I’m hosting a series of fireside chats with people who have insightful ideas and actionable suggestions about how we navigate this unprecedented crisis. Do join us! About me: Rita McGrath is a faculty member at… Read more »
Thought Sparks
Too Important to Ignore: Team Effectiveness
It’s hard to know how to respond to events of the magnitude of those that have been in the headlines, except to acknowledge that the quest for social justice feels really, really, enormous. As readers… Read more »
Designing Business Experiments
As the COVID crisis drags on, casting us all into the world of having to make assumptions, rather than being able to rely on facts, a question I get a lot is how to design… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
Hello, Uncertainty!
Like so many of us, I had a well-crafted plan for what I’d be doing right about now. In between traveling, speaking, and teaching at Columbia, I’d work on picking a sector of the economy… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
Thoughts in the Midst of an Inflection Point
Well, as this is the month of International Women’s Day, I was planning to create a newsletter on some of the major inflection points with respect to women in the world. It’s written, but just… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
Everything Old Is New Again: Why Fast Fashion Is Facing an Inflection Point
When retailers ranging from Nordstrom to J. C. Penney and Macy’s start to stock used clothing in their flagship stores, you know something in the zeitgeist has definitely shifted. Where We Are Today: The Rise… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
Shopped Out? Holiday Shopping and How It Has Changed
The packages have been unwrapped, the ribbons have been undone, and the unwanted presents have been re-gifted or returned. How has the current state of the art with respect to holiday shopping unfolded, and what… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
Global Peter Drucker Forum Sessions That Made Me Think
The theme of the conference was “the power of ecosystems,” and it very much reflected my longstanding interest in managing in complex (rather than just complicated) environments. While it would be too much to offer… Read more »
The Booming Business of Looking After Boomers
Plenty of people are gearing up to make a—ahem—killing in the senior care business. Is it an opportunity or a mirage? The World Is Getting Grayer One of the more interesting types of strategic… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
Packaging: A $1.2 Trillion Sector Going Through a Rethink
We want it personal, digital, flexible, and eco-friendly, and we’re starting to turn away from plastics, but none of this is easy. We’re Asking a Lot More of Packaging Than We Used To—and Suppliers Are Responding As e-commerce continues its penetration into every corner of our commercial… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
The Fast Changing, But Fickle, Competition in Consumer Packaged Goods
Digital has made a whole new kind of business model possible—and incumbents are reeling. Born-Digital Companies Are Going Direct They’re new, they’re nimble, and they’re communicating with your customers right under your nose, causing decades-long… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »
Venture Capital 2.0: This Time, It’s Different?
Venture capitalists are partying as if it’s 1999—and we know how that went. Entrepreneurship 101 says startups should conserve cash, keep costs flexible, and operate with parsimony. Way too many founders in the 90’s laughed… Subscribe for Premium Thought Sparks Content »