Growth strategy

Bonuses and other forms of incentive compensation are an effective motivator of executives to achieve ever higher earnings per share. The drive to produce short-term results, however, often influences management to forgo investment in capital equipment and R&D that would benefit the corporation several years hence even more than improved earnings next year would. The […]

Across-the-board cuts often backfire.

For the last decade, the Gallup Organization has surveyed the people of China, as both consumers of goods and employees of the companies that produce those goods. The data provide a unique picture of changing consumer attitudes, market opportunities, and management challenges.

How businesses shift from selling products to building networks.

And why your company can’t ignore it.

Get clarity on what really matters.

It won't help with competition in existing markets.

Reid Hoffman is one of Silicon Valley's grown-ups. After helping to found PayPal, he moved on to launch LinkedIn in 2002--an endeavor that turned him...

If growth is what you’re after, you won’t learn much from complex measurements of customer satisfaction or retention. You simply need to know what your customers tell their friends about you.

The conventional wisdom about how best to pursue growth--launch a slew of initiatives in high-potential areas; appoint some promising young managers to...

Three elements to focus on.

The idea behind Muji was to manufacture and sell beautiful, inexpensive housewares, food, and apparel that every Japanese consumer might need. In the...

Mergers and acquisitions, the stuff of newspaper headlines, quite often fail. Around 50% of mergers don’t achieve their business objectives, and takeovers cause the shareholders of most acquirers to lose money, according to several studies conducted over the past four decades. Yet, in an ironic twist, companies from developing countries such as China, India, Malaysia, […]

When faced with disruptions and downturns, many leaders and companies instinctively focus on cutting costs to maintain profitability. But some identify...

For the past 20 years, the theory of disruptive innovation has been enormously influential in business circles and a powerful tool for predicting which...

The key is developing the right capabilities.

What business are you really in?

It’s smart to pool resources.

And how to overcome them.

If you have a genius in your organization, get out of the way.