Mid-Markets Publications

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B

  1. Brotherly Alliances, Engines of Growth
    One of the fastest, least capital-intensive ways for small-to-midsize companies to grow is to connect with a larger, more powerful partner or brand. But how do you find a 'big brother' you can trust? (Executive Action Report, June 2007)
  2. Building an Ethical Company
    Whether large, small, or medium-sized, ethics and compliance programs are now essential to a company's DNA. (Executive Action Report, September 2007)
  3. Business Benefits of Security: Making the Case in Mid-Market Companies
    Mid-market companies are coming to the realization that security is best viewed as an investment that increases business value, rather than an expense to be minimized. (Executive Action Report, April 2007)

C

  1. CEO Challenge Reflections: On the Record with Fred Keller
    As a follow-up to The Conference Board CEO Challenge™ 2011: Fueling Business Growth with Innovation and Talent and The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2011: Mid-Markets, Fred Keller—CEO of Mich.-based Cascade Engineering—shares his thoughts on the issues. (Executive Action Report, November 2011)
  2. Citizenship and Sustainability: Doing Good Can Be Good for Business
    While they may not be in the public eye as much as their larger counterparts, small and mid-size companies have a lot to gain by expanding their corporate citizenship and sustainability programs. (Executive Action Report, January 2007)
  3. Clearing Paths for Critical Foreign Talent to Work in the United States
    The future growth of many smaller businesses may depend upon recruiting highly skilled foreign workers for key jobs. That means becoming better acquainted with the complexities of the immigration code. (Executive Action Report, December 2009)
  4. Conference Board CEO Challenge® 2011: Mid-Market
    An analysis of the responses to the 2011 CEO Challenge survey from the 114 U.S. firms with revenues of under $1 billion. (Research Report, September 2011)
  5. Creating the Bullet-Proof Business Model
    Four recent high-profile strategic battles provide lessons for small and midsize companies in how to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their own business model and defend it against challengers. (Executive Action Report, April 2011)
  6. Cutting Healthcare Costs: Options for Mid-Market Firms
    This report explores some new healthcare cost cutting options through the experiences of five mid-market companies. (Research Report, April 2006)

D

  1. Designing the High-Performance Compensation Plan That Works
    The latest article of the Mid-Market Trends series shows how smaller and midsize companies are revising their incentive plans, extending them to more employees, and attempting to tie them more closely to strategic objectives. (Executive Action Report, January 2007)
  2. Does Your Company Encourage Good Followership?
    It may no longer be an insult to be called a great follower. What can organizations do to foster the right attitudes and skills? (Executive Action Report, November 2010)
  3. Does Your Company Need a "Don’t-Do" List?
    This Conversation Starter – the first in a new series of short provocative pieces commissioned especially for our mid-market members – suggests some ways that small- and mid-sized businesses can focus better on what really needs to be done. (Executive Action Report, February 2010)

E

  1. Employee Engagement: What Works Now?
    Even when organizations commit to achieving a high level of employee engagement, the goal can be elusive. This report examines the current state of employee engagement practices to discover how companies, even in challenging environments, find success. (Research Report, December 2012)
  2. Entrepreneurial Flame: How to Keep it Burning Brightly in Your Company
    Maintaining the enthusiasm and motivation of your most creative, entrepreneurial-minded employees is difficult even in the best of times. Learn how some successful companies manage to always keep the entrepreneurial spirit flourishing. (Executive Action Report, December 2003)

F

  1. From Risk Management To Risk Strategy: Mid-Markets
    This survey based report presents the facts and figures on Mid Market companies increasing utilization of Risk Management Strategies. (Research Report, October 2005)

