It’s free! That is correct. The content on this web site is free for the reading and downloading with no strings attached. It is, however, copyrighted by RDK Consulting, Inc. to the extent allowable by law. Others may use and reproduce the material and derivative works as long as the original ownership by RDK Consulting, Inc. is acknowledged in clear and obvious form.
Except as specifically noted and acknowledged, all of the material is original. However, it is quite possible and even probable that others have said, written, or presented the same or similar material. Business issues are not new, and specialists and experts far more learned than this author have been helping businesses for decades, even centuries. At the risk of being accused of being egotistical, there is confusion regarding who invented many things. For example, was it Alexander Graham Bell or Elisha Gray or Antonio Meucci who invented the telephone? Was it Isaac Newton or Gottfried Leibniz who invented calculus? In these and many other instances, the controversy continues. The reality is that similar thoughts and ideas can be developed independently. This is exactly the case of the content in this collection. As one known example, I used the concept “what got us here, won’t get us there” in a company-wide meeting in 1992 to characterize the company’s need to adopt some new approaches to remain competitive. Later, I found out that the famous business coach and author Marshall Goldsmith uses an almost identical phrase. I am certain that he did not get his idea from me, nor I from him. If you feel you have heard or read content similar to mine, give credit to the other person; I do not care, and I hope they do not care either!
The intention is to continue to add content to the site. I have, for example, identified 60 future articles that I intend to add over time. I know that I certainly do not have all the answers and will be soliciting others to add content in the future and will give them credit accordingly. Finally, I am sure as the content receives more exposure, others will suggest improvements, and certainly, corrections. They will be taken to heart with changes made accordingly.
As articles are added or corrected, they will replace the previous version. No archives of old versions of articles will be kept. Each article will be dated when it is posted on the site. Although the first articles were written in January 2015, all articles that are posted with the original release of the CxO-Atlas website have been dated June 1, 2017. Actual posting dates will be used after the initial site activation.
Users can easily find new or edited listings by using the “What’s New” search feature on the site. When used, articles with the most current dates will be listed first followed by articles with older posting dates.
Not only will articles be added, but tools and presentations and other specially formatted files will also be added with their access occurring in Volume 8. For example, Excel™ workbooks, PowerPoint™ presentations, text speeches, and Visio™ based diagrams and templates will be available for downloading. Many of these items already exist but need to be updated or generalized and accompanied with appropriate documentation. The availability of these files will also be shown in the “What’s New” listings.
Another form of content will be added to Volume 9: Everything Else. It will be a series of short antipodal stories that relate to the topics covered in this collection as well as specific examples in which I did things wrong and, in a few cases, did things right!
The author is more than willing and encourages all others to suggest new topics, submit new stories or tools for inclusion on the site. Credit or anonymity will be given as requested.
At some point in the future, the articles, perhaps chapters, will be combined and made available as eBooks to avoid the necessity of downloading each article individually. Response to the site will determine if and when that task will be undertaken and the book versions made available.
