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Korn/Ferry International recently reviewed the long-term outcomes of methods we use to recruit and select C-level executives. The study revealed that applying Decision Styles assessments as a pre-hiring tool improved executive retention—and also dramatically increased the chance that a company chose a candidate they would promote within three years.

Many current leadership teams in the Travel, Leisure and Hospitality (TLH) industry lack experience in different industries, functions, sectors or geographies. As a result, the industry risks becoming insular and stagnant. Companies need to cross-fertilise with more external talent, and prioritise developing high-potentials to fill gaps in skill sets, and transform the sector into a magnet for high-calibre executives and graduates.

In Asia, as in the rest of the world, board composition concerns have shifted from independence, to competencies, to commitment, and now to diversity. There is an increasing recognition that boards need to incorporate diversity considerations―particularly with regard to gender―when appointing directors.

Companies in Asia are ramping up innovation capabilities to meet the needs of today’s consumers. Creative leaders are rare and competition for talent remains fierce. Human resource professionals play a critical role in building the right capability and culture of innovation. Companies that know how to attract and differentiate innovation leaders will thrive and lead the competition.

In partnership with Patrick O'Callaghan and Associates, Korn/Ferry is pleased to present the most comprehensive review of public issuer governance data available in Canada. This nineteenth annual report examines governance in Canadian companies and income trusts and includes our special report, Retirement Age and Term Policies – A New Focus. Our commitment is to provide directors and trustees with accurate and relevant Canadian data across a wide spectrum.

In an era of hypercompetitive markets and increasing competition, behavioral differentiation may be the best opportunity you have to win more business.

The Chief Executive Institute® is an individualized, in-residence program for CEOs and their successors.

The KFMC100 is Korn/Ferry International’s annual report on board leadership at the most valuable quoted companies in the United States. This group of 100 is utilized on the assumption that trends found among its board practices are worth understanding and considering.

The primary focus of this year’s survey is “The Class of 2010,” those ninety-five new directors who joined the boards of KFMC100 companies during the fiscal year 2010, filling ninety-eight total seats on boards. What characteristics are these newcomers bringing to those boards? And how do they differ from those already there?

An analysis of more than 150 Chief Financial Officers at REITs shows that the industry is placing new emphasis on capital markets experience and diversity.

The business school deans who will thrive in the coming years will have a different leadership profile from their predecessors, one that emphasizes strategic skills, enterprise management, innovation, and people and relationship effectiveness. All these will be required to forge ahead in business education in the organizationally flat world of academia, and during a time of flat enrollment.

Korn/Ferry research found that four primary patterns of leadership account for 70 percent of managers and executives. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses that play out in different ways on the job. Matching leadership type to job assignment can help leaders make informed choices and proactively plan for their development.

For years infrastructure professionals might justifiably have said they were overlooked, undervalued, and potentially even outsourced – the poor relation of the IT function. Infrastructure was critical – sure – but it was seen as a commodity and it was not where IT drove differentiation.

Male and female C-level executives are more similar than different in the way they approach problem solving, leadership, and interpersonal challenges. However, an analysis of more than 4,000 in-depth Korn/Ferry assessments found that the subtle distinctions that do exist give female leaders a slight edge, and suggest that they can be naturally rich sources of best-in-class executive behaviors.

As a follow up to Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann's pre-election survey in early 2010, in September and October 2011, Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann's Sally Elliott and Ben Twynam interviewed 24 leading retail chairmen to explore the progress that the Coalition Government has made.

The issues of retirement age and term limit policies on boards have received increased attention in recent years. In partnership with Patrick O'Callaghan and Associates, Korn/Ferry International has been analyzing governance disclosure in proxy circulars for Canada’s top 300 corporations since 1993. There was little disclosure regarding these policies in the nineties but by 2005, 24% of the corporations disclosed information regarding retirement ages or term limits. In 2010, 52% of the corporations provided disclosure on one or both of these issues and we expect to see this increase dramatically over the next few years.

The economic shift towards Asia created new demands for corporate leaders. Cultivating a sustainable pipeline of learning agile talent that can drive innovation and operate in a global, multicultural environment is crucial to success in this region. Only by making talent development the top agenda will companies be able to reap the enormous opportunities.

Whatever the specific coaching task in each of these cases, fundamentally, the coach is trying to help the other person change— improve performance, make better choices, do something differently, avoid ineffective behaviors, or change an attitude or perspective.

At Korn/Ferry, our work with clients in various global markets has shown a steady increase in the use of formalized processes and tools for account planning, account management, and relationship management. These smart companies have determined the effectiveness of such an approach and stand convinced that done well, it will provide them a keen competitive edge in developing business with their major customers.

Korn/Ferry has met some enlightened executives who instinctively understood behavioral differentiation (BD) and found ways to outbehave their competitors consistently enough to improve their top and bottom lines significantly. Additionally, Korn/Ferry has met numerous executives who were clueless about the impact of behavior and hadn’t the faintest idea how to use behavior competitively. Unfortunately, there are many more of the latter than the former. The good news, however, is that anyone can learn to build a behavioral advantage if they have the will to do so.

Korn/Ferry has partnered with Booz & Company and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) to conduct a survey of 350 senior marketing professionals across many industries to find out how the role of marketing is evolving at their companies in response to the changing marketing ecosystem.