I adopted the accidental phrase on the spot and since then have often asked friends if they are, “Thrilled to be here or here to be thrilled.” The wordplay usually elicits a smile or a witty comeback. Innocent bystanders who overhear my question often look askance, but eavesdropping has a price. The phrase also emphasizes the choices we all have in life. We can enjoy a passive (thrilled to be here) or an active (here to be thrilled) role as we choose. In the past two years I have taken an active role in getting this online business journal for practitioners launched. The end result, The Graziadio Business Report, has been thrilling and the process of putting it together has been more thrilling. I made a choice to get the GBR up and running and am glad that I made that choice. One of the outcomes of that choice is that time for my own research and leisure was reduced.
Recently, I made some new choices. I have chosen to focus on increasing time allotted for my writing and research and time away from the university. I also made the choice to step down as editor of the GBR to make time for these exploits. My editorship ends with the publication/broadcast of this edition. Dr. Charla Griffy-Brown has been named editor in my place.
I have been thrilled to work with Managing Editors Frieda Gehlen and Scott Fletcher. The bad news is that we did not tape our editorial and strategy meetings. Many of the things said were great comedy. The good news is that we did not tape the editorial and strategy meetings. We have left behind no evidence of comments we’ve made to each other or about others. I have been thrilled to work with the faculty contributors to the GBR and the folks outside the university that we have interviewed including, but not limited to, George Graziadio, Chris Cotsakos, Gary Hamel, and Mike Roberts.
But, it’s time for me to head on to working on other thrilling things.
It is also time to introduce what we have to offer in this issue. Partnerships, strategic alliances, and cooperation are all popular business terms. Partnerships, like marriages, need to be continually monitored and strengthened. Charles Kerns, Ph.D., focuses on how to Preserve and Strengthen a Business Partnership to help readers considering how to get into an alliance or how to survive an alliance they have already entered.
Another popular topic is telecommuting. The idea of working at home sounds exciting and numerous computer and telecommunications companies have tried to make it sound more appealing in their advertisements. But, how do you motivate and guide people who are not physically nearby? Telecommuting: Out of sight, out of mind? by Terri Egan, Ph.D. and Nancy Kurland, Ph.D. examines this cyber-management issue. How appropriate that they do it here in cyberspace.
Organizations increasingly rely on teams of cyber- and non-cyber employees to address increasingly complex workplace issues. As teams become more important, so does teambuilding. W. Scott Sherman, Ph.D., and Miriam Lacey, Ph.D., examine the role of tacit or non-explicit knowledge as a means to affect team cohesiveness in the article Teambuilding for Competitive Advantage.
Analogy and story-telling have been an important part of getting a message across for centuries. Mike Magasin, J.D., tells an interesting modern-day fairy tale in The Parable of the Commons. However, the bad guys are real as Magasin describes how not paying attention to all stakeholders and failing to understand warning signs of environmental regulation hazard can become very costly and prevent you, your firm, and your stockholders from living happily ever after.
Charles Fojtik, D.B.A., sits down with Mike Roberts, President of McDonald’s USA-West Division to explore the challenges of continually evolving a business with 2,300 locations between Denver, Honolulu, Seattle and San Diego. Roberts spoke recently to The Graziadio School’s Management Partners. He and Charles later “chewed the fat” over what it means to manage an American icon.
Add The LOOP, our day trading quiz, and the viewer comments section (your opportunity to play along)…and we hope you will find it a thrilling mix. Let us know your opinion. E-mail us at gbr@pepperdine.edu.
We also want to thank others who have helped us have fun with this edition. Reviewers include Sheldon Snow, Rick Hesse, Brad Zehner, Mark Mallinger, and Lindsley Boiney.
Be thrilled and thrill others. Adios for now.
