Lead Change Blog

DECEMBER 10, 2014

Professor Donald Sull calls it active inertia, an organization’s tendency to follow established patterns of behavior. Blockbuster, Eastman Kodak, and Borders are but a handful of companies where process became habit and values became dogma, resulting in those companies becoming history. People do the same thing.

Sull 314

Sull Power Uncertainty Diversity 314

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 23, 2011

The Upside of Turbulence: Seizing Opportunities in an Uncertain World Donald Sull HarperBusiness (2009) How and why “agile absorption” is essential when seizing the upside of turbulence in the global marketplace Donald Sull provides a brilliant analysis of a process that continues throughout the world as I now compose and then you read this brief [.]. (..)

Sull 75

Sull Agility Review Books 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 20, 2011

I agree with Donald Sull that most executives either do not recognize or ignore anomalies and even when they’re pointed out, the same executives underestimate their potential importance. Sull suggests that “the human mind is hardwired to reinforce existing maps [documentation of what is already known], even in the [.].

Sull 70

Sull Execution Document Blog 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Donald Sull and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here.

Sull 80

Sull Review Blog Article 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

In it, Donald Sull shares his insights concerning how and why market anomalies and incongruities may point the way to the next breakthrough strategy, thence to a wealth of business opportunities. Here is an excerpt from another outstanding article that appears in strategy+business magazine, published by Booz & Company.

Sull 75

Sull Marketing Magazine Strategy 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 14, 2011

In one of the most valuable business books written in recent years, The Upside of Turbulence: Seizing Opportunity in an Uncertain World published by HarperBusiness, Donald Sull describes what he characterizes as active inertia: “the tendency of well-established organizations to respond to changes by accelerating activities that succeeded in the past. (..)

Sull 70

Sull Books Marketing Organization 70

Skip Prichard

JUNE 28, 2019

1] Defined in HBR’s Why Strategy Execution Unravels—and What to Do About It (Donald Sull, Rebecca Homkes, and Charles Sull, MARCH 2015). For more information, see Cracking Complexity: The Breakthrough Formula for Solving Just About Anything Fast. [1]

Sull 71

Sull How To Insourcing Sharpe 71

Leading Blog

JULY 7, 2023

Donald Sull calls it the Map Paradox. W E ALL HAVE mental maps that we use to explain the world as we experience it. They also provide us with a guide to our actions. But here’s the thing. These mental maps are based on yesterday.

Sull 341

Sull Management Long-term Entrepreneur 341

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 14, 2012

Donald Sull , London Business School professor, poses three questions to break down complex strategies into actionable steps. For more, see the article Simple Rules for a Complex World.

Sull 15

Sull Strategy Article Execution 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 13, 2015

Consider the recent article, “ Why Strategy Execution Unravels — and What to Do About It “ by Donald Sull, Rebecca Homkes, and Charles Sull, in the March 2015 issue of HBR. That’s because execution actually is strategy – trying to separate the two only leads to confusion.

Execution 8

Execution Strategy Sull Charan 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 22, 2015

Puzzling anecdotes abound: Microsoft has missed out on a series of new products in the past decade, yet as Don Sull points out , it continues to be highly profitable. Taking a cue from Don Sull, we can distinguish between two types of competition. In a competitive economy you tend to get lots of little, focused companies.

Sull 8

Sull Competitive Advantage Porter Industry 8

Lead Change Blog

DECEMBER 16, 2011

Posted in Leadership Development Barry wasn’t happy that his boss put him through the 360 evaluation process. He was even unhappier after receiving the feedback. In fact, he was shocked, angry and disbelieving. There was no way he was unethical, thoughtless or lacking in credibility and integrity.

Power 294

Power Leadership Development Process Development 294

First Friday Book Synopsis

NOVEMBER 25, 2012

I hope that at least a few of these recent posts will be of interest to you: BOOK REVIEWS Managing Global Innovation: Frameworks for Integrating Capabilities Around the World Yves Doz and Keeley Wilson Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition (Second Edition) Dennis N.

Blog 80

Blog Globalization Review Innovation 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 1, 2012

Adam Bryant conducts interviews of senior-level executives that appear in his “Corner Office” column each week in the SundayBusiness section of The New York Times.

Chief Technology Officer 75

Chief Technology Officer Team Building Technology Execution 75

Harvard Business Review

MAY 23, 2017

” Donald Sull and Dominic Houlder suggest creating a worksheet with four columns. It’s likely that you have an idea of what you value most, but being honest with yourself and fine-tuning the reasoning behind those values will help you get better at walking away from “should” opportunities.

Sull 15

Sull Motivation Commitment Conference 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 13, 2014

I spoke with contributor Don Sull , who teaches strategy at MIT and the London Business School, about the tension between scholars who put sustainable competitive advantage at the center of strategy and those who argue that some industries are changing too quickly to allow for sustained performance.

Sull 10

Sull Competitive Advantage Porter Innovation 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 18, 2015

Yet, according to Donald Sull’s research in the March issue of HBR, almost half of top executives cannot connect the dots between their company’s strategic priorities; and two out of three middle managers say they simply do not understand their strategic direction.

Strategy 8

Strategy Balanced Scorecard Sull Supply Chain 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 12, 2015

As recently as March 2015, for instance, Rebecca Homkes and Don and Charles Sull said in “ Why Strategy Execution Unravels – and What to Do About it ”: “Since Michael Porter’s seminal work in the 1980s we have had a clear and widely accepted definition of what strategy is.”

Strategy 8

Strategy Porter Blue Ocean Strategy Luehrman 8