G

  1. Getting Fit For Leaner Times
    This Mid-Market Conversation Starter considers the possibility of lateral growth for an entire company. (Executive Action Report, February 2010)
  2. Giving in Numbers: 2012 Edition
    Produced by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) in association with The Conference Board, this report analyzes giving trends from 2011 data shared by 214 corporations, including 62 of the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500. (Research Report, June 2012)
  3. Globalization Revisited: Who Will Get the New Wave of Knowledge Process Jobs?
    Offshoring is no longer the best or the only answer for management of knowledge process jobs, and many companies are investigating nearshore and onshore alternatives as the global competition for knowledge jobs intensifies. (Executive Action Report, April 2013)
  4. Globalization: Will Your Company Be Left Standing?
    New market realities may compel mid-market companies to adopt a business model that powers growth through product innovation, as well as improved operational effectiveness. (Executive Action Report, December 2005)
  5. Goals and Incentives for a New Day
    With resources scarce and the future uncertain, small and midsize companies are taking advantage of the business lull in 2010 to reset their goals and incentive-reward systems. (Executive Action Report, August 2010)
  6. Good Execution Isn't Just Stuff Leaders Delegate
    Many CEOs rate consistent execution of their firms' strategic objectives as a major concern. This report examines five critical requirements for good execution that can help CEOs achieve the results they expect. (Executive Action Report, December 2010)
  7. Growing Talent for Succession
    This report is a playbook that explains how every business can lay the foundation for a growing talent (GT) plan. (Research Report, October 2010)
  8. Growing a Business Niche by Niche
    Smaller and midsize companies are often gut-smart about serving a well-defined market segment. They can build on their success by expanding into "the niche next door." (Executive Action Report, March 2007)
  9. Growing a Family Company: An Exercise in Patience
    In order to survive, many smaller and mid-sized companies are being forced to grow. But to grow successfully, they will have to re-examine old attitudes and junk outdated business models. (Executive Action Report, June 2006)

H

  1. A Hero Lies in You: CEOs Talk about Heroes and Mentors
    A series of interviews related to The Conference Board CEO Challenge® 2011 makes clear what is highest on the minds of CEOs. Here, they talk about the leaders who have inspired them—and who have served as cautionary figures. (Executive Action Report, November 2011)
  2. HR Challenge: Staffing Up to Expand Overseas
    You don't have to be a huge company to establish a presence in foreign markets. You do need to develop global leaders and learn how to recruit local talent. (Executive Action Report, April 2008)
  3. Harnessing the Perfect Storm: Business Executives in Mid-Size Companies Are Seizing Green Opportunities
    Mid-size businesses that may have only considered taking small affordable steps toward energy efficiency or that originally balked at government regulation are actively seeking ways to become environmentally friendly. (Executive Action Report, May 2008)
  4. Hispanics in the Workplace: Building Meaningful Diversity
    This report explores current conditions and anticipated changes in both the overall Hispanic community and the Mexican, Central and South American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Hispanic populations. (Executive Action Report, March 2006)
  5. How CEOs Turn Themselves (and Others) into True Leaders
    As never before, leaders of small-to-midsize companies must master softer, more intangible skills, such as the capacity to build relationships and maintain a strong culture. (Executive Action Report, February 2008)
  6. How CFOs Carve Out Time for What Counts Most
    The job descriptions of CFOs in smaller and mid-sized organizations have been steadily expanding. When do they find time to work on tasks that will build shareholder value? (Executive Action Report, April 2005)
  7. How Smaller Companies Earn Customer Loyalty
    How do you develop customer loyalty? How do you measure it? How do you profit from it? (Executive Action Report, August 2005)
  8. How to Compete and Win In a Broken Economy
    While many small and midsize firms are struggling to survive, stronger companies will find opportunities to improve their competitive position. (Executive Action Report, March 2009)
  9. How to Hire Top Performers
    (Hint: They Already Have Jobs)
    Smaller companies don’t have to settle for less. Get an edge in the talent wars with shrewd targeting and robust retention strategies. (Executive Action Report, August 2006)

I

  1. Innovate Today, Grow Tomorrow
    In a down economy, companies can't afford to mark time. Three midsize firms are seizing the moment to explore ideas for new products and invent new business models. (Executive Action Report, October 2008)
  2. It's Not Just Your Children's Facebook Anymore
    Companies that use social media to improve knowledge transfer will see employees benefit from more informed thinking, better ideas, and big steps forward in innovation. (Executive Action Report, May 2011)

L

  1. Leadership as Performance Art
    While acting skills are sometimes useful for leaders of companies, there can be no excuse for dissembling on important cultural values. (Executive Action Report, November 2010)
  2. Leading Outside—and Inside—the Lines
    Drawing on the work of Jon R. Katzenbach and Zia Khan, this Mid-Market Conversation Starter suggests ways in which informal networks can help address business problems. (Executive Action Report, June 2011)

