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4 Ways Leaders Can Get More from Their Company’s Innovation Efforts

Harvard Business Review

A recent McKinsey report found that while 84% of corporate executives think innovation is key to achieving growth objectives, only 6% are satisfied with the innovation performance of their firm. Even if executives try to prioritize it, innovation often gets crowded out by more “urgent” short-term pressures.

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The Case for Investing More in People

Harvard Business Review

In research for our book, Time, Talent and Energy, my co-author Michael Mankins and I found that such investments do indeed pay off: The top-quartile companies in our study unlocked 40% more productive power in their workforce through better practices in time, talent and energy management. For knowledge workers, time is incredibly scarce.

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Shutting Down Stores Doesn’t Have to Be Bad for Business

Harvard Business Review

A major challenge for all retailers is managing the closures in a way that maximizes revenues and profits. Our studies of a wide range of retailers have found that companies often have the most difficulty managing death. Over time, retailers have identified and adopted many innovative ideas to manage these complex tasks.

Retail 8
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What U.S. CEOs Should Do with the Money from Corporate Tax Cuts

Harvard Business Review

The cost of capital is at historic lows, averaging below 6% for most large U.S. Indeed, for most companies, the value of accelerating growth greatly exceeds the value of returning capital to shareholders. Indeed, for most companies, the value of accelerating growth greatly exceeds the value of returning capital to shareholders.

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How to Quantify Sustainability’s Impact on Your Bottom Line

Harvard Business Review

Our research has found that embedded sustainability drives financial performance through mediating factors such as innovation, operational efficiency, risk reduction, employee recruitment, engagement and retention, customer and supplier loyalty, competitive advantage, reduced cost of capital, and improved marketing and sales.

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We Can’t Study Short-Termism Without the Right Metrics

Harvard Business Review

However, firms can efficiently increase margin growth without much revenue growth by managing to squeeze out their fixed costs to service the same level of output. I have worked on research that has found that a strong company culture is associated with lower levels of myopic decision making, better productivity, and innovation.

EPS 8
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Should Companies Retain "Strategic" Cash?

Harvard Business Review

Strategic cash usually is invested in high quality short-term securities; this ensures safety and liquidity, but produces a meager return on investment—especially in a low interest rate environment—and does not achieve the company's cost of capital. How Should You Approach Strategic Cash?

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