strategy+business - All Updates

s+b Trend Watch

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

How to Be a More Coherent Marketer

by Thomas Ripsam, Yogesh Pandit, and Caren Fleit — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

A recent survey conducted by Booz & Company, Korn/Ferry International, and the Association of National Advertisers highlights the challenges facing today's marketing organizations. With so much in flux and so much at stake, marketers need to be strategic when it comes to managing their resources and teams. We have identified two key priorities: identifying the two or three differenti¬ated capabilities their organization should pursue to establish a right to win, and hiring and retaining the talent that will support the development of these capabilities.

Three Games of Strategic Thinking

by Tim Laseter and Saras Sarasvathy — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Corporate decision makers struggling with uncertainty need not always gamble the same way; they can choose from a trio of business strategy paradigms - planning and positioning, organization learning, and constructive transformation - that have each proved useful for different companies at different times.

Rethinking the Product Launch

by Max Cuellar, Leslie Moeller, and Heberto Molina — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Organic growth requires you to look freshly at your customer value proposition. This systematic process combines creativity and analysis to do just that -- for a hamburger chain like Wendy's or for any other consumer-facing business.

The Thought Leader Interview: Dov Seidman

by Art Kleiner — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

According to research by this influential author and expert on building ethical cultures, companies that practice humanistic self-governance have a multifaceted edge in performance. This interview expands on Seidman's book How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything (Wiley, 2007), explaining how companies get stuck in blind obedience and informed acquiescence, and how they can move beyond corporate social responsibility (CSR) to sustainable values.

China's Mid-Market Innovators

by Edward Tse, John Jullens, and Bill Russo — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

A new category of global competitor -- low-price, high-quality Chinese business-to-business upstarts -- is shaking up the competitive landscape around the world. The conventional strategy for many multinational incumbents, of trying to divide the market with "just good enough" products for the low end, will no longer suffice. Global multinationals must change their overall ways of doing business.

A New Role for Natural Resources Companies

by Mary Stacey, Marilyn Taylor, and David Legge — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

We need a new way to think about natural resources: a shift in mind-set from simply managing resources to practicing resource leadership . Resource producers, in partnership with resource consumers and supported by policymakers, can create this new business model by thinking strategically about natural resources from the moment they are pulled from the earth through to their end use. A growing number of companies are recognizing the potential value of this approach.

The Right Role for Top Teams

by Rob Cross and Jon Katzenbach — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Analysis of informal networks offers a potent leadership model for the C-suite: Make top teams the hub of the enterprise, and watch performance improve.

Connections with Integrity

by Reid Hoffman — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The venture capitalist who cofounded LinkedIn reveals the surefire system that he has used since high school for evaluating potential business relationships. Peoples' attitudes about alliances range from purely transactional to deeply altruistic, and this outlook determines the kind of partner they will be, either on a social network or in a face-to-face deal.

Solar Comes of Age

by Laura W. Geller — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The solar energy industry is entering a dynamic period, as costs decline, demand for electricity continues to grow, and competition heats up. Carrie Cullen Hitt, vice president of state affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association, argues that with the right mix of rules, policies, and incentives, great opportunity exists for solar in the years ahead.

Strategy: An Executive's Definition

by Ken Favaro, with Kasturi Rangan and Evan Hirsh — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

What is a business strategy? Many executives struggle with this question. Here is a succinct, pragmatic answer. Strategy is different from vision, mission, goals, priorities and plans: it is the result of choices made to maximize long-term value.

An R&D Valhalla

by Steven Levy — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

A review of The Idea Factory , by Jon Gertner.

The Steve Jobs Way

by Jon Katzenbach — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Most business leaders would be thrilled to achieve Steve Jobs's level of market success, but should they aspire to lead like him? Steve Jobs may have been, as Walter Isaacson says in his eponymous biography, "the greatest business executive of our era," but he was a mercurial, demanding, and tyrannical one. Applied to the wrong strategy, market, or product, his behaviors could sink a company. In the end, what made Jobs such a successful leader was his much-lauded talent for envisioning and delivering breakthrough products and services.

A Credit Report

by Robert Hertzberg — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Borrow: The American Way of Debt , by Louis Hyman

The Care and Feeding of Shareholders

by David K. Hurst — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

A review of Winning Investors Over , by Baruch Lev.