M

  1. Making It in Manufacturing: Becoming Lean to Compete Globally
    What are some steps companies in higher-wage countries can take to remain competitive globally? (Executive Action Report, December 2005)
  2. Making Over Leaders and Leadership Styles
    Are the requirements of leadership changing? That is the question being asked as a new generation rises in the workplace. (Executive Action Report, August 2004)
  3. Managing Brands in a Topsy-Turvy Marketing Environment
    To create excitement for a new brand, or refresh a tired brand, bring together networks of satisfied customers and user groups to share their experiences and generate word-of-mouth. (Executive Action Report, February 2011)
  4. Managing Corporate Security in Mid-Markets
    Compared to large companies, security spending is more of a burden for smaller companies when expressed as a percentage of annual sales and they are less likely to feel that their security spending is adequate. (Executive Action Report, September 2003)
  5. Managing Growth: Smart Strategies for Smaller and Mid-Sized Companies
    Based on a survey of 184 CEOs from small and mid-sized companies, this report explores what these CEOs see as their best growth opportunities in the current economy. (Research Report, March 2001)
  6. Mid-Market CEO Challenge
    This report, based on the 2004 CEO Challenge Survey, highlights the most important issues confronting mid-market CEOs. (Research Report, March 2005)
  7. Mid-Market CEO Challenge 2006
    This survey based report highlights the most important issues confronting over 250 CEOs of U.S. mid-market companies. (Research Report, May 2006)
  8. Mid-Market CEO Challenge: 2007 Edition
    This survey based report provides an overview of the challenges currently faced by CEOs in the mid-market sector. (CEO Challenge®, December 2007)

N

  1. New Graduates' Workforce Readiness: The Mid-Market Perspective
    This report presents a mid-market perspective on the workforce readiness of newly hired high school and college graduates. (Research Report, February 2008)
  2. Nuts and Bolts of Execution: Putting Ideas to Work
    How do mid-market companies take great vision and make it a reality? (Executive Action Report, June 2006)

O

  1. On the Record with Barry Melancon
    Barry Melancon, President and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, discusses some of the successful initiatives that the AICPA has taken to build a strong pipeline for the accounting profession. (Executive Action Report, June 2009)
  2. On the Record with Dr. Loren Skeist
    The Conference Board interviews the president of Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corp., a mid-market industry leader in high-voltage design and manufacturing, about the 2013 results of The Conference Board CEO Challenge®. (Executive Action Report, April 2013)
  3. On the Record with Nick Konidaris
    This is a follow-up interview with one of the CEOs of a mid-market firm who participated in The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2012: Nick Konidaris, President and CEO of Electro Scientific Industries (ESI). (Executive Action Report, November 2012)
  4. On the Record with Stephanie Hickman Boyse
    Following The Conference Board CEO Challenge survey, a number of CEOs volunteered to go “on the record” with The Conference Board to share their thoughts and challenges in more depth. This is a Q&A with the CEO of Michigan-based Brazeway. (Executive Action Report, August 2011)
  5. On the Record with Thomas J. Sullivan
    This is a follow-up interview with one of the CEOs of a mid-market firm who participated in The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2012: Thomas Sullivan, President and CEO of Symmetry Medical, Inc. (Executive Action Report, December 2012)
  6. Opening up to Open Innovation
    This new Conversation Starter by Howard Muson continues a series of discussions that we have commissioned about the nature of innovation in small- and mid-market firms (Executive Action Report, August 2010)

P

  1. Performance 2011: Productivity, Employment, and Growth in the World's Economies
    This report takes a detailed look at the drivers of output growth, comparing the contributions of labor productivity and employment across years and across more than 100 countries. (Research Report, June 2011)
  2. Philanthropy at Mid-Market Firms: It Pays to Be Creative
    With a little creativity, midsize companies can make their philanthropic activities stand out, not only providing a wealth of assistance to those in need, but also strengthening their organizations at the same time. (Executive Action Report, September 2006)
  3. Preparedness in the Private Sector – 2011
    This report is based on a survey of executives regarding their companies’ resilience planning and security planning. The survey asked about companies’ levels of physical security, IT security, business continuity, crisis management, and pandemic planning. (Research Report, October 2011)
  4. Preparing for the Worst: A Guide to Business Continuity Planning for Mid-Markets
    Why are smaller companies creating disaster survival plans? Because regulators, investors, and customers are demanding they do so. (Executive Action Report, February 2006)
  5. Profit in Smarter Pricing
    While holding the line on prices is a constant battle, small and midsize companies sometimes ignore the positive role that pricing can play as a lever of profit. (Executive Action Report, July 2008)
  6. Projecting Global Growth
    by Vivian Chen, Ben Cheng, Gad Levanon, Ataman Ozyildirim and Bart van Ark
    November 2012 - EPWP #12 – 02 (Economics Program Working Paper Series, November 2012)

