Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., Thunderbird School of Global Management

I am pleased to have been asked to be the guest editor for the Best Practices Issue of In Business Magazine. As you well know, the downturn in the economy has posed great challenges to the business community both locally and worldwide. But with those challenges come great opportunities for innovation and creative thinking that can positively impact our organizations, our communities and the world at large.

Business plays a pivotal role in driving economic and social change, and it is more important than ever before that we, as business leaders, sharpen our skills, think outside of the box and turn to one another in sharing of best practices. In these complex and changed times, it is imperative that we operate, not within competitive silos, but rather with an inclusive mindset that allows us all to play a part in rebuilding a healthy economy.

This April 2011 issue of In Business Magazine is one of many issues dedicated to directly improving business for us locally. In this month’s cover story, Lori K. Baker sought the advice of some of the Valley’s top businesspeople to give their perspective on best practices in the spheres of leadership and management, sales, finance and accounting, information technology and human resources. Their insight and expertise will help readers navigate from where they are now in business to where they want to be. Valuable tools and education are the keys to keeping any business owner in line and on track to succeed.

As part of this Best Practices Issue, editor RaeAnne Marsh has led a team of writers to compile a series of articles on incorporating best practices in business in many different ways. John Minahan, author of The Business Mechanic: 9 Simple Ways to Improve Your Business, describes some of the best practices in preparing for successful partnerships. Rebel Brown writes about status quo being the death of business and explores the concept of shaking up that which has always been, to reveal new, forward thinking ways of doing things. Max Kipling focuses on management in his article on some of the proven keys to improving productivity and revenues in the workplace.

A sector of great interest, sustainability is producing economic opportunities in widely diverse fields, from energy generating plants and their associated supply chains to entrepreneurial endeavors in services and products for the environmentally conscious. In her article on this topic, Marsh examines the breadth of this developing economic force in exploring its potential impact in Arizona.

While most business owners are working hard on bettering their businesses, I hope that you find this Best Practices Issue of In Business Magazine a useful tool to sharpen some of your skills and introduce opportunity to build success in these challenging times.

Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D.
President
Thunderbird School of Global Management

Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., is president of Thunderbird School of Global Management, the No. 1-ranked school of global business worldwide. Dr. Cabrera is a world-renowned global leader and management educator whose work and expertise have been recognized and tapped by the World Economic Forum and other top international organizations.