The Hard Currency of Innovation In Extreme Times – Ideas
It’s all very well to talk about innovation in times like this. However innovation is intangible and intangibility is not what we need right now. Organizations need evidence, hard numbers that enable them to really understand how they are operating functionally on a daily basis. Yet it is the focus on the ideas that flow [...]
read morePlaying war games to win – Strategy in Practice – McKinsey Quarterly
As the global downturn kicked in, a high-tech company’s senior executives decided to run a war game to prepare themselves for the uncertainties of the post-crisis landscape. After two days of simulations—when teams representing competitors and stakeholders role-played against a “company” team—the executives understood that a strong competitor on the sidelines was likely to enter [...]
read morePreparing an Organization For Growth – McKinsey Quarterly
Companies that address their organizational weaknesses as they implement growth strategies give themselves an advantage – say McKinseys principals. Most senior managers pay close attention to the strategic side of growth—the “wheres,” “whens,” and “hows.” Yet many underestimate the importance of organizational factors in translating a growth strategy into reality. This oversight can dampen a [...]
read moreGrowth Through Focus: A Blueprint for Driving Profitable Expansion.
This excellent paper from Booz & Co argues that too frequently, the business strategies of large corporations are poorly understood outside the corporate headquarters. When leaders are asked to act like owners, they often arrive at sensible trade-offs among risks, rewards and resources. Rather than seek increased revenues and profits by expanding products and markets, [...]
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