that 23 of the world’s 50 largest companies have their headquarters in Europe.

Recently, think:act has been not just a magazine to read, but one to listen to, and this time one to watch as well. This issue’s CD contains a short film with impressions from the “Best of European Business.” Enjoy your reading—and listening and watching!