Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2014

BlueArc’s devices were high-end, but its management believed it needed a mid-priced product to get it through the recession. However, cash flow from operations had shifted from positive to negative, the company’s cash pile was dwindling, and the new product would demand R&D investment. Their ability to execute. Forecasting acumen.

CFO 8

CFO Venture Funding IPO Retail 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 23, 2015

They’re essentially asking the company to take the cash it has generated through its business operations and spend it on something with an uncertain future return. Several years ago, when I was serving as the company’s CFO, one of founders came to me and said, “Joe, I would like to buy a new three-dimensional printer.”

Finance 8

Finance NPV CFO ROI 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 5, 2016

They had framing conversations with the CEO and CFO early on to discuss any financial or operational challenges. The Texas site alone produces more energy than what Owens Corning uses across its significant Texas operations. Owens Corning won’t actually reveal the exact energy prices they’re paying.

Energy 8

Energy Industry Finance CFO 8

Strategy Driven

OCTOBER 21, 2011

Forced to do more with much less, the small businesses that have managed to survive and even thrive during these tough times have recognized one important factor: You can’t always compete on price, but you can compete on service. You might not always be able to slash your prices lower than those of your competitors. magazine.

Learning-by-Doing 62

Learning-by-Doing Price Bottom-up Finance 62

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 13, 2012

Many people assume it's all about moving to a "pay-as-you-go" (PAYG) model and while this is certainly a big piece of it, it also involves operating versus capital expenses, subscriptions to services, and customers paying for outcomes (not technology). Why should a toy or cosmetics company own and operate multiple data centers?

CFO 15

CFO Operations Budgeting Technology 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 27, 2013

He had an amazing legacy: Senior VP of Retail Operations at Apple pioneering the concept of the Apple Retail stores and the Genius Bar. Penney: get rid of nonstop price promotions and introduce boutique "stores within the store." Penney in November 2011 with a mandate to turn the ailing retailer around, all eyes were on him.

Retail 11

Retail Price Merchandising CFO 11

Harvard Business Review

JULY 29, 2014

In Sarah’s opinion, the problem was obvious: Sid Yerby, the CFO. How could she or any of the other directors provide fiscal oversight without access to details of the company’s operations or accounting? In fact, one of her fellow directors had accused her of having a private agenda that included taking the CFO down a couple of pegs.

Case Study 9

Case Study Real Estate CFO Letter 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 30, 2017

So is John Rice, the head of global operations, along with CFO Jeffrey Bornstein. Increase operating margins to 18% (by cutting expenses). Then they buy stock in these public companies and attempt to convince management to increase the price of the shares. Comstock is out. Activist Investors.

Ries 8

Ries Long-term Short-term Price 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 4, 2011

Increasingly, consumers on the floor know more than the sales staff about the store's products and price points — and competing offers. Doing this right will allow the CFO to keep the store as an asset on the balance sheet, not a liability — a move shareholders would surely reward.

Retail 15

Retail Attrition CIO CFO 15

Harvard Business Review

JULY 31, 2017

Housing market price changes can be more accurately predicted from analysis of Google searches than by a team of expert real estate forecasters. The issue is that they operate as artisans, not scientists. This makes it difficult to justify investment in change management with the rigor that a data-driven CEO or CFO might expect.

Marketing 8

Marketing Root Cause Analysis Management Supply Chain 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 2, 2016

In this case, a team of the Rotterdam Eye Hospital’s CEO, CFO, managers, staff, and doctors wanted to understand how their patients felt when they entered the hospital and what could be done to improve their experience. They started with patient-first thinking.

Health Care 8

Health Care Airlines CFO Operations 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

Today, many high-profile companies— Cisco , Google , IBM , Samsung , Siemens , Disney , Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank , to name a few—contain such roving consulting groups to help solve the most critical strategy and operations problems throughout the business. To succeed long term, winning on price alone is not sufficient.

Consultative 8

Consultative Team How To McKinsey 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 16, 2013

Volatile stock: In 2008, under Jobs, the stock price dropped by more than 50%. In 2004, Apple's CFO, Fred Anderson, left the company. Amazon's price-to-earnings ratio is now 2,767. Some people are saying that Tim Cook just ain't up to it, that he's no Steve Jobs. Bad quality control: MobileMe, antenna-gate. No iPad mini at all.

Marketing 12

Marketing Stage-Gate Advertising Price 12

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 11, 2011

due to inflation, salary increases) to maintain margin in an environment of downward pressure on prices. CFO Ric Magnuson says that the change has forced managers to develop a much better understanding of the work in their departments, particularly which activities truly matter. There have been challenges.

