Currently, most global companies are operating in a two-speed world, yet this scenario was not on the drawing board when today's leaders were rising through the ranks. The length of the economic malaise in mature markets and the sustained growth of emerging markets have jumbled the deck for them.

Don't give up on China, despite its short-term political and economic difficulties. So says Ted Fishman, author of "China, Inc., How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World" and former Chicago Mercantile Exchange trader.

U.S. companies borrowed more in September than a year ago to finance new equipment, the most in any month since December, but global economic and policy uncertainties curbed spending, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association said.

Achieving breakthrough improvements in sustainable packaging is more difficult than simply substituting one material for another. In fact, for many, the mere mention of the term can bring to mind flimsy plastic water bottles and noisy chip bags, designs with laudable intent but a high potential for detracting from the customer experience, according to a Deloitte report called "Thinking Outside the Box: Throw Away Your Current Approach to Packaging."

When it comes to corporate social responsibility, consumers want more than aspirational mission statement, according to research by Cone Communications. They want to know what companies are doing.

Legendary lean practitioner Art Byrne says he didn't have to accept excuses from employees when he requested dramatic improvements on the plant floor. That's because Byrne had become a "lean expert" and knew what type of changes were possible. There's a big difference between CEOs who engage in lean and those who simply encourage it.

After Steve and Lori Dockendorf's two oldest children left their dairy farm to go to college, the husband-and-wife owners of a 100-cow farm in Watkins, Minn., had to figure out how to replace the labor they'd lost. The traditional solution would have been to hire a couple of extra hands. Instead, the Dockendorfs went with robots: robots to help feed the cows, robots to help clean the barn, even robots that can milk the cows.

Merging of channels is a hot topic, catapulted by the suddenness of mobile popularity. But beyond the buzz, companies need to provide the right mix of services, messages and pricing. So often that isn't the case.

Many large U.S. companies continue to try and "game the system" at year's end, artificially improving their balance sheets by manipulating receivables, payables and inventory, according to a study from REL, a division of The Hackett Group. Their efforts, which can range from deep discounting and extended payment terms on sales to simply "losing" supplier bills, do have a positive impact in Q4, the study found. But these companies pay a harsh price in Q1, when working capital performance bounces back to even worse levels than before.

The food and beverage industry has made some major moves in recent days in the struggle over super-sweet products. Major cereal-makers Nestle and General Mills pledged to cut sugar and salt content in children's breakfast cereals abroad, while soda and restaurant trade groups sued to stop a New York City ban on sales of large sugary drinks.