R

  1. Reaching the Goal Line On Good Governance
    Complying with Sarbanes-Oxley has been a difficult undertaking for small and medium sized companies. It has been a painful learning experience with more lessons to be learned. (Executive Action Report, February 2005)
  2. Reading the Tea Leaves: The Impact of China's Twelfth Five-Year Plan on Human Capital Challenges
    This report highlights the major human capital aspects of China’s Twelfth Five Year Plan that are expected to have the greatest impact on business. (Research Report, November 2012)
  3. Recession Lessons for Mid-Market CFOs: Successfully Obtaining Loans in the New World of Credit
    Even though signs of an economic recovery are emerging, recession challenges and a shutdown of easy credit have changed the lending world for CFOs of small- and mid-sized firms (Executive Action Report, September 2009)
  4. Redesigning HR for Mid-Sized Firms
    Human Resources departments - of both large and mid-sized firms - choosing to outsource routine administrative tasks, are going through the same transitional pangs. (Executive Action Report, April 2004)
  5. Reengaging Lost Customers
    What can be done to win back customers that have proven loyal in the past and who may account for a significant portion of profits? A Mid-market Conversation Starter. (Executive Action Report, February 2010)
  6. Relieving Pressures to Eliminate Jobs
    Smaller companies are finding ways to "redeploy" employees rather than lay them off. Three models for surviving recessions without losing your investment in human capital. (Executive Action Report, July 2009)
  7. Right-Sizing Your Board of Directors—A Mid-Market Challenge
    (Executive Action Report, January 2011)

S

  1. A Strategic Approach to Growing Talent for Succession
    This report describes the fundamentals of a successful GTFS (growing talent for succession) culture, and the basic questions companies must ask as they initiate a GTFS plan. (Executive Action Report, November 2010)
  2. Safeguarding Intellectual Property and Addressing Corruption in the Global Supply Chain
    Guarding against IP infringement and violation of anti-corruption laws among employees is difficult enough for multinational companies. It is even more challenging to prevent inappropriate behavior by the employees and contracted workers of third parties. (Research Report, December 2012)
  3. Secrets of Midsize Success:
    An Interview with Richard E. Cavanagh
    Midsize companies are essential to the U.S. economy, both for the products and services they offer and the jobs they provide. They also face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. (Executive Action Report, February 2007)
  4. Security Practices ... Security in Mid-Market Companies: The View From the Top
    Is corporate security an expense that should be minimized or an investment that increases business value? (Executive Action Report, July 2004)
  5. Security in Mid-Market Companies: Tackling the Challenge
    Will the most important incentive for smaller companies to upgrade their security operations come from standards imposed by major corporations rather than those imposed by the government? (Executive Action Report, November 2004)
  6. Shifts in the Supply Chain Equation Provide Opportunities for Mid-Market Companies—and Concerns
    Constantly shifting production and transportation costs generate constantly changing answers about where to locate links in the supply chain. Big changes in the supply chain equation itself mean it’s back to the drawing board for many companies. (Executive Action Report, April 2013)
  7. Sleepless in Delhi: What Keeps Indian HR Executives Awake at Night?
    India presents unique business challenges, challenges that a number of human resource executives in India were happy to discuss with The Conference Board. (Executive Action Report, June 2011)
  8. Solving the Customer’s Price Issues.
    This Mid-Market Conversation Starter gives you a couple of new perspectives from which to think about solving customer price issues. (Executive Action Report, February 2010)
  9. State of Human Capital 2012: False Summit
    This report is the result of a joint research effort by The Conference Board and McKinsey & Company to highlight the most significant challenges facing human capital executives. (Research Report, October 2012)
  10. Step Up to Solutions-Selling
    Some small and midsize companies are getting organized to sell solutions, not just products. Why aren't all the others? (Executive Action Report, October 2007)
  11. Stopping the Profit Drain from Higher Energy Costs
    Corporate America can expect little respite from soaring — and volatile — energy prices. Smaller companies can protect profits by strengthening the ways they manage energy use. (Executive Action Report, October 2006)
  12. StraightTalk®
    Global Economic Outlook 2013: Is the global economic speed limit slowing down?
    From The Conference Board Chief Economist. (StraightTalk®, November 2012)
  13. StraightTalk® Special Issue for All Members: Global Economic Outlook 2013
    From The Conference Board Chief Economist: Is the global economic speed limit slowing down? (StraightTalk®, November 2012)
  14. Strategic Workforce Planning across National Borders
    Strategic workforce planning can play a valuable role by questioning the unexamined assumptions that business leaders may be making about the availability, quality, cost, and mobility of talent in critical locations. (Research Report, July 2012)
  15. Strategies for Winning Government Business—and Making It Profitable, Too
    How three midsize companies build relationships with federal and state agencies and avoid perils in the contracting process. (Executive Action Report, April 2010)
  16. Succession Planning....Without Tears
    Rather than putting off succession planning and then rushing to hire from the outside when the time arrives, small companies would be better served by grooming leaders from within the firm. (Executive Action Report, December 2004)
  17. Survival Lessons from Family Businesses
    What accounts for the longevity and success over time- of these multi-generational family businesses? A Mid-market Conversation Starter. (Executive Action Report, April 2010)
  18. Sweat the Small Stuff to Improve Your Business Forecasts
    While waiting for the clouds to part over worldwide economies, small and midsize businesses can do much to bring greater rigor to their short-term forecasts and eliminate costly errors. (Executive Action Report, January 2012)
  19. Swimming with the Big Fish
    This Executive Action tailored to the needs of Mid-Market members of The Conference Board presents constructive advice for businesses that are competing with or seeking to do business with Fortune 500 companies. (Executive Action Report, November 2008)

