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Artisans Must Balance the Books

Harvard Business Review

The Conversation Blogs The Conversation Artisans Must Balance the Books 8:12 AM Tuesday November 23, 2010 by Ndubuisi Ekekwe | Comments () Email Tweet This Post to Facebook Share on LinkedIn Print The boy was 11 years old when his father took him to live with a kinsman, a businessman with many shops in Lagos, Nigeria.

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Creating Michelin-star Quality for the Masses

Harvard Business Review

It's a common assumption that offering more features or developing high-quality products and services is expensive, and that the products of these labors can command premiums. According to the 2010 Michelin Guide, there are 229 one-star, 37 two-star, and as many as six three-star restaurants in Italy.

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How to Know If a Spin-Off Will Succeed

Harvard Business Review

A 2010 meta-analysis detailed many of the different issues that make divestiture so hard to evaluate consistently. In parallel, it reduced its fixed costs by restructuring its industrial footprint and overhead structure; increasing sales, marketing, and R&D expenditures in targeted areas; and dramatically reducing working capital.