To Err Is Human

by Clive Crook — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

A review of Thinking, Fast and Slow , by Daniel Kahneman.

How Friendship Pays Off at the Lending Desk

by Matt Palmquist — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Personal connections between borrowers and bankers produce better results for both sides.

CEO Succession 2011: The New CEO's First Year

by Ken Favaro, Per-Ola Karlsson, and Gary L. Neilson — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

As the worldwide economy recovers, the number of companies appointing new chief executives is on the rise. Just as the recovery has been unevenly distributed, however, so too are those new CEOs -- not just geographically, but also in terms of their backgrounds and experience. More and more in the last several years, new chief executives are coming to their position from the outside, as boards of directors look for new blood from other companies and other industries, in hopes of introducing fresh thinking into their executive mix. In 2011, the 12th consecutive year Booz & Company has been following the fortunes of CEOs at the world's 2,500 largest public companies, 14.2 percent of those CEOs were replaced.

Navigating the First Year: Advice from 18 Chief Executives

by Ken Favaro, Per-Ola Karlsson, and Gary L. Neilson — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

CEOs who took part in Booz & Company's 2011 study of CEO turnover share their thoughts about the difficulties they faced, the successes they achieved, and what, in retrospect, they might have done differently in their first year on the job.

Lessons from the E-Commerce Wars

by Laura W. Geller — Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Entrepreneur Jim McCarthy has worked in e-commerce for the past 15 years. He cut his teeth in tech startups, learning from both failures and successes. Today, as cofounder and CEO of Goldstar Events Inc., a privately held half-price ticketing website, he's figured out how to grow his business and distinguish his brand by forging a strong connection with his customers.

The Payoffs and Penalties of Holding Meetings

Fri, 18 May 2012 05:00:00 -0500

Danger lurks if a problem-solving discussion turns into unfocused complaining.

Is Your Company Fit for Growth?

by Deniz Caglar, Jaya Pandrangi, and John Plansky — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Companies that cut costs thoughtfully and deploy their resources strategically will be prepared for the next round of expansion. Drawing on experience from Ikea, Aetna, SABIC, Pitney-Bowes, and elsewhere, this step-by-step article shows the three actions (set prorities, optimize costs, reorganize for growth) that can make a company ready for growth.

The Case for the Brand Ideal

by Jim Stengel — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Behind many a successful product, there's a sharply focused intention to improve lives. The former global marketing officer of Procter & Gamble describes how he learned to foster a brand's aspirational value -- even for a product as seemingly simple as Jif peanut butter.

Suppliers Benefit from Having Just a Few Big Customers

Fri, 11 May 2012 05:00:00 -0500

What they lose in bargaining power, they more than make up for in efficiencies, profitability, and stock gains.

Managing in a Multipolar World

by Paolo Pigorini, Ashok Divakaran, and Ariel Fleichman — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

In a world with multiple centers of power and influence that are changing the way business is done, multinationals need a coherent and flexible global enterprise management model that can adapt to (and get ahead of) rapid evolutions in the market. To enable success, companies should focus on three key areas: organization structure and footprint, decision rights and controls, and leadership and talent.

How Ikea Reassembled Its Growth Strategy

by Deniz Caglar, Marco Kesteloo, and Art Kleiner — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

During the Great Recession, an iconic European furniture company found a growth strategy that let it cut expenses while raising customer loyalty. This interview, conducted for the forthcoming s+b article "Is Your Company Fit for Growth?" shows how Ikea thrived by reinvesting its savings in its most important capabilities.

A "Psychological Contract" for M&A Success

Fri, 04 May 2012 05:00:00 -0500

Retention of key managers improves performance after new bonds are formed.

The Key to Brand Acquisitions: Marketing Capabilities

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0500

Investors reward companies that buy stand-alone brands they can market better than the sellers did.

Engagement Isn't Enough

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Ann Rhoades, author of Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture That Outperforms the Competition , introduces a lesson in attaining the full potential of employees from All In: How the Best Managers Create a Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results , by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.

The Two Levels of Strategy

by Ken Favaro — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Business strategy is best distinguished from corporate strategy by the different perspectives that business leaders and strategic planners must bring to bear. Business strategists must answer questions about customers and capabilities; corporate strategists about the overall portfolio of businesses.