More Strategy
Archives by year:
- December 10, 2013To be effective, a government needs the same thing as a business: good management.
- December 2, 2013
Introducing s+b’s “Strategy of the Year”
What is 2013’s most in-vogue strategy? Make your nominations. - November 14, 2013
Conglomerates Bounce Back
Borrowing clout gives large companies an edge in a financial crisis. - November 12, 2013
From Netscape to eHarmony: The High Risks and Big Rewards of Platform Markets
Companies that link complementary partners, like dating sites or online auctions, can dominate for years or be swept away in an instant. - November 7, 2013
Looking Outside: A Fresh Approach to Project Management
When planning large projects, managers should base their forecasts for costs and timelines not on their own optimism, but on statistical data from previous ventures. - October 31, 2013
Working Capital Isn’t as Important as It’s Cracked Up to Be
When it comes to managing a company’s working capital, CFOs must balance the need to stock inventory against the need to provide value for shareholders. - October 24, 2013
Slow and Steady Firms Win the Survival Race
New businesses may be tempted to expand as quickly as possible, but such rapid growth can doom a fledgling company. - October 7, 2013
How Leaders Mistake Execution for Strategy
Former Strategy& senior partner Ken Favaro explains to former s+b executive editor Paul Michelman that when leaders substitute visions, missions, purposes, plans, or goals for the real work of strategy, they send their firms adrift. - October 7, 2013
The Capable Strategist: We’re from Corporate and We're Here to Help
Former Strategy& senior partner Ken Favaro speaks with former s+b executive editor Paul Michelman about understanding the real value of corporate strategy and the head office. - September 24, 2013
How Microsoft Can Once Again Punch Above Its Weight
A respected head office and strong corporate affinity will drive the company’s fortunes. - September 20, 2013
The Rocket Science of Low-Cost Innovation
It’s possible to develop new projects on a small budget, but, as NASA’s efforts show, companies have to be committed to the process if it is to succeed. - September 19, 2013
Variety, Not Quantity, Drives Car Sales
Having too much inventory can hurt sales, but offering a variety of products is good for business. - September 16, 2013
Seven Ways to Make Your Strategic Planning Relevant
Planning and performance management systems can be designed to reinforce your most distinctive capabilities—not undermine them. - September 9, 2013
When Banks Go Digital, Everyone Wins
Digitization will enhance the customer experience, and can save banks up to 30 percent. - September 3, 2013
Laura Rittenhouse’s Candor Analytics
Inspired by Warren Buffett, a former Lehman analyst figures out that plain-speaking companies have higher performance. - August 30, 2013
Deploying the M&A Counterattack
Sometimes it pays for a company to respond to a deal in its own backyard, and sometimes it doesn’t. - August 27, 2013
Strategic Change without Tears
A review of Strategic Transformation: Changing while Winning, by Manuel Hensmans, Gerry Johnson, and George Yip. - August 27, 2013
The Secret to a Successful Divestiture
When you are selling part of your company, don’t just offer buyers a potential asset; give them the capabilities to gain value from it. - August 27, 2013
To an Analog Banker in a Digital World
What happened to recorded music is about to happen to you. But only a few banks are making the right moves from branches to online services. - August 27, 2013
How Ready Are You for Growth?
A Booz & Company study reveals that only 17 percent of companies are poised for a profitable future. - August 19, 2013
Retaining Top Talent: Yes, It Really Is All about Them
If you want to retain your high-potential employees, you have to get involved in helping them plan their careers. - August 19, 2013
Do You Have a Stay Strategy?
Starting a business is one thing—sticking with it is quite another. - August 1, 2013
A Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Strategy Yields Top-of-the-Pyramid Results
Companies that focus on consumers with little spending power can change the dynamics of an industry. - July 29, 2013
Was News Corp’s Split Inevitable and Is PepsiCo Next?
Why some corporate relationships end in divorce while others live on in blissful union. - July 26, 2013
The Auto Industry’s Big Bailout Bounce
The rescue of GM and Chrysler came with a cost, but it put them back in the game and even benefited Ford. - July 19, 2013
The Bad Side of Good Governance
Well-meaning but meddlesome boards can wreak havoc on a company during a financial crisis. - July 18, 2013
Is Strategy Fixed or Variable?
Successful strategists understand that their role is to manage a process fraught with contradictions. - July 8, 2013
Summer Camp for Systems Thinkers
Introducing Camp Snowball, where teachers learn the hidden interactions that separate success from failure. - June 14, 2013
Curbing Risks in Complicated Projects
Too many companies are geared toward fixing problems rather than preventing them. - June 7, 2013
Containing the Anger over Customer Fees
When assessing penalty charges, companies must be fair, flexible, and transparent. - May 28, 2013
Building a Flywheel Business
By linking customers and capabilities, companies can generate the momentum for sustainable growth. - May 13, 2013
Can Best Buy Thwart the Grim Reaper?
The big box retailer badly needs a good dose of strategic innovation. Is it up to the task? - May 6, 2013
The Manager as Maker
Don Tapscott, who has written 15 books, most recently Radical Openness: Four Unexpected Principles for Success, introduces an excerpt that demonstrates how openness to new business practices and work settings can unleash human capital, from The Soul of Design: Harnessing the Power of Plot to Create Extraordinary Products, by Lee Devin and Robert D. Austin. - April 19, 2013
How Multinational Corporations Are Buffered from Financial Crises
Multinationals can increase exports from markets hurt by a decline in local sales. - April 8, 2013
We’re from Corporate and We’re Here to Help
Understanding the real value of corporate strategy and the head office. - April 5, 2013
A Helpful Prod from the Press Gallery
How negative media coverage can have a positive impact on a company’s strategic direction. - March 15, 2013
Embracing the Twists and Turns in Project Management
Surprises can be frustrating, but they often come with big opportunities. - March 11, 2013
The Right Ideas in All the Wrong Places
How strategic intuition unlocks innovative solutions to your biggest problems. - March 1, 2013
You Gotta Serve Somebody
Jeff Thull, author of Mastering the Complex Sale: How to Compete and Win When the Stakes Are High, introduces a passage that overturns negative stereotypes about sales from To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others, by Daniel H. Pink. - February 26, 2013
Beyond Functions
Conventional organizational structures may be obsolete. How about a model based on capabilities instead? - February 26, 2013
Designing the Right Supply Chain
Companies that align their operations to their strategy unleash superior performance. - February 26, 2013
Think Functionally, Act Strategically
When a company competes on capabilities, its specialist leaders—in HR, IT, finance, and elsewhere—play a new, influential role. - February 26, 2013
Predicting “Flash Crashes”
A controversial financial market indicator may be able to prevent short-term crises in the modern computerized trading world. - February 15, 2013
Chapter 11’s Impact on Airline Performance
Bankruptcy gives a bounce to operational improvements, but not for long. - February 1, 2013
General Electric’s Lessons in Product Innovation
Tracking the milestones in a century of strategic commitment. - January 11, 2013
The Adverse Effects of Overvalued Stock
When prices are inflated, and governance is weak, it’s easier to underperform. - January 4, 2013
More Than Words
George S. Yip, co-author of Strategic Transformation: Changing While Winning, introduces an excerpt from Management in 10 Words: Practical Advice from the Man Who Created One of the World’s Largest Retailers, by Terry Leahy, that explores the anchoring effect of business values.