A colleague of mine drew to my attention an NPR story about the Federal government's plans to develop green technologies. In many ways, the approach echoes options reasoning: Many small bets Substantial upside if… Read more »
Thought Sparks
Thought Sparks, the brainchild of Rita McGrath, are insightful actions, strategic ideas, actionable suggestions and innovative approaches that help organizations and leaders master the future with less fear and more confidence. New episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast are released every other Tuesday at 11am Eastern. Prior to 2025, episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast were known as Fireside Chats.
Tata Awards for Intelligent Failure
This blog post offers a nice description of Tata's awards for intelligent failure. Under the rubric "Dare To Try" the company encourages people to be willing to take intelligent risks. It's one of many company practices… Read more »
Forget college and change the world?
PayPal founder Peter Thiel thinks he has found a new way to change the world. A recent article describes how his foundation has created $100,000 grants for young superstars to put their college plans on… Read more »
Rita McGrath quoted in Modern Contractor Solutions
Ted Garrison interviewed Rita McGrath for his Seize Opportunities through Discovery-Driven Growth article: “One of the things we are seeing very strongly is that companies that are successful in these truly turbulent environments have a… Read more »
More women in top management = more success as a company
Experts and observers have long argued that there is a benefit to firms of having more women in senior decision-making roles. The reasons are many, including the importance of diversity, the fact that senior women… Read more »
Does doing good mean doing well? Research from colleague Ray FIsman
In a recent piece in Columbia Ideas at Work, my colleague Ray Fisman summarizes some research he has done on whether promising to donate a portion of one's proceeds to charity means more profits for… Read more »
Does doing good mean doing well? Research from colleague Ray Fisman
In a recent piece in Columbia Ideas at Work, my colleague Ray Fisman summarizes some research he has done on whether promising to donate a portion of one’s proceeds to charity means more profits for… Read more »
The Booth Company cites Discovery-Driven Growth
At The Booth Company: Smart companies may incur huge losses when they enter unknown territory–new alliances, markets, products, technologies. Failures could be prevented or their cost contained if managers approached innovative ventures with the right… Read more »
CorporateRain.com praises Failing by Design blog
Tim Askew in a MakingRain post praises the Harvard Business Review April magazine’s theme on Failure, and cites Rita McGrath’s Failing By Design blog: “I in no way mean to say that failure, per se,… Read more »
Back to the Boneyard
Rita McGrath’s blog at Harvard Business Review is entitled Back to the Boneyard — Palm, Flip…and now RIM?. “Things move quickly in technology, which is why technology companies are fascinating to strategists the way fruit… Read more »
Strategic Innovation Does Not Equal Dollars Spent
My colleague Gray Hammond sent along this interesting coverage of innovative companies, and I thought it might be of interest to my readers as well. Booz & Company’s latest annual study of global innovation, The… Read more »
An Internet Kissing Machine? Oh brother, what’s next. Wait, Maybe I Don’t Want to Know…
Believe it or not, reports have surfaced that a group of Japanese researchers are hard at work on an Internet Kissing Machine. Yes, apparently, two people equipped with the devices can exchange more than just… Read more »