Insights

Conversations in Business is a series of interviews and articles where I discuss best practices and insights with successful thought leaders in the commercial sector I recently had the pleasure of meeting with former Mead Johnson Nutrition CEO Steve Golsby to discuss some of the business insights he has accrued over a long and prosperous career. Steve’s career progression began in earnest during his time as a brand manager at Unilever. His work in the marketing department included two overseas assignments, and led to him taking the role of Country Manager. After 15 years with Unilever, he joined the American pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb as the head of its consumer products portfolio for the Asia-Pacific region.

A company may ‘feel’ more complete when it has its own accounting, admin, HR, and marketing departments – and indeed, many (mostly larger) businesses do well under this format. But for most SMEs, these sizable sections of the company add no value to the product or to the consumer experience. On the contrary: They divert time, effort and attention away from the activities that generate actual profit for the business. There is a reason, after all, why businesses keep going back to the old saying: ‘Do what you do best, and outsource the rest.’

Wave after wave of new business technology has been hyped as revolutionary, leaving organisations with the options either to invest in strategic transformation and disruptive technologies or to dismiss it all as mere noise and carry on with traditional methods of business administration.

The vision for Thailand 4.0 is certainly ambitious, and is extremely well adapted to the digital economic stage that the world is now entering. But is that vision also well adapted to Thailand itself? Can this moderately advanced Southeast Asian nation handle the weight of its own development plan?

A thought leadership, article and research from our experts to help empower your business strategy.