It was a long and winding corridor that brought me to the corner office. Long enough that it took a couple of decades and career changes, winding enough that I was able to see much and understand some of what makes companies successful. Or, in altogether too many cases, unsuccessful.

My education is diverse - argued by some as being unsuitably eclectic, having included English literature, urban planning and marketing management. My response is simply that the horizon is as deep as it is wide; one needs to take a broad view of things and look in depth.

I spent the last three decades in marketing, working my way up to Vice-President in a medium-sized firm (some $400 million in revenues, 1000 employees). My responsibilities also included strategic planning, branding and corporate identity, corporate communications, public relations and the development and management of customer loyalty programs. Other areas of expertise and extensive involvement included corporate development, strategic alliances and partnerships, as well as leadership and organizational development. I had a full plate and, if at times, it led to some indigestion, most of what I experienced was, ultimately, thoroughly satisfying.

At the end of 2007, I retired. It had become time to move from the corner office to the public sphere. It had become time to share (as a consultant, writer, teacher and friend). This blog, reflecting the views of someone who was not only privy to but a rather outspoken participant in management discussions, is the first of what I hope readers will consider among the more valuable shares in their reading portfolio.

It will cover the full gamut of what falls in the purview and under the watchful eyes of corporate management. It will take readers behind the scenes for a look at the budgeting process, performance management, negotiation strategy, information technology, government relations and corporate ethics. It will look at successful enterprises and failed strategies, companies that understood their capabilities and others overwhelmed by those of competitors.

There will also be sometimes gratuitous but always generously-proffered advice on handling problem employees, dealing with aggressive customers, working with unions, coping with stress, and managing conflicts.

It will evaluate the hot books and cool blogs available. It will appraise management theories…those with real impact and those that reach out but touch nobody and nothing of lasting importance.

I trust you will find this blog engaging and enlightening.

By the way, if you have a literary bent, you may wish to saunter over to http://www.theliterarian.com, where I shift gears from business to books. If you are so inclined or, like me, both inclined, it might prove an interesting diversion.

Murray Abramovitch