Budgeting 11

Budgeting Chief Financial Officer Cost CFO 11

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

I Give This Blurb 3 Stars Operation Clean Turf and the War on Fake Yelp Reviews Businessweek Were the 19 companies accused of commissioning fake online reviews the only firms out there engaged in this nefarious practice? Not likely. Federal Trade Commission says 15% to 20% of all reader reviews might be fake.

Review 8

Review CFO PR Analysis 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 16, 2012

To enhance financial flexibility, companies have been retaining unprecedented amounts of cash on their balance sheets, calling it "strategic" cash to distinguish it from the "operating" cash that is needed to run the business. Barring a tax holiday, this cash is effectively "trapped" offshore. Facilitate Acquisitions.

Company 13

Company Cost of Capital Finance Long-term 13

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 30, 2013

In fact, Amazon was only operating at such a high burn rate because it could. And while it has certainly burned many buyers of Amazon shares through the years — Amazon's stock price took a decade to get back to its 2009 peak — the long-run returns have been spectacular. In Morten T. billion in bonds the year before).

Training 10

Training Bond Christensen Long-term 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 30, 2016

Many firms operating brick and mortar stores are in trouble. As the CFO of Macy’s put it recently, “ “We’re frankly scratching our heads.” Of course, the shuttered stores, depressed execs, and tanking stocks suggest otherwise. What’s the real story? A few seem to be making this work.

Retail 8

Retail Real Estate B2B CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 9, 2015

“Introduce yourself, and take a little time to get to know people, how they operate, and how they act.” Conceding on price or substance because you don’t want to upset the other party is a losing scenario, even if you think you’ve temporarily saved the relationship. Make small talk. It’s who they are.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain How To Price Case Study 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2012

billion to acquire the webOS operating system, Hewlett-Packard discontinued its webOS-based series of smartphones and line of Touchpad tablets — losing its bet on a webOS-everywhere future. Interestingly, Dominic Caruso also came with the deal for that small biotech company, and he is now the pharma giant's CFO.

Innovation 13

Innovation Company Biotechnology CFO 13

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2014

Peter Currie , our CFO, and I were doing it, and I said, “All right, one last question.” You do it to get your stock price up. It has more to do with the total price of the bundle versus the value of the bundle. There were, I believe, several price-fixing scandals and cases that have come out of that.

How To 14

How To Technology Industry Venture Capitalist 14

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

In most larger companies, you'll need to generate roughly 200+ responses per operating unit per period. Your CFO and finance team can take a leadership role here. You can also use these processes to inform policy, pricing, staffing, process and product improvements. Is your data set sufficient to reduce statistical variation?

Incentives 10

Incentives Sample Customer Loyalty Metrics 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 8, 2013

Henry was the senior vice president of operations. I''ve said it before, and I''ll say it again: The best path forward is to keep VillageCar separate — the operations, the branding, everything.". Later that afternoon Annabel Howard, Beacon''s CFO and Henry''s boss, leaned back in her chair. "I''m A Third Opinion.

Case Study 8

Case Study Brand How To Beyer 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Lotta Tindal, the chief marketing officer for the Dutch hospitality group Ervaring Hotels & Resorts, hadn’t wanted to come to the presentation, but Gerard Bakker, Ervaring’s CFO, had twisted her arm. “These things are nothing more than glorified sales pitches,” she whispered to him.

Case Study 8

Case Study Travel Hotels NPV 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 9, 2010

But the price of gaining that control would be ceding some to him — her own stake would fall from 64% to 51% — and he would have more involvement in the business than any single one of the friends and family members who had invested with her thus far. But Jorge clearly needed further coaching. Angelic Temptations.

Case Study 13

Case Study Franchising Health Care Follow-up 13

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 19, 2014

The company was known for being a generous donor to nonprofits, both in Minnesota and in the out-of-state cities where it had stores; it gave 5% of its pre-tax operating profits to charity each year. Camilla asked, referring to Natural Foods’ CFO. “He But we need to take it a step further,” Ken continued. “As Harold shook his head.

Case Study 9

Case Study Politics Committee Letter 9

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 21, 2016

You used to be able to track everything with an Excel spreadsheet, personally designed by your CFO; now you’ve got an SAP installation in its place, supported by an entire IT department. In 2000, with more than $100 million in negative cash flow, the company agreed to be acquired by Star Cruises, a leading cruise operator in Asia.

Company 10

Company IPO Price Loyalty 10

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 1, 2017

As the CFO told me, “We now understand this is what our future is going to look like… We’re going to have to share data across silos… We have to have digital processes that are data-driven by customers, not just our own people.” Do you want to price differently? Bundle products and services better?

Engineering 8

Engineering Company White Paper Cooper 8