Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 6, 2014

At the time, though, we were just in search of a new approach to building a sustainable business in that critical but often difficult market. In fact, you could say (and many did) that our previous attempts had failed, in that we hadn’t established a sustained market position. Things hadn’t gone well up until that point.

Chief Financial Officer 10

Chief Financial Officer Operations Learning-by-Doing IPO 10

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 17, 2011

After all, HSBC is not proposing to close its British operations. That, though, is a largely technical issue, because your nominal headquarters need not be your operational one. It probably wouldn't matter much if your operations were really evenly distributed across the world. There were, of course, special considerations.

Banking 11

Banking Hedge Globalization Operations 11

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 22, 2014

America’s largest insurer, Allstate, announced plans to invest $1 billion in its India operations. At the same time Amway and L’Oreal thrived in the same market and personal care sales boomed across most of India. But it won’t be “India’s fault,” in our view. David Mulford, U.S.

Venture Capitalist 11

Venture Capitalist Price Marketing Learning-by-Doing 11

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 17, 2013

In both C suites and boardrooms, discussions about business performance usually center on topics like market momentum, M&A opportunities, capital management, and productivity enhancements. To align and motivate employees to work together, we eliminated all four centers and created one new streamlined operation in New Jersey.

Company 9

Company Compliance Long-term Short-term 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

I’ve been involved with turnarounds for years, including observing and writing about the Red Sox 2004 World Series win that reversed many decades of being almost-rans. Others need a course correction while still profitable (Microsoft), or a momentum shift because of disruptive new technologies (newspaper companies).

How To 9

How To Airlines Open-book CEO 9

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

The stock market is short-term-oriented. The market favorably receives projects with long-term payoffs, particularly those in research and development. And I witnessed its truth firsthand as the CEO of Merck in 2004, when our earnings were going to fall short of analysts' expectations.

CEO 15

CEO Short-term Long-term Restructuring 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 27, 2014

He is no Jim Simons , using his mathematical genius to outsmart the market in (to an outsider) incomprehensible ways. stock markets over Icahn’s career, it’s a simple factual assertion — the total return on the S&P 500 has substantially outstripped economic growth. But applied to U.S.

Hedge 8

Hedge Venture Capitalist Letter Reputation 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 15, 2011

Every year since 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a report on the state of competition in the wireless market. Or, if not, what negative effect its dubious conclusions might have on regulatory policy in wireless markets. If firms are not exercising market power, competition reigns.

Wireless 13

Wireless Report Price Analysis 13

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Employees frequently attribute breakdowns to incompetence or bad faith on the part of colleagues in other departments: "Those bozos in headquarters [or finance or marketing] screw everything up." Within three years, ALL's Brazilian rail operations had increased revenues by 50% and tripled EBITDA.

Strategy 8

Strategy Proposal Guidelines Net Present Value 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 8, 2013

And the services they provide do keep improving (along with the prices, of course, but that''s mainly sports fans'' fault ). Maybe the passage of time has dulled my memory of what it was really like, or maybe the wonderfulness of the phone rep led me to believe that this was a different sort of operation.

Market Penetration 8

Market Penetration Industry Telecommunications Strategy 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

Burt asked the managers to write down their best ideas about how to improve business operations, and then he asked two ex­ecutives at the company to rate the quality of these ideas. 2 (2004): 349–399. But of course, that depends a lot on what a person’s job is. Teach a course at a university or local college.

How To 8

How To Diversity Letter Learning-by-Doing 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Free fall is a crisis of obsolescence and decline that can happen at any point in a company’s life cycle, but most often it affects maturing incumbents whose business model has come under competitive attack from insurgents or is no longer viable in a changing market. By 1993 the company had $1.3 billion in revenue.

Company 8

Company How To Business Model Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 31, 2016

Studying these successes and failures, we’ve identified half a dozen key reasons platforms fail, all of which boil down to managers’ misunderstanding of how platforms operate and compete. For years Apple’s market penetration hung in the single digits. Google Android quickly lost market share to the new versions.

Participative 8

Participative Software Market Penetration Marketing 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 12, 2011

Their exclusive agreement had been launched in the go-go year of 2000, but by 2004 it had landed in court. Microsoft and Intel, as is well known, have long sought alternatives to their being fused at the hip — Microsoft seeking alternative chip platforms for its software, and Intel supporting additional operating systems.

Management 11

Management Airlines How To Pharmaceuticals 11

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 19, 2012

Once the book had been written, I had to market it. And, since innovation was on everyone 's mind, I was soon also working with chief innovation officers and heads of strategy, business development, and emerging markets — anything that required innovation. I knew better, of course. A side-door strategy , I thought.

Succession 17

Succession Diversity Open-book Innovation 17

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 1, 2011

Of course, the advice and guidance may be richer and more relevant if it comes from someone who knows you well and understands your goals. Martin was much more of a direct, operational, and continuous mentor," she said. She had already held several positions in both consulting and sales and marketing, so she wasn't a junior upstart.

Mentor 16

Mentor Career Long-term Advice 16

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 1, 2012

But while field organizing is essential in this closely contested race, the groundwork has been laid over many months by the campaigns' digital operations. But it's clear that online operations have become so central to political success, everyone has to play: Romney simply cannot afford to cede the advantage and focus elsewhere.

Media 8

Media Marketing Politics Hammer 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 5, 2017

Critics across the political spectrum have said that fake news and cyberattacks played a big role in determining the course of events. Political campaigns are marketing campaigns, messages aimed at selling a product. Yet by 2004 its market share was down to 3%. Bigger marketing budgets may not pay off.

Media 11

Media Advertising Fixed Costs Content 11