article thumbnail

7 Steps to Problem Solving

Skip Prichard

It used to be that you could learn the core skills for a career in college and graduate school – think management, accounting, law – and then apply it over forty years. 2: Disaggregate. As a consequence of accelerating change, the old model of managerial skill development and application is no longer effective. 1: Define the problem.

article thumbnail

How Demand Forecasting Can Boost Business Efficiency

Strategy Driven

Although there are many ways to do demand forecasting right, these key tips can help a business get more out of their investment in the practice: Remember that demand is not monolithic and try implementing a disaggregated model.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

From Zipcar to the Sharing Economy

Harvard Business Review

However, although their members can rent the (more urbane and green) Zipcar fleet by the hour and pick up their vehicle at a local parking space using a smartphone app, this is still a dedicated fleet, still inventory that the company has to acquire, manage and monetize.

article thumbnail

The 3 Ways Work Can Be Automated

Harvard Business Review

As business leaders and managers, we have become increasingly capable of engaging a workforce that is some combination of virtual and on site, part time and full time, permanent and contingent. The second area of opportunity with cognitive automation is for companies to develop new products and services.

article thumbnail

5 Questions That Will Help You Stay Ahead of Your Disruptors

Harvard Business Review

Aggravated and depressed by the decline of their core memory business in the 1980s, Intel’s top management struggled for strategic clarity. They see disrupted incumbents from retail, finance, health care, transportation, professional services, and manufacturing requiring radical restructuring of assets, productivity , and innovation.

Levitt 8
article thumbnail

The Fight Over Tesla Shows How Little Value Dealerships Add

Harvard Business Review

Beyond finding the right seller, an intermediary might help match the buyer to the best product for her, providing important guidance and product information. In disaggregated markets with many sellers and buyers and where search costs are high, intermediaries provide considerable value.

article thumbnail

The Best Investment You'll Ever Make

Harvard Business Review

With nervous, but mostly eager, anticipation I walked up to the C-suite floor to meet with a senior manager at Merrill Lynch. And now that I was Institutional Investor double-ranked, I decided to reach out to him, and confide in him my long-term dream of moving into senior management. The conversation didn't go well.