A point of departure for discovery driven planning is the selection of a unit of business, which implies a particular business model. In a recent edition of Wired magazine, editor Chris Anderson created a useful… Read more »
Archives for 2008
Revlon’s “Vital Radiance” – a failure to spark innovation led growth with some interesting lessons
In a bitter fight to grow against formidable rivals such as Proctor and Gamble and L’Oreal, cosmetics manufacturer Revlon tried the innovation route, with a new line of cosmetics called “Vital Radiance,” introduced in January… Read more »
Even private equity firms need to worry about management disciplines to add growth and create value
As the financial markets continue their dizzying spiral into a never-never land of losses (did I see that UBS lost over $11 billion in the fourth quarter alone???) I’ve been interested to watch the response… Read more »
Social Trends among the younger generation – opportunities?
I was recently at the Microsoft Global Accounts Summit, which is a high level meeting for the company’s top customers. Among the fascinating agenda items was a presentation by Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft’s entertainment… Read more »
New York Times quotes Rita McGrath
In a February 29, 2008 NYT article entitled Hoping to Make Phone Buyers Flip, Rita McGrath is quoted: “There is an awful lot of pressure to keep the wheels turning instead of putting money into… Read more »
Pulling the plug… end of life cycle and standards losers in today’s top stories
One of the most difficult – but essential – decisions to make in today’s hypercompetitive markets are those that involve shutting things down. It is heartbreaking – every product, every line of business and every… Read more »
Debt got way out of hand
It’s stunning to read about how leveraged our economy is, and how painful the de-leveraging process is likely to be. Still, there are bound to be opportunities for the enterprising in all the pain around… Read more »
Analysts’ asymmetrical recommendations
One of the most interesting aspects of our financial markets is a fundamental asymmetry in reality versus analyst recommendations. Simple math suggests that half of all stocks will under-perform the market average, yet analysts persist… Read more »
Rita McGrath’s Toy Story
In a Sacramento Bee story entitled Changing economy brings end to retailer’s 27-year-old toy story, Rita McGrath was quoted as to the closing of a long-time toy store. “The spending slowdown is particularly hard for… Read more »
Rita McGrath’s Toy Story
In a Sacramento Bee story entitled Changing economy brings end to retailer’s 27-year-old toy story, Rita McGrath was quoted as to the closing of a long-time toy store. “The spending slowdown is particularly hard for… Read more »
The curse of past success: Fast Strategy Diagnostic
Doz and Kosonen have a most interesting diagnostic tool posted on their website strategic agility, which is linked to their book Fast Strategy. If you are concerned that your organization may have enjoyed too much… Read more »
Discovery Driven Planning: The case for collective decisions
Doz and Kosonen’s new book Fast Strategy presents their research into how companies can dramatically alter their core businesses in response to dynamic strategic environments. I’m just reading through it, and one of their comments… Read more »