The Horizons Tracker

JULY 20, 2020

Many businesses have shut down, with many more having to drastically alter their operations to support social distancing or new patterns of consumer behavior. There is scarcely an activity that has not been affected in some way, and our professional life has been no exception. Other sectors have seen more radical change.

Innovation 96

Innovation Govindarajan Short-term Banking 96

N2Growth Blog

JUNE 14, 2010

While much has been written about corporate vision, mission, process, leadership, strategy, branding and a variety of other business practices, it is the engineering of these practices to be disruptive that maximizes opportunities. Why didn’t IBM see Dell coming? How did Microsoft not keep Google at bay?

Business Model 305

Business Model Blog Disruptive Innovation Brand 305

Harvard Business Review

MAY 27, 2011

By parallel, managers themselves might similarly benefit from "reverse-engineering" the criticism of not only outsiders but of their own colleagues: considering both parties as their benefactors on the road to greater performance. Keep the low-cost strategy but seek alternative ways for supporting it.

Engineering 14

Engineering PR How To Reputation 14

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Here, for example, are the company’s net income and cash flow over the past decade: The difference between the top and bottom lines here is mostly about investments in buildings, machines, and other things, which are written down over time in the income statement but ignored in calculating operating cash flow. Finance Internet Retail'

Retail 21

Retail Finance Parcell Depreciation 21

Strategy Driven

MARCH 21, 2011

Suddenly it hit Bob: he hadn’t checked to make sure engineering had included the new wiring diagram in the customer’s shipment that was due to go out first thing in the morning. Getting a 50,000-foot picture of our operations illustrates outdated, cumbersome, inefficient processes. Without the diagram the equipment would be useless.

Hammer 50

Hammer Chief Executive Officer Metrics Process 50

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 24, 2014

In addressing the billion-dollar adherence problem, Vitality (since acquired by NANTHEALTH ) considered the interests of the players in the diverse ecosystem, including pharmaceutical companies, retail pharmacies, and health care providers. Operations. It also took into account their roles in changing patient behavior.

Productivity 8

Productivity Products Company Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 5, 2016

Under this financing structure, the company contracts to buy kilowatts, not the turbines and panels. So the PPA terms that retailers and tech companies sign have not worked for the heavy guys. They had framing conversations with the CEO and CFO early on to discuss any financial or operational challenges. Get early buy-in.

Energy 8

Energy Industry Finance CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

This seemingly banal transaction speaks volumes to the power of how established retail has pervaded our everyday experience in the United States. Customers have myriad channels to discover new products and shop at outdoor gear retailers to explore, evaluate, and choose what they need. I am the cofounder and CEO of BioLite.

Marketing 8

Marketing Microfinance Retail Development 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 23, 2014

There is a lot at stake here for GE’s operations strategy. Having the team hear customer feedback firsthand was a big change, especially for the engineers. At their training center in Louisville, they bounced ideas and product prototypes off of retail salespeople who came to learn about GE’s products. and compete successfully.

Ries 10

Ries Waterman Finance Competitive Advantage 10

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 21, 2011

My team would have people with deep functional knowledge and skills (strategy, sales, marketing, finance, and information technology) to align surrounding processes. Consider Lowe's , America's second-largest home improvement retailer worldwide, with revenue of $49 billion and more than 1,700 stores.

Six Sigma 14

Six Sigma Skills Team Compliance 14

Harvard Business Review

JULY 11, 2017

Doing digital M&A right means upending the way most companies approach financing, due diligence, and merger integration. Let’s start with financing the deal. Meanwhile, because digital targets tend to be expensive, acquirers are limited in their ability to use stock to finance a deal. Sponsored by DXC Technology.

Due Diligence 8

Due Diligence Company Learning Curve Finance 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 26, 2016

Compared to professions like engineering or business disciplines like Finance or Operations, the concept of a dedicated salesperson is relatively recent. Now, however, students’ college and pre-MBA experience is more likely to be in a finance area or perhaps in coding. Each group has its own operating procedures.

Education 8

Education Levitt Retail Training 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Business units come and go, but finance, HR, IT, marketing, legal, and R&D are forever. For example, Walmart doesn't succeed just because of a strong operations group. Nonetheless, many CEOs and top executives struggle with their functional organizations, and some question whether the established functional model is still relevant.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Real Estate Short-term Merchandising 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

The men and women who choose this path have diverse expertise and job responsibilities: marketing, leadership development, communications, operations, new business development, purchasing. James is using his expertise as a chemical engineer to develop new business models for base-of-the-pyramid consumers. Some are recent graduates.

Real Estate 8

Real Estate Constraint Entrepreneur Restructuring 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 31, 2011

Consider how an engineer in our study must tap networks each time she develops a new research proposal for grant funding. One respondent in the food and retail industry notes a chaotic pattern of training and retraining just to "ensure we are able to meet basic customer needs." Does your organization enable this sense of mission?

Team 12

Team Short-term Proposal Uncertainty 12

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

The world's biggest and fastest search engine can't help but generate terabytes and petabytes of actionable investment intelligence. In fact, Google chief economist Hal Varian (and other economists and forecasters) already use the search engine's data and analytics to predict economic futures.

Hedge 15

Hedge Core Competence CFO ROI 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 22, 2016

Despite the Wall Street-engineered financial avalanche, investors lost money in African equities largely because some audited statements were revealed to be patently deceptive. From Nigeria to South Africa , retail investors are still below pre-Great Recession levels.

Insurance 8

Insurance Incentives Quality Marketing 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 8, 2017

Some companies that made the list were obvious choices; for example, the biggest online retailer now gets most of its profit from cloud services (Amazon). On a separate track, he launched the device and content ecosystem, starting with iPod and iTunes, that would become the company’s new growth engine.

Franchising 15

Franchising CEO Business Model Strategy 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 1, 2016

Digital transformation halts, or fails, for many reasons—but most often it’s because minor changes at the surface level do nothing to affect the fundamental operations of a company. In retailing, leaders worry about customer retention and dollar per square foot. Lyft represent an entirely new business model for car usage.

Business Model 8

Business Model Industry Metrics Budgeting 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 27, 2017

In reality, “handoffs” and transitions prove to be significant operational problems. At one American retailer, an autonomous ensemble of algorithms replaced the entire merchandising department. It’s a different kind of engineering.” It feels like a living, breathing thing.

Outsourcing 8

Outsourcing Software CAPEX Competitive Advantage 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Pricing pressure is more intense in retail, less so in areas like top-branded luxury goods or highly differentiated machinery. Madhavan: For many years, CEOs and executives have focused on improving the bottom line through cost cutting, finding efficiencies in operations and the supply chain. Externally, the reasons vary by industry.

Price 11

Price Productivity Products Simon 11

Harvard Business Review

JULY 12, 2017

India, with its 462 million internet users , has a digital economy representing arguably the greatest market potential for global players ; however, it operates in multiple languages and multiple infrastructure challenges, despite the government having taken sweeping actions that affect the digital market. Innovation and change.

Innovation 8

Innovation Policies Technology Politics 8

Strategy Driven

MARCH 28, 2016

Most companies, whether start-ups or long-time players live in a world shaped by the laws of demand where low pricing can trump quality, and where targeted marketing, carefully crafted keywords, and social media engineering can build awareness, influence opinion, and generate sales. Then, there is 50 Shades of Grey.

Productivity 50

Productivity Products Marketing Strategy Budgeting 50

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 22, 2017

Such a policy alone could have a major impact on companies operating in the United States. Some retailers that are big importers could see their net profits plummet by almost 80%, while exporters of manufactured goods could see their net profits soar by 50% or more (see these exhibits ). Take the idea of a U.S.

Supply Chain 10

Supply Chain Chemicals Uncertainty Policies 10