T

  1. Talent Management Tomorrow: Seeing Around the Corner to Meet Strategic Business Needs
    This report, the work of eight councils of The Conference Board worldwide in the area of talent management, assesses the current state of the function and then “peeks around the corner” to see what challenges lie ahead. (Council Perspectives, September 2012)
  2. Tighten Your Supply Chain to Wring Out Costs
    This report features insights and practical advice from corporate executives and supply-chain experts, and helpful suggestions for recruiting logistic specialists. (Executive Action Report, January 2009)
  3. Trapped on the Worker Treadmill?
    Why more U.S. workers than ever before are planning to delay retirement (Executive Action Report, January 2013)
  4. Treating Contingent Workers as a Strategic Resource
    While the use of temporary help of all kinds has increased, many companies do not have a centralized framework to make the most cost-efficient and strategic use of this new workforce. (Executive Action Report, September 2010)

U

  1. Unlocking Speed and Agility
    If mid-market companies want to remain strong competitors and avoid complacency, they need to rediscover the speed and agility they had as start-ups. (Executive Action Report, September 2007)
  2. Up in the Air / Down to Earth
    Is there a more deflating pronouncement to hear from your boss than "I’m going to start incorporating humor in my staff meetings?" A Mid-market Conversation Starter. (Executive Action Report, April 2010)

V

  1. Volunteering- A New Training and Transition Tool
    Challenging times call for companies of all sizes to be more creative about how they do business, and how they inspire and motivate their employees. (Executive Action Report, September 2011)

W

  1. Waddayaknow? Knowledge Management Can Be an Organization's Key to Survival
    This Executive Action report uses three case studies to build a business case for implementing Knowledge Management, and provides tips for making KM work. (Executive Action Report, May 2009)
  2. Water Worries: How Incorporating Long-Term Risk into Strategic Planning Pays Off
    How companies manage risk, opportunity, and scarcity today will determine the long-term value they create for stakeholders and society, and the world’s dwindling water resources are a pivotal case in point. (Council Perspectives, June 2012)
  3. Who's Afraid of the Cloud?
    This report spells out the benefits and pitfalls for midsize businesses of migrating data and IT operations to the cloud. (Executive Action Report, May 